Scholarly journals are not passive receptors of scientific information. On the contrary, they, within the process of filtrating the kind of research that will finally been published, contextualize a scientific field. In the present review I examine the Environmental Education related articles published in science education journals between the years 2000 and 2014. It turned to be that EE-related research published in science education journals is characterized by an emphasis on the development and study of inquiry-oriented educational settings in both indoor and outdoor learning environments, as well as a preference for studies on biodiversity and increasingly on climate change, while research questions cover a wide range of topics (although not in equal terms) extended from the study of conceptual understanding and psychological characteristics to the development of cognitive skills and the elaboration of community oriented actions. Methodological approaches are characterized by flexibility, while an important amount of EE-related research is produced in science departments. A lack of research on early childhood as well as on adult education and a need on greater emphasis on learning for empowerment and active participation are the most important weakness of the literature under review.                       

Aighewi, T. A., & Osaigbovo, U. A. (2010). Students’ perspectives on worldwide “greening” of tertiary education curricula. Research in Science Education, 40, 625–637.

Ardoin, N. M., Clark, C., & Kelsey, E. (2012). An exploration of future trends in environmental education research. Environmental Education Research, 19, 499-520.

Baytak, A. (2011). Towards effective instructions in environmental education: A critical review of literature. European Journal of Physics Education, 2 (1), 28-37.

Boyer, L., & Roth, W-M. (2006). Learning and teaching as emergent features of informal settings: An ethnographic study in an environmental action group. Science Education, 90, 1028– 1049.

Boyes, E., Skamp, K., & Stanisstreet, M. (2009). Australian secondary students’ views about global warming: beliefs about actions, and willingness to act. Research in Science Education, 39, 661–680.

Brossard, D., Lewenstein, B., & Bonney, R. (2005). Scientific knowledge and attitude change: The impact of a citizen science project. International Journal of Science Education, 27, 1099-1121

Colucci-Gray, L., Camino, E., Barbiero, G., & Gray, D. (2006). “From scientific literacy to sustainability literacy: An ecological framework for education. Science Education, 90, 227– 252.

Corbett, J. (2006). Communicating Nature, How We Create and Understand Environmental Messages. Washington, DC: Island Press.

Dillon, J. & Scott, W. (2002). Perspectives on environmental education-related research in science education. International Journal of Science Education, 24, 1111-1117.

Dillon, J, Rickinson, M, Teamey, K, Morris, M, Choi, MY, Sanders, D & Benefield, P (2006). The value of outdoor learning: Evidence from research in the UK and elsewhere. School Science Review, 87, pp. 107 - 111.

Dove, J. (2011). Rainforest depiction in children’s resources. Journal of Biological Education, 45, 208-212.

Erdogan , M., Marcinkowski, T. & Ahmet O. (2009) Content analysis of selected features of K‐8 environmental education research studies in Turkey, 1997–2007, Environmental Education Research, 15, 525-548.

Erdogan, M., Uşak , M. & Bahar, M. (2013). A review of research on environmental education in non-traditional settings in Turkey, 2000 and 2011, International Journal of Environmental & Science Education, 8, 37-57.

Ergazaki, M., & Andriotou, E. (2010). From “forest fires” and “hunting” to disturbing “habitats” and “food chains”: Do young children come up with any ecological interpretations of human interventions within a forest? Research in Science Education, 40, 187–201.

Evagorou, M. Jimenez-Aleixandre, M.P., & Osborne, J. (2012). Should we kill the grey squirrels? a study exploring students’ justifications and decision-making. International Journal of Science Education, 34, 401-428.

Fernandez-Manzanal, R., Rodriguez-Barreiro, L., & Carrasquer, J. (2007). Evaluation of environmental attitudes: Analysis and results of a scale applied to university students. Science Education, 91, 988 – 1009.

Fonseca, M. J., Franco, N. H., Brosseron, F., Tavares, F., Olsson, A. S. I., & Borlido-Santos, J. (2011). Children’s attitudes towards animals: Evidence from the RODENTIA Project. Journal of Biological Education, 45, 121-128.

Gardner, G., & Jones, G. (2011). Perceptions and practices: Biology graduate teaching assistants’ framing of a controversial socioscientific issue. International Journal of Science Education, 33, 1031-1054.

Gebbels, S., Evans, S. M., & Delany, J. E. (2011). Promoting environmental citizenship and corporate social responsibility through a school/industry/university partnership. Journal of Biological Education, 45, 13-19.

Gough, A. (2013). The emergence of environmental education research: A "history" of the field. In: Stevenson, B., Brody, M., Dillon, J. and Wals, A.E.J. (Eds.) International Handbook of Environmental Education Research. London: Routledge, 13-22.

