10 years and younger (~Elementary school aged and younger)

Uses narrative forms, such as thoughts or feelings to describe what is being evaluated. Can provide rich context for examining participants’ experiences and how a program operates. Allows for questions to be investigated in-depth.

Can be geographically based (neighborhoods, towns, cities, etc.) or based on interest, identity, culture, belief, profession, etc. In environmental education community is often thought of as a system of systems including both natural, social, and economic systems (NAAEE, 2017).

“Engagement refers to the degree of attention, curiosity, interest, optimism, and passion that [learners] show when they are learning or being taught, which extends to the level of motivation they have to learn and progress in their education” (Great Schools Partnership, 2016). Engagement can be with students, with the teaching, with learning, in research, with educators, and/or with the community (Groccia & Hunter, 2012).

Identity includes all the labels one uses to represent themselves, particulalry referring to social groups, including but not limited to sex, gender, ethnicity, race, nationality, ability, religion, spirituality, age, socio-economic status, political affiliation (SAIC, 2020).

A set of numbers or symbols used to represent characteristics of a variable in measurement (Vogt, 2005).

Considering both youth assets (such as self-efficacy, pro-social norms, meaningful relationships, and social and moral competence, and the characteristics of settings that enable youth to develop those assets. Researchers have identified 5 C’s of positive youth development: competence, confidence, connection, character, and caring; and with these skills youth also are more likely to contribute to community and civil society, thus developing the sixth C which is contribution (Eccles & Gootman, 2002; Lerner et al., 2015).

Uses narrative forms, such as thoughts or feelings to describe what is being evaluated. Can provide rich context for examining participants’ experiences and how a program operates. Allows for questions to be investigated in-depth.

A systematic process that critically examines a program's merit, worth or significance by collecting and analyzing information about a program’s activities, characteristics, and outcomes. The goal is to improve the program's effectiveness, and/or to inform programming decisions (Patton, 2001).

Knowledge and awareness about the environment and environmental problems, and how to solve those environmental problems. Environmental knowledge can take the form of systems knowledge: knowledge about ecosystem processes and environmental problems; action-related knowledge: actions someone can take to address environmental problems and effectiveness knowledge, knowing which behaviors and actions can best address an environmental issue (Krasny, 2020).

Encompasses cognitive, affective, and compassionate empathy. Cognitive empathy allows one to see another's perspective without necessarily feeling the same emotions. Affective empathy is the feelings that arise when observing the emotions/ experience of another. Compassionate empathy is driven by cognitive and affective empathy and is the ability to feel and show the appropriate concern to another's need (Jackson et al., 2017).

A positive or negative evaluation of something. Environmental educators are interested in many different environmental attitudes that people may have. A few of these include attitudes toward nature, animals, built environments, environmental problems, environmental policies, and environmental behaviors. Attitudes can be some degree of positive, negative, or indifferent (Marcinkowski, 1993; Milfont, 2012).

The way people identify with predominantly natural landscapes and the relationships they form with the elements in those environments (Restall & Conrad, 2015).