Abstract
Environmental educators are frontline workers who hardly get acknowledgment (Beames et al., 2021) for educating people (especially children) about environmental issues. These educators interact with students and teachers across different programs, i.e., professional development workshops, classroom projects, field trips, etc., utilizing the in-school and out-of-school settings. However, limited research is available on their roles within the context of education. For this research study, I collected data from three environmental educators from a local environmental education center called the Dale Center for Environmental Education (pseudonym). I utilized phenomenography (Marton, 1986) with a social constructivist transformative lens (Pavlova, 2013). The data for this research was collected from September 2022 to December 2023. Three semi-structured interviews were conducted as a primary data source with each participant. The interview protocol was developed utilizing Seidman's (2006) three-interview sequence to inculcate six objectives highlighted by Kollmus and Agyeman (2002). In addition, to understand environmental education perspectives in in-school and out-of-school settings, I used the five information sections of the Tbilisi Conference in Environmental Education highlighted by Hungerford and Volk (1990). I observed 18 in-school and 18 out-of-school teaching sessions as the secondary data source using an observation protocol adapted from Mustam and Daniel’s (2018) work. Additional secondary data sources included documents from Dale Center for the Environment (DCE) education programs, newsletters, websites, teacher packets, and informal conversation notes. I performed document analysis (Bowen, 2009) to provide vital knowledge, develop questions for the educators’ roles in the in-school and out-of-school contexts, and to validate and triangulate the overall analysis process. The data analysis methods included a constant comparative method and a hybrid approach of inductive and deductive coding for theme development (Creswell, 2013: Fereday & Muir-Cochrane, 2006; Patton, 2002; Seidman, 2006; Strauss & Corbin, 1998). The findings are organized around five assertions, each situated within the primary constructs of the study - environmental educators, in-school and out-of-school settings, and environmental education centers. My assertions are: 1) Environmental educators are science content experts for students and teachers that utilize in-school and out-of-school settings, 2) Environmental educators are science content professional development experts for classroom teachers, 3) Environmental educators operate as environmental advocates through educational outreach, 4) Environmental educators are mentors for the new generation of educators, scientists and more, and, 5) Environmental educators perform multiple duties within an organization – property manager/outreach director, animal caretaker, and executive director. These educators play a vital role by influencing the science education experiences of students and teachers, which go beyond just the classroom setting. This study has implications for science education research, practice, and professional development.