Grace, M., & Ratcliffe, M. (2002). The science and values that young people draw upon to make decisions about biological conservation issues. International Journal of Science Education, 24, 1157-1169.

Hansmann, R. (2009). Linking the components of a university program to the qualification profile of graduates: The case of a Sustainability-Oriented Environmental Science Curriculum. Journal of Research in Science Teaching 46, 537–569.

Hansen, P. (2010). Knowledge about the greenhouse effect and the effects of the ozone layer among Norwegian pupils finishing compulsory education in 1989, 1993, and 2005—what now? International Journal of Science Education, 32, 397-419.

Hwang, S. (2011). Narrative inquiry for science education: teachers’ repertoire‐making in the case of environmental curriculum. International Journal of Science Education, 33, 797-816.

Jimenez-Aleixandre, M.P. (2002). Knowledge producers or knowledge consumers? argumentation and decision making about environmental management. International Journal of Science Education, 24, 1171-1190.

Jurin, R.R., & Fortner, R.W. (2002). Symbolic beliefs as barriers to responsible environmental behavior. Environmental Education Research, 8, 375-397.

Kaya, O. N. (2009). The nature of relationships among the components of pedagogical content knowledge of preservice science teachers: ‘Ozone layer depletion’ as an example. International Journal of Science Education, 31(7): 961-988.

Kenis, A., & Mathijs, E. (2012). Beyond individual behaviour change: The role of power, knowledge and strategy in tackling climate change. Environmental Education Research, 18, 45-65.

Kolsto, S. D. (2001). To trust or not to trust’: pupils' ways of judging information encountered in a socio-scientific issue. International Journal of Science Education, 23, 877-901.

Kolsto, S. D. (2006). Patterns in students’ argumentation confronted with a risk‐focused socio‐scientific issue. International Journal of Science Education, 28, 1689-1716

Korfiatis, K., Stamou, A. G., & Paraskevopoulos, S. (2004). Images of nature in Greek primary school textbooks. Science Education, 88, 72–89.

Kukkonen, J., Kärkkäinen, S., Dillon, P. & Keinonen T. (2014) The effects of scaffolded simulation-based inquiry learning on fifth-graders' representations of the greenhouse effect. International Journal of Science Education, 36, 406-424.

Kyburz-Graber, R. (2013). Socioecological approaches to environmental education and research: A paradigmatic response to behavioral change orientations. In: Stevenson, B., Brody, M., Dillon, J. and Wals, A.E.J. (Eds.) International Handbook of Environmental Education Research. London: Routledge, 23-32.

Lee, Y. C., & Grace, M.  (2010). Students' reasoning processes in making decisions about an authentic, local socio-scientific issue: Bat conservation. Journal of Biological Education, 44, 156-165.

Lester, B. T., Ma, L., Lee, O., & Lambert, J. (2006). Social activism in elementary science education: a science, technology, and society approach to teach global warming. International Journal of Science Education, 28, 315-339.

Lindemann-Matthies, P., Constantinou, C., Lehnert, H-J., Nagel, U., Raper, G., & Kadji-Beltran, C. (2011). Confidence and perceived competence of preservice teachers to implement biodiversity education in primary schools—Four comparative case studies from Europe. International Journal of Science Education 33, 2247-2273.

Magntorn, O., & Helldén, G. (2005). Student‐teachers' ability to read nature: reflections on their own learning in ecology. International Journal of Science Education, 27, 1229-1254.

Malandrakis, G. (2006). Learning pathways in environmental science education: The case of hazardous household items. International Journal of Science Education, 28, 1627-1645.

Marcinkowski, T. J. (2009). Contemporary challenges and opportunities in environmental education: Where are we headed and what deserves our attention? The Journal of Environmental Education, 41, 34-54.

Mohan, L., Chen, J., & Anderson, C. W. (2009). Developing a multi-year learning progression for carbon cycling in socio-ecological systems. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 46, 675–698.

Mueler, M., & Benetley, M. L.  (2007). Beyond the “Decorated Landscapes” of educational reform: Toward landscapes of pluralism in science education. Science Education, 91, 321 – 338.

NAAEE (2010). Early childhood environmental education programs: Guidelines for excellence. NAAEE Publications, Washington, USA.

O'Byrne, B. (2009). Knowing more than words can say: Using multimodal assessment tools to excavate and construct knowledge about wolves. International Journal of Science Education, 31, 523-539.

