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KEEP Baseline Study

An Evaluation of Teacher Practices and Student and Parent Learning

The Wisconsin K-12 Energy Education Program (KEEP) was created in 1993 to help promote energy education in Wisconsin. The ultimate goal of KEEP is to provide the knowledge and skills necessary to help future energy consumers in Wisconsin make informed decisions about energy use. The two major tools of the program are the Energy Education Conceptual Framework and Suggested Scope and Sequence and the Energy Education Activity Guide. The conceptual framework of KEEP divides energy education into four themes that build upon each other: Theme I: We Need Energy; Theme II: Developing Energy Resources; Theme III: Effects of Energy Resource Development; and Theme IV: Managing Energy Resource Use.

The Energy Center of Wisconsin (ECW) funded KEEP from 1995-June 2001. As part of this task, the ECW also evaluated how effectively the KEEP approach ultimately affects learning, attitudes, and behavior among students and their families through this baseline study. The report summarizes the results of the first phase of the evaluation: to collect baseline data on the current status of energy education in Wisconsin's public schools before the KEEP program is implemented. The findings of the baseline study measure (1) how teachers are currently teaching energy in Wisconsin schools, and (2) students' and parents' knowledge of the four KEEP energy themes and their attitudes/practices regarding energy usage.

Methods 

The target population for the baseline survey was restricted to students enrolled in Wisconsin public schools in grades 4 through 12 and their teachers.

Teachers. Science, mathematics, social studies, language arts, technology education, family living and consumer education teachers in grades 4-12 were selected as the target population. A database of all staff working in the
Wisconsin K-12 Public School System during the 1997-1998 school year was obtained from the Department of Public Instruction. A random sample of 500 was selected from a sample frame of 14,741 teachers. A total of 283 surveys were completed by teachers representing a response rate of 58 percent. Based on a comparison analysis, the characteristics of the respondents were determined to be representative of the target population.

Students and Parents. The 428 school districts in Wisconsin were each placed into one of four school-size strata. Each strata had approximately equal numbers (150,000) of 4th-12th graders. Districts were randomly sampled out of each
strata. Because the surveys were conducted in person, districts that were considered to be geographic outliers were eliminated from the sample. A total of 21 districts were selected for the study (approximately 88 students per grade).

Two versions of the 12-page survey were used--one for 4th-6th graders and one for 7th - 12th graders. Research analysts from Hagler Bailly administered the survey to students in the classroom. Depending on the grade level, slightly different procedures were used to administer the survey. For all grades, the research analyst gave a short introduction to the survey and was available to answer questions during the survey administration. All students participating in the survey were also given a 12-page booklet for their parents to complete. The parent survey was very similar in design to the 7th-12th grade booklet. A total of 819 students and 421 parents completed surveys.

Findings

What Are Students Learning?

• Three-quarters of the students have studied at least one of the KEEP themes.
• Most learned about energy in a science class.
• When quizzed about their specific energy knowledge, students scored an average of 50 percent overall. They scored the highest on Theme IV: Managing Energy Resource Use (62%) and the lowest on Theme II (Developing Energy Resources) (45%).

Although the baseline study was not designed to determine the causal relationship between students' energy knowledge and their energy-related behavior, the data were examined to assess the strength of this relationship.

• Students with higher energy knowledge scores were more willing to take energy conservation actions, to report having taken such an action in the past, and to have more positive attitudes toward energy conservation and education.

One plausible hypothesis for this finding is that increased energy knowledge may lead to an increase in positive attitudes and commitment to energy conservation behavior. However, the reader should keep in mind that while the differences between students with high versus low energy scores were statistically
significant (based on a 95% confidence interval), factors outside the scope of the baseline study could also have contributed to this relationship.

Who Is Teaching Energy?

A majority of Wisconsin teachers in the target population already infuse the subject of energy into their classroom curriculum.

Even though most students learn about energy concepts and topics in at least one class, a large proportion of teachers (47%) in the target population do not currently teach their students about energy. Energy teachers have the following
characteristics:

• They are more likely to teach science or technical education and to also teach in rural schools.
  
• Compared to non-energy teachers, energy teachers tend to use a greater range of teaching materials, including the Internet, videos, and novels.
  
• 67 percent of the classes where energy is taught are at the high school level.
  
• The majority of energy teachers (62% or more) teach each of the four KEEP energy themes, with Theme IV (Managing Energy Resource Use) being taught by the most teachers (69%).

Non-energy teachers named two factors that would influence them to include energy issues in their curriculum:

• Better access to resources and aids for teaching about energy
  
• More in-service classes on energy education teaching methods

What Role Do Parents Play?

