Environment-based Education and Environmental Literacy: Instructional Strategies to Improve the Employability Skills of High School Students

Abstract

The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to determine which type of intervention would have an effect on high school students’ knowledge of employability skills, either instruction based on 1) knowledge of natural and human systems, inquiry, and decision-making, or 2) action skills and personal responsibility. Experimental Group One (n = 39) combined the strategies of natural and human systems with inquiry and decision-making skills to plan and implement a garden. Experimental Group Two (n = 35) combined action skills with personal responsibility in the planning and teaching of a yoga class. In this pre-test/post-test design (N = 74), analyses of covariance and Pearson Correlation were used to analyze results. Experimental Group Two showed a significant improvement in the perceived importance of soft skills and also increased in their view that listening skills were an essential employability factor. Students’ views on the importance of soft skills were correlated with their self-report of those skills. Ultimately, the intervention focusing on action skills and personal responsibility had positive effects on improving students’ views of employment skills.