Much research exists that looks at environmental sustainability education (ESE) but little research looks at what knowledge young children already have, in part because of the difficulty of gathering such data from young children. Some studies have found that children exposed to nature in home or school settings will begin to develop pro-environmental behaviors. This particular research - investigating the ability of young children to obtain and retain information about the environment - is somewhat unique in how it collects data from children. Interviews are too stiff and unnatural and pure observation is not significant enough, so these researchers combined analysis of focus groups and student drawings. This type of study is important because many teachers avoid ESE, claiming that “learning happens inside” or that young children cannot comprehend deep topics like environmental issues. However, through certain methods, ESE is tangible and accessible to young students and can make a lasting difference for their environmental identities. Additionally, younger children have been shown to be more likely to see the environment as “relational” rather than older children who tend to view it as a stand-alone object.
The researchers gathered data from 44 students (aged 3-9) at 3 schools, all within 20 miles of The College of New Jersey in Ewing, NJ. The study consisted of pre-intervention focus groups, an intervention - a lesson about trees consisting of a book reading and hands-on observations about trees, post-intervention picture drawing, and finally a post-intervention focus group. One school - Bear Forest Elementary School (BF) - is a somewhat ethnically and socioeconomically diverse public school with a preschool program with 15 children in the study. Another school - Little People's Preschool (LP) - is a predominantly white church-based preschool with 15 children in the study that has preschool-aged summer camp. The final school - Joyful Children Child Development Center (JC) - is a private, predominantly white preschool with 14 children in the study that also has a camp-style program during the summer. The researchers chose 3 different types of schools and classroom settings for this to see if EE could be effective in different types of classrooms. All of the students participated in the focus groups and 35 of the students completed drawings.
This study uses a mixed-methods approach in which the researchers coded both the drawings and the focus group transcripts to find recurring themes. The mixed-methods approach is important because of its ability to remove biases from data collection and to avoid limitations that come from single-method studies. Additionally, as mentioned above, mixed-methods are especially useful when the subjects are children. The participating children were aware of this study.
The results of the study show that even one short environmental lesson can effectively teach and be retained by young children. The intervention caused children to consider plants (especially in their drawings) and interactions between any two of plants, animals, humans, nature, the designed world, and nonliving habitat, rather than just standalone pieces of the environment. The intervention also helped to dispel misconceptions – such as “going green” referring to the actual color green or causes of thunderstorms - in many cases. Additionally, analysis of the data supported prior evidence that young children tend to view the environment as relational, not as a separate object. This type of view of the environment is important because it allows people to realize that they play a role in the state of the environment.
The study did not discuss limitations or recommendations. That said, having more participants and more diversity among participants could be beneficial. Collecting data from a wider geographic region could also help, as areas could have collective environmental identities, impacting the results of the study.
The Bottom Line
<p>This research provides further evidence of the importance of teaching EE to young children. Some educators, policy makers, and community members think that environmental topics are too deep and heavy for young children. This study dispels this idea, showing that young children can learn effectively and retain information about the environment. Some children, after the intervention, showed signs of affective change and mentioned positive environmental behaviors. Additionally, the idea that young children see the environment as relational instead of a separate entity (and older children often transform into seeing it as a separate object), indicates the impact that starting EE at a young age could have on developing pro-environmental attitudes. Teachers should not avoid EE, as this research shows that it can be accessible and impactful for young students.</p>
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