Development and validation of the Place-Based Learning and Constructivist Environment Survey (PLACES)

Learning environment studies acknowledge that learning takes place within the social realm and that social conditions contribute to the quality of both learning and experience. This can be said to be especially true for environmental learning programs. To access information about students' perceptions of their learning environment, a robust instrument for describing and measuring student perceptions of environmental education in place-based educational settings was developed and validated. Focus groups with environmental educators were formed to explore (from teachers' perspective) the factors viewed as most important to environmental learning and as most likely to influence the unique type of learning environments fostered in place-based or community-based environmental education programs. Analysis of qualitative work resulted in the inclusion of eight scales developed/adapted from previous learning environment surveys for use in the new Place-Based Learning and Constructivist Environment Survey for use in secondary settings. In this article, validity and reliability data for this instrument are presented and the implications of these data for future research within environmental education, place-based education and teacher education programs are discussed.