Authors : Sirichai Rintarhat, Penkhae Thamsenanupap, Jiraporn Khiewyoo and Chowwalit Chookhampaeng
Abstract: This research had the purposes to develop environmental education indicators for lifelong learning and to verify the quality of the developed environmental education indicators. The research comprised two steps: Step 1, development of the environmental education indicators for lifelong learning and Step 2, verification of the quality of the development indicators. The sample used in this research included 371 administrators and teachers from royal honored environmental creative award-winner schools and provincial environmental education centers and 25 experts in environment, environmental education, education, lifelong learning and policy. The Delphi technique used for collecting data, which were conducted using two types of instrument; an interview and a questionnaire. The statistics used for analyzing the data were the exploratory factor analysis, validity and reliability through verification of the stability, average and standard deviation. The research results were found that there were 200 environmental education indicators for lifelong learning, developed by the researchers, in 14 factors and two dimensions, namely 12 factors and 171 indicators in the internal educational institution dimension and two factors and 29 indicators in the external educational institution dimension. When the importance of the indicators were weighted, it was found that there were 104 indicators, were weighted at the highest level, including 93 indicators in the internal educational institution dimension and 11 indicators in the external education institution dimension. In addition, when the stability of the indicators was verified, it was found that there were 68 indicators with the high stability, including 59 indicators in the internal educational institution dimension with the high numbers of indicators in the first five factors including administrators and dissemination (8), learning process organization (7), promotion and support, policies and administrative management, student skills and attitudes and student characteristics (6), environmental teacher knowledge and skills (5) and students (4) and 9 indicators in the external educational institution dimension with the highest number of indicators in the factor of family and community support.
Sirichai Rintarhat, Penkhae Thamsenanupap, Jiraporn Khiewyoo and Chowwalit Chookhampaeng, 2010. The Development and Verification of the Quality of Environmental Education Indicators for Lifelong Learning. Pakistan Journal of Social Sciences, 7: 117-122.