Parents achieved an average of 60 percent correct responses across all KEEP energy themes. They were most knowledgeable about Theme IV (Managing Energy Resource Use). Differences on willingness to conserve, commitment to
conservation, and energy attitudes were only marginally significant between higher- and lower-scoring parents.

Even though the relationship is not as strong as for students, the data show that willingness to conserve, commitment to conservation, and positive attitudes toward energy-related issues all tend to be higher among parents with higher
knowledge scores.

These two findings suggest that if KEEP is successful at increasing energy knowledge throughout the state by reaching parents through their student children, it could lead to increased energy conservation actions and support for energy education programs.

The relationship between parents' energy knowledge and their child's energy knowledge and behaviors.

Students whose parents' energy knowledge was high were more likely to have higher energy knowledge scores themselves. This correlation was statistically significant.

In addition, children whose parents had a high overall energy knowledge score (70% or higher) were more likely to say they had actually performed energy conservation actions compared to children whose parents had lower scores. However, the differences between these same students' willingness to
conserve energy and overall energy attitudes were only marginally significant.

Parental support and household activities can be used to make energy education more effective.
 
Nearly all parents who completed a baseline survey support energy education for their children. Compared to students, parents also consistently report higher energy knowledge scores, more positive attitudes toward energy and resource
conservation, and higher levels of actual conservation behaviors.

Energy education programs could capitalize on this strong base of parental support and current household energy conservation activities to increase students' awareness and enthusiasm for energy topics and concepts. Energy education activities that increase student awareness of their parents' attitudes and the energy conservation activities that occur in their household will serve to strengthen their own commitment to energy conservation. Especially for younger students, awareness of their parents' support for energy conservation will make them more willing to talk to other students about energy topics and the need to conserve and use energy wisely. For older students, energy education activities that involve studying their own household behaviors may influence parents and other family members to explore other behaviors that reduce energy consumption or increase energy efficiency.

Who Is Interested in an Energy Education Program?

Parents. Almost all of the parents (99%) said they would find value in activities at school that taught their child what energy is, how it is used, and ways in which energy use affects the environment.

Students. Seventy-four percent of students responded positively to these types of energy activities.

Teachers. In contrast to parents' and students' interest in energy activities, less than a third of the teachers (30% ) were very interested in attending a training for an energy education program. The general characteristics of interested teachers are summarized below.

• Interested teachers were slightly more likely to teach in a rural setting (40% compared to 33%).
• Not surprisingly, science teachers (47%) were the most interested in attending energy education training.
• Teachers who are currently including the topic of energy in their classroom curriculum are more likely to be interested in the training (78% compared to 42%).
• The majority of interested teachers use a variety of teaching materials such as videos (95%), magazine articles (77%), newspaper articles (71%), activity guides (68%), and the Internet.

What Can Be Done to Help Promote KEEP?

Based on the results of the baseline survey, several recommendations can be made to help KEEP reach the largest audience of people:

• Science teachers in rural areas are the best target for the KEEP program. They are the most interested in the program and already teach some energy-related activities. Therefore, they will be the easiest teachers to reach in the short term.
  
• Non-science teachers are less likely to be interested in KEEP and currently do not include energy-related activities in their curricula. One of the barriers to
  teaching energy is that these teachers feel energy is not appropriate for their subject matter. KEEP promotional materials need to appeal to a wide audience and convince non-science teachers that the KEEP energy activities can complement their current lesson plans.
  
• The two things that would have the largest influence on non-energy teachers including energy in their curricula would be better access to resources and aids for teaching about energy and more in-service classes on energy education teaching methods. KEEP does just that. Marketing efforts should be increased so more teachers are aware of the benefits of KEEP.
  
• The majority of parents and students support energy education. If school district administrators were aware of this, they might agree to schedule a KEEP in-service at one of their schools. This would allow a large number of teachers to have easy access to KEEP training.
  
• The data suggest that increased energy knowledge may increase the level of energy conservation behaviors among students. Groups that are interested in
  promoting energy conservation behavior may be interested in helping promote KEEP as well.
  
• The data also suggest that students with high knowledge scores tend to have parents with high knowledge scores. An ancillary program that included some adult education activities is a possible next step for KEEP to increase the overall effect of the program on Wisconsin students.

If you would like to receive a hard copy of the KEEP Baseline Study Summary Report please contact the KEEP Office at energy@uwsp.edu or call 715.346.4770. Click here for the PDF version (7993k).

To order the full report call 608.238.4601 or send an email to orders@ecw.org. Ask for the KEEP Baseline Study, publication number 188-1.

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Send comments and suggestions to KEEP, energy@uwsp.edu or call 715.346.4770.

Copyright 2001 KEEP