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Abstract
This study presents preliminary result interviews with people of color working in environmental education and interpretation throughout the United States. The three primary questions asked were these? (1) What path led each individual to a career in environmental education; (2) How does each individual define environmentalism? and (3) What are the primary issues this field must address? Identifying the common life experiences that pulled these individuals toward environmentalism may assist in attracting more people of color to the environmental professions, and may facilitate drawing support for environmental issues from a more diverse cross section of the population. The results describe three primary routes leading to interest in environmental concerns: an interest in science; positive outdoor experience; and a response to environmental degradation in one's community. Variations in definitions of environmentalism and in the goals for environmental education emerged in the interviews.
Parent Publication
Citation
James, Kathy; McAvoy, Leo H. 1992. A Qualitative Study of Factors Influencing Racial Diversity in Environmental Education: Preliminary Results. In: Chavez, Deborah J., technical coordinator. 1992. Proceedings of the Symposium on Social Aspects and Recreation Research, February 19-22, 1992, Ontario, California. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-132. Albany, CA: Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture; p. 16-17
