ERIC Number: EJ1173519
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0300-4279
EISSN: N/A
How Young Children Think They Can Act for the Environment: The Case of Forest and Waste
Iliopoulou, Ifigenia
Education 3-13, v46 n3 p249-263 2018
Thirty 6-year-olds from two public schools located in a small provincial town in Greece were used as a sample in an explorative study into the mental models young children hold concerning forest destruction and waste. The study also explored how these mental models might be interrelated either within each issue or between issues. The analysis of data collected in interviews indicates that the mental models held by young children appear to be oriented towards two different trains of thought: one that relates to direct actions for the short-term addressing of problems and one that relates to preventive actions and caring for sustainability. Furthermore, children's own thoughts about their individual contributions to the two environmental problems under study, appear to interrelate with those of collective contributions. More specifically, children seem to share common ideas on the environmental issues discussed as they voiced the opinion, 'I can help if I do something that addresses the issue'. Implications for education are also discussed in this paper.
Descriptors: Public Schools, Young Children, Natural Resources, Forestry, Foreign Countries, Ecology, Conservation (Environment), Sustainability, Student Attitudes, Visualization, Kindergarten, Social Responsibility, Workshops, Freehand Drawing, Interviews, Qualitative Research, Statistical Analysis
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Kindergarten
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Greece
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A