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Honours ProjectsDr Catherine BaudainsPosition: Associate Lecturer
Email: c.baudains@murdoch.edu.au
Phone:
9360 6393
Room: EnvSc/2.051
ResearchEnvironmental education and behavioural change Profile My principle area of expertise is environmental education but I have an interest in all aspects of environmental science and education as I feel a broad understanding of both disciplines is important to the development of environmental education as a tool for achieving sustainability. My overarching research interest is in environmental education. The question which most fascinates me is what makes some people act in environmentally sustainable ways even at personal cost, while others choose not to act in these ways even when it may not be difficult to do so? There is a growing identification of a need to understand the development of environmental behaviours into social norms and the possibilities for environmental protection through improving the ways in which humans interact with the environment on a day-to-day basis. As environmental education is an interdisciplinary field it incorporates understandings and theory from a wide range of fields including environmental science, education, psychology, social and cultural theory. My research has combined elements of policy, organizational culture and theory, educational and self regulation of learning theory and transport practice in order to address change in commuter behaviour. I have also completed some research in evaluation. There are a range of projects relating to these areas available for interested students. Some of the project topics are listed below, but this list is not prescriptive or exhaustive. More detail can be obtained by contacting Catherine Baudains by email (Baudains@murdoch.edu.au)or phone (9360 6393). Potential Honours Projects Evaluation of the Airwatch Program (A number of projects available) Links between school based education programs and community outcomes Sustainable schools initiative: The effectiveness of a whole school approach to sustainability on environmental outcomes in the community Evaluation model for community environmental education Waste and energy use behaviour: identification of effective triggers for change (what has worked and has it/can it be replicated?) Barriers to environmentally sustainable behaviour and strategies to overcome them in the context of a range of issues. Best practice in travel demand management (TDM) behaviour focussed programmes. Review of current practice and development of a model of best practice in education for sustainability Any project considering human behaviour and how it relates to environmental outcomes and sustainability. A follow up/longitudinal reflection in where TravelSmart Workplace is now: what is being achieved, how has it evolved.
Examination of the Sustainable Schools initiative longitudinal outcomes Department of Agriculture WA: Climate risk management decision making behaviour in WA grainbelt farmers. Effective models of education and information as a tool to achieve environmental and sustainability outcomes. Documentation of the development of environmental education strategy in WA and comparison to current international trends in environmental education policy, implementation and evaluation of action. Evaluation of the AirWatch Programme The Department of Environment is willing to allow research into the current effectiveness of the AirWatch program. The three distinct goals (teachers, students, and curriculum) of the program can be evaluated and developed through research. A research project would ideally investigate all three (PhD project), but can also be divided between several honours students as appropriate. In addition there is other research which could be conducted into possible behaviour change outcomes. AirWatch is not intended to be a behaviour change program, and longer-term behaviour change in schools may prove difficult to evaluate within the current format. However, non-repetitive activity is a possible avenue for evaluation. For example the following non-repetitive activities could be evaluated to determine if a lasting impact is achieved: ‘Walk to school day’, Visual Air Quality Competitions, ‘SNAQ on Haze’ project, video competition and others.
Details of Projects The WA Sustainable Schools Initiative is a federally funded initiative that aims to encourage the whole school community to embrace the principles of ecological sustainability and to adopt behaviours that reduce the school’s impact on the natural environment, whilst also promoting social and economic well being. This broad aim is consistent with that of the National Sustainable Schools Initiative, of which the WA initiative forms a part. It also builds on a number of global and international projects such as Sweden’s Eco Schools program, and the United Nations Environment Program (e.g. Decade of Education for Sustainable Development 2005-2014). The Initiative aims to deliver a wide range of benefits to school communities throughout WA, and ultimately to the broader community within which they are positioned, through modelling and participatory practices. These Sustainable School Communities are to be developed via schools’ engagement with action-based learning and critical and creative thinking processes within the context of government vision and strategy, and local community partnerships. An honour project focussing on this initiative could ask some of the following questions:
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