Date of Award
5-1-2008
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.A. in Park and Recreation Management
Department
Health, Exercise Science, and Recreation Management
First Advisor
Dr. Matt Zuefle
Second Advisor
Dr. Mark Loftin
Third Advisor
Dr. Scott Owens
Fourth Advisor
Dr. Lori Wolff
School
University of Mississippi
Relational Format
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
The philosophy of Leave No Trace (LNT) has been a component of outdoor ethics education since the late 1970s. LNT is an education program designed to teach stewardship, land ethics and outdoor recreation skills that protect shared resources. The LNT Awareness Workshop is a 30-minute intervention which is designed to introduce these ideas within these time constraints to diverse populations. This study examined the effects of the Workshop presentation on university undergraduate students as it concerned their attitudes and knowledge of outdoor ethics and LNT. A pre-posttest control group design was implemented with two control groups and two experimental groups. The pre-test was administered immediately before the intervention and the posttest was given two days later. The intervention consisted of the delivery of a standard LNT Awareness Workshop. A self-administered questionnaire based on an existing test instrument (Marion & Daniels, 2005) was adapted and utilized. Overall the study indicated that the LNT Awareness Workshop was effective in changing attitudes about outdoor recreation, but not in changing specific knowledge levels that accompanied these attitude changes. Undergraduate students showed a statistically significant improvement as it concerned their attitudes toward the LNT principles. However, a limited transfer of knowledge also occurred within the experimental groups. The results of this study show that in a limited framework of time (in this case 30 minutes) LNT can positively affect the attitudes of participants concerning LNT.
Recommended Citation
Williamson, Timothy T., "Examining the Effects of a Leave No Trace Outdoor Ethics Awareness Workshop on the Environmental Attitudes and Knowledge of Undergraduate Students" (2008). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 8547.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/8547
Accessibility Status
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