Österlind, K. (2005). Concept formation in environmental education: 14‐year olds’ work on the intensified greenhouse effect and the depletion of the ozone layer. International Journal of Science Education, 27, 891-908.

Peuw Boeve‐de, J., & Van Petegem, P. (2011). The effect of Flemish eco‐schools on student environmental knowledge, attitudes, and affect. International Journal of Science Education, 33, 1513-1538.

Pouliot, C. (2008). Students’ inventory of social actors concerned by the controversy surrounding cellular telephones: A case study. Science Education, 92, 543 – 559.

Prokop, P., Tolarovičová, A., Camerik, A. M., & Peterková, V. (2010). High school students’ attitudes towards spiders: A cross‐cultural comparison. International Journal of Science Education, 32, 1665-1688.

Robottom, I. (2012). Socio-scientific issues in education: Innovative practices and contending epistemologies. Research in Science Education, 42, 95–107.

Rickinson, M. 2001. Special issue: Learners and learning in environmental education: A critical review of the evidence. Environmental Education Research, 7, 208–320.

Rudsberg, K., & Öhman, J. (2010). Pluralism in practice – experiences from Swedish evaluation, school development and research. Environmental Education Research, 16, 95-111.

Ruiz‐Mallen, I., Barraza, L., Bodenhorn, B., Ceja‐Adame, M., & Reyes‐García, V. (2010). Contextualising learning through the participatory construction of an environmental education programme. International Journal of Science Education, 32, 1755-1770.

Sadler, T. D., Chambers, F. W., & Zeidler, D. L. (2004). Student conceptualizations of the nature of science in response to a socioscientific issue. International Journal of Science Education, 26, 387-409.

Schafner, A. C. (1994). The future of scientific journals: Lessons from the past.” Information Technology and Libraries, 13, 239-47.

Scott, W. (2009). “Environmental education research: 30 years on from Tbilisi. Environmental Education Research, 15, 155-164.

Seethaler, S., & Linn, M.  (2004). Genetically modified food in perspective: An inquiry‐based curriculum to help middle school students make sense of tradeoffs. International Journal of Science Education, 26, 1765-1785.

Semken, S., & Butler Freeman, C. (2008). Sense of place in the practice and assessment of place-based science teaching. Science Education, 92, 1042 – 1057.

Simonneaux, L. (2001). Role-play or debate to promote students' argumentation and justification on an issue in animal transgenesis. International Journal of Science Education, 23, 903-927.

Simonneaux, L. (2002). Analysis of classroom debating strategies in the field of biotechnology. Journal of Biological Education, 37, 9-12.

Sözbilir, M. & Kutu, H. (2008). Development and current status of science education research in Turkey. Essays in Education, Special Issue, 1-22.

Sternäng, Li, & Lundholm, C. (2011). Climate change and morality: Students' perspectives on the individual and society. International Journal of Science Education, 33, 1131-1148.

Sukhontapatipak, C., & Srikosamatara, V (2012). The Role of field exercises in ecological learning and values education: Action research on the use of campus wetlands. Journal of Biological Education, 46, 36-44.

Svihla, V., & Linn, M. C. (2012). A design-based Approach to fostering understanding of global climate change. International Journal of Science Education, 34, 651-676.

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Titscher, S., Meyer, M., Wodak, R. & Vetter, E. (2000). Methods of Text and Discourse Analysis. London: Sage.

Tomlins, C. (1998). Wave of the present: The scholarly journal on the edge of the internet. Journal of Scholarly Publishing, 29, 133-150.

Tsai, C-C., & La Wen, M. (2005). Research and trends in science education from 1998 to 2002: A Content Analysis of Publication in Selected Journals. International Journal of Science Education, 27, 3-14

Van Weelie, D., & Wals, A. (2002). Making biodiversity meaningful through environmental education. International Journal of Science Education, 24, 1143-1156.

Volk, T., & McBeth W. (1997). Environmental literacy in the Unites States: What should be…What is…Getting from here to there. A report funded by the US Environmental Protection Agency and submitted to the Environmental Education and Training Partnership, NAAEE. Washington, DC: US EPA.

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Wals A.E.J. & Dillon, J. (2013). Conventional and emerging learning theories: implications and choices for educational researchers with a planetary consciousness. In: International Handbook of Environmental Education Research. Stevenson, R.B., Brody, M., Dillon, J., Wals, A.E.J. (Eds), London : Routledge. p. 253 - 261.

Wray-Lake, L., Flanagan, C. A., & Osgood, D. W. (2010). Examining trends in adolescent attitudes, beliefs and behaviors across three decades. Environment and Behaviour. 42, 61–85