Reports of ecological disturbances - wildfires, loss of biodiversity, drought, contaminated drinking water, extreme temperatures - fill the news. People have to navigate and manage these challenges. To do so effectively, requires that people are environmentally literate (EL), demonstrating an understanding of the problems, so they are motivated to take action. The problem in the United States is that the levels of EL are estimated to be relatively low, despite concerted efforts, since the 1960's, to promote environmental education in both formal (e.g., school) and informal (after-school, community-based) settings. K-12 schools are one important place to examine EL. One intervention strategy to examine EL is through the focus on place-based education (PBE).This dissertation focuses on the experiences of secondary science teachers and their connection to natural and social places as a mediating influence on their instructional choices and professional decisions to remain in education. The research was initially designed using a social ecological systems (SES) frame but ultimately the analysis was framed around social cognitive theory (SCT). SES views humans as a part of - not separate from - natural systems. SCT describes how a person's behavior is shaped by their personal (i.e. knowledge, attitudes, and expectations) and environmental (social and natural environment) attributes. Paper 1 examines northern Colorado middle school teachers' implementation of locally developed place-based education (PBE) curriculum. The curriculum was designed with the intention of promoting students' environmentally positive behaviors. Camera traps were placed near schools and teachers (n = 12) were provided with photographic data of urban wildlife to use during ecology lessons. Through our grounded theory study, we found that teachers who perceived a curricular alignment and drew on curricular agency were willing to adopt and adapt the lessons for their classrooms. Those who did not implement the lessons either lacked curricular agency or perceived a misalignment of the PBE lessons and their school context. Paper 2 examines the factors keeping highly qualified science teachers in rural schools in northeastern Colorado. The U.S. is experiencing a critical shortage of science teachers, particularly in rural communities, in part as a result of teachers having to navigate multiple expectations and few resources. Teachers respond professionally by either staying, moving within, or leaving the rural school system. Their choices have economic and organizational implications for schools because schools lose institutional knowledge and financial resources as they recruit and train new teachers. This case study of rural science teachers (n =9) was informed by both systems theory and integrated capital theory and was designed to identify what factors affect teachers' decisions to remain or leave the rural classroom. My deductive analysis of interviews used an adaptive capacity lens to describe vulnerabilities, adaptations, and resilience that teachers felt they faced in the education system. When rural teachers were able to navigate both professional and social vulnerabilities by capitalizing on places, people, and community knowledge, they were able to build professional resilience and remain in the rural school system. Paper 3 was designed in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Within the science teacher education research community, there was a mounting concern that the pandemic would exacerbate the already concerning issue of science and mathematics teacher shortages. As the pandemic began to disrupt school systems in March 2020, teachers were expected to, on very short notice, modify their instructional approaches. We recruited science, technology, engineering, and mathematics teachers who were supported with National Science Foundation scholarships because of their high-quality academic record and commitment to working in high-needs school districts. Participants graduated from universities or colleges in the Mountain West or western region of the Midwest. Their professional experience ranged from 1-10 years. Through a series of three surveys (n = 153) administered throughout 2020 and follow-up focus group interviews (n=42) in early 2021, I examined the perceptions and beliefs of teachers about o the education system response to COVID-19. I found teachers perceived the system as being most concerned about continuing instructional delivery. The needs of teachers to continue functioning in the classroom was a low priority. Additionally, most teachers believed the actions taken by schools to be negative or neutral. Teachers were categorized by years of experience (preservice 0, novice 1-3, early career 4-5, and master 6+) to compare their perceptions of success and intentions to continue teaching. Prior to the pandemic perceptions of level success increased with years of experience, but during the pandemic all categories of teachers reported decreased success. The loss of feeling successful particularly among early career and master teachers equated to a loss of support for preservice and novice from those with experience. In spite of teachers' negative beliefs about the school response and perceived low levels of success, teachers intended to remain in the classroom short-term. Their intentions to remain long term decreased. Teachers described both internal (personal) and external (environmental) variables influencing their intentions. This study confirms teachers' fortitude to remain and thrive in the classroom while also demonstrating limits to their persistence. While this dissertation began with the intent to examine teachers' inclusion of place in their respective curricula, the findings highlighted the importance of teacher agency. When teachers have the agency to act based on past experiences to shape current and future work in the classroom, they are then able to connect to local people and places. These connections are critical components to increasing both student and teacher EL and motivating them to take pro-environmental actions. Furthermore, teachers' agency is shaped by their perceptions of the capital or resources within systems to which they have access. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]