Education as a driver of change in U.S. forests and the forest sector

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2020

Department

College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine education as a driver of change in U.S. forests and the forest sector over the next two decades. Likely outcomes in general education include: (1) greater emphasis on the production of information products and services associated with a knowledge-creation society; (2) more emphasis on nondiscipline-specific or generic and transferable competencies; (3) increase in the importance of information and communication technologies in the development of knowledge-creation skills and competencies; (4) greater attention paid to the environment in which students learn, with an overall emphasis on engagement, and in particular on the relationship between instruction and student outcomes; and (5) expansion of virtual, informal lifelong learning made possible by an infrastructure of digital networks complementing the instructor-mediated learning approaches. Expectations from natural resources education include: (1) better integration of the ecological, social, and economic dimensions of sustainability and their application through policy, planning, and management; (2) stronger emphasis on field-based youth education about natural resources and forest ecosystems in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education; (3) transition in higher education from classical teaching methods to learning-centered methods; (4) increase in distance learning to serve nontraditional students and practicing professionals on a global scale; (5) replacement of many of the specialized degrees at the bachelor’s level, such as forestry and wildlife management, with a rigorous interdisciplinary degree in natural resources or ecosystem management and specialization at the master’s level; (6) increased emphasis on 2-year associate’s degrees with technical skills aligned with employer needs; (7) increased educational opportunities for practicing professionals designed to meet their needs at various stages in their careers; (8) a growing need for increasing scientific and natural resources literacy in the public and with decision makers; and (9) increase in gender and racial or ethnic diversity.

Publication Title

Drivers of change in U.S. forests and forestry over the next 20 years. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-197.

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