ERIC Number: EJ1283568
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 22
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1350-4622
EISSN: N/A
Connectedness Is in My Character: The Relationship between Nature Relatedness and Character Strengths
Environmental Education Research, v26 n12 p1707-1728 2020
Fostering interdependence with nature is a central goal of environmental education. Exposing students to nature has been a common practice in environmental education for nurturing this connection among students. However, this exposition is not always feasible, especially in the context of higher education, nor is it clear that exposure to nature engenders nature connectedness equally among students. Thus, there are calls for a greater understanding of the psychological factors that may impinge on greater nature relatedness so to identify complementary educational routes for nurturing this interdependent construal. Responding to these calls, in a sample of 967 students, we examine whether character strengths covariate with nature relatedness and which character strengths better differentiate between high and low levels of nature relatedness. Our results show that intellectual character strengths (i.e. appreciation of beauty, love of learning, and curiosity) are strongly associated with nature relatedness. Moreover, our findings show that appreciation of beauty is the strongest covariate of nature relatedness. These findings have theoretical and practical implications for environmental education.
Descriptors: Environmental Education, Personality Traits, Teaching Methods, Environment, Correlation, Higher Education, Psychological Patterns, Aesthetics, Intellectual Development, Student Attitudes, Values Education, Foreign Countries, Values, Measures (Individuals), College Students
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Spain
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A