Dr. Danielle Lawson

Danielle Lawson is an Assistant Professor of Education (SCIED) for the College of Education at Penn State. Dr. Lawson is an applied social scientist that aims to empower all members of future and current generations to tackle complex issues associated with environmental health and well-being. Danielle’s professional experiences as an educator in both classroom and outdoor environments, combined with her personal experiences growing up in a Latinx household, led her to ask how can learning in and about the natural world be done in a way that 1) promotes environmental stewardship, 2) encourages civic engagement, 3) respects the views of members of multiple cultures, communities, and generations, and 4) promotes health and well-being? Danielle focuses on the interrelated thematic areas of environmental education, intergenerational learning, social justice, and health to answer these questions.

As Danielle’s work is transdisciplinary in nature, she is jointly appointed between the Departments of Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Management and Curriculum and Instruction. Her work has focused on various topics and in various areas across the globe (e.g., climate change in coastal North Carolina, and cacao-based agroforestry in Belize).

Before coming to Penn State, Danielle spent time as USDA-NIFA Postdoctoral Scholar at NC State University researching how intergenerational learning can increase climate change concerns of NC’s agricultural communities.

To learn more about Dr. Lawson's current work or the bright group of scholars-in-training she regularly works with, you can check out her Nature Connections Lab website.

Selected Publications:
Ennes, M., Lawson, D., Stevenson, K. T., Peterson, M. N., & Jones, G. et al. (2021). It's about time: Perceived barriers to in-service teacher climate change professional development. Journal of Environmental Education. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2021.1909708

Jackson, S. B., Stevenson, K. T., Peterson, M. N., Lawson, D., Olson, R., & Joseph, E. G. (2021). Lasting conservation and science-related outcomes associated with science education, environmental education, and outdoor science education. Children, Youth, and Environments, 31(1), 30. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7721/chilyoutenvi.31.1.0116

Lawson, D., Stevenson, K. T., Peterson, M. N., Carrier, S. J., Strnad, R., & Seekamp, E. (2019). Children can foster climate change concerns among their parents. Nature Climate Change, 9(June 2019), 458 - 462. DOI: 10.1038/s41558-019-0463-3

Lawson, D. F., Stevenson, K. T., Peterson, M. N., Carrier, S. J., Seekamp, E., & Strnad, R., et al. (2019). Evaluating climate change behaviors and concern in the family context. Environmental Education Research, 25(5), 678 - 690. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2018.1564248