Term
Spring 2018
Capstone
Thesis
Degree Name
MAED: NSEE
Primary Advisor/Dissertation Chair
Bill Lindquist
Secondary Advisor/Reader One
Amy Markle
Peer-Reviewer/Reader Two
Kelsey Depew
Abstract
Sense of place is a concept that explains an individuals connection to a specific location. The goal of this capstone is to answer the research question, “Is there a relationship between a student’s repeated visits to a particular community nature center and a positive sense of place?” This is an important question to answer as literature supports the idea that individuals with a sense of place have pro-environmental behaviors as they have positive attitudes towards the environment and want to protect the place they have a deep bond with. Having a sense of place also meets the goals of environmental education of creating an awareness and concern about the environment and providing every person with opportunities to acquire knowledge. This capstone thesis used quantitative research methods through a Likert-scale survey. Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient was used to determine the strength and direction of the variables relationship. Data collected supports the research question that students gained a positive sense of place through repeated visits (r = 0.72, p = <0.000, n = 64). Sense of place became stronger over time with frequent visits which lead to strong intellectual and emotional bonds to the nature center.
Research Methodology
Survey (attitude scale, opinion, questionnaire)
Keywords
Environmental Education
Recommended Citation
Hansen, Ashley, "The Relationship Between Frequent Field Trips to a Local Community Nature Center and Elementary Aged Youth's Positive Sense of Place" (2018). School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations. 4429.
https://digitalcommons.hamline.edu/hse_all/4429