A Review of Research Trends in School Environmental Education Focused on Journal of Korean Association for Environmental Education

학술지 "환경교육" 논문 분석을 통한 학교 환경교육 연구 동향 고찰

The purpose of this study was to review the research trends in school environmental education. We analyzed 383 research papers that specifically focused on the school context which were 66% of the total number (N=577) published in this journal between 1990~2011. We defined the characteristics of review and developed a review method by examining previous review studies in this area. The review framework for school environmental education research was devised in terms of seven research areas: 1) Theories and objectives of school environmental education, 2) Environmental awareness, attitude and behavior, 3) Current issues in environmental education in the school context, 4) Instructions and programs, 5) National Curriculum, 6) Environmental education contents, and 7) Teacher professionalism. In this paper, we present dominant features within each category with focus on the overall trends of research methods and themes. Finally, we discuss research issues emerging out of the empirical analysis for considering the value of research for enhancing the quality of environmental education in schools.