A stratified random sample of children from elementary schools across North Carolina was selected to participate in a study focusing on children's priorities regarding species protection. The rationale for this study included the fact that children's perspectives are conspicuously absent in previous research on the public's preferences regarding the protection of species.
Data were collected by way of surveys administered to 3rd and 5th grade students during classroom visits. The first part of the survey asked students to rank the importance of five species attributes that could determine how resources would be allocated for conservation. The five species attributes presented to the students were (1) wild animals whose numbers are declining rapidly (2) wild animals that are important in nature, (3) wild animals that live nowhere else but North Carolina (endemic species), (4) wild animals that people like to watch, and (5) wild animals that people like to eat. Other parts of the survey asked students to allocate money to species with each attribute and to choose between each species attribute and endemism in terms of importance for conservation.
While there were some differences in how the 3rd graders and 5th graders responded to the questions on the survey, overall they prioritized species that are important in nature and those whose numbers are declining over species with other attributes. The 5th grade students allocated more money to species with declining numbers than did the 3rd graders, while the 3rd graders allocated more money to endemic species than did the 5th graders. According to the researchers, the differences between the 3rd graders and 5th graders could indicate that more years of schooling may result in increased knowledge about the environment and a better understanding of how organisms are interconnected.
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