School Administrator Perceptions of Environmental Literacy in Their Districts

School districts in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania were given the opportunity to respond to the Environmental Literacy Indicator Tool (ELIT), developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) survey regarding environmental literacy. The ELIT report details the number and percentage of school districts responding. Districts could expand on their quantitative responses with qualitative comments detailing their perceptions. Respondents included teachers, principals, curriculum supervisors/coordinators and central office administrators. Thirty-six of the 144 responding districts provided at least one comment, while most provided comments to multiple prompts. Responses ranged from one-word answers to multiple sentences with precise details. These comments provide a glimpse into the perceptions of the respondents about how, if at all, environmental literacy is being taught in their schools. Comments represent approximately one-fourth of the districts that responded to the survey. While they are not generalizable to either regions or specific demographic subgroups, they represent an initial exploration into the perceptions of various school administrator employee constituents into the state of environmental literacy in their district. Further qualitative study may be helpful in garnering additional and more detailed responses. The follow pages provide a summary of the findings and recommendations for each of the Six Elements of Environmental Education Preparedness. 2020 OMB Control No. 0648-0753 NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service) OMB (Office of Management and Budget) Submitted 1575