Evaluating the effects of environmental knowledge on pre-teen behaviors

Knowledge is often considered a precondition for an individual's behavior. Studies have shown that there is a weak but positive correlation between environmental knowledge and pro-environmental behaviors, though attitudes can also have an impact on how knowledge and behavior interact. In pre-teens, environmental attitudes become nearly established by 12 years old, and studies have found that children this age are concerned about environmental problems. However, the relationship between knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors has been found to be weaker in pre-teens. This study explored four key questions: 1) Does spontaneous behavior reflect environmental knowledge?; 2) Do environmental attitudes mediate the relationship between knowledge and spontaneous behavior?; 3) Do children act more pro-environmentally when they are in an environmental context?; 4) Can placement in an environmental context strengthen the knowledge-behavior relationship?

The study focused on 16 classes of fifth and sixth graders from five elementary schools in Hungary for a total of 325 volunteer participants. Two data collection methods, a questionnaire and a behavioral activity, were utilized. A total of 162 participants completed the questionnaire in the computer lab of their school as a digital survey, while the other 163 participants were given a hard copy of the questionnaire in their homeroom classroom. In the computerized questionnaire group, participants began with the behavioral activity, while the homeroom participants were given the questionnaire first then performed the behavioral activity. The questionnaire consisted of 10 questions measuring knowledge, 12 questions measuring attitudes, and 12 items measuring reported behavior. Questions were selected from the “knowledge”, “affect”, and “actual commitment” subscales of the Children's Environmental Attitude and Knowledge Scale (CHEAKS) method. The operative behavioral activity measured pro-environmental behavior and real-time choices, or spontaneous behaviors, instead of self-reported behaviors. In the activity participants selected materials to use to make paper tulips—participants could choose from recycled (environmentally-friendly), shiny plastic covered (environmentally harmful), or standard copy paper. Researchers conducted a statistical analysis using the data from the questionnaire and activity to address their research questions.

The researchers found that the self-reports of attitudes and behavior were more positive than the results of the knowledge and operative behavior measures. Female participants also had stronger pro-environmental attitudes and were less likely to select the shiny plastic paper, indicating more pro-environmental behaviors. There was a strong positive correlation between attitudes and reported behavior, and both were weakly positively correlated to knowledge. The researchers also observed a connection between the operative measure of behavior and reported behaviors they found that the participants who selected only the shiny plastic paper in the activity reported fewer pro-environmental behaviors. The sociocultural environment (their respective school) was also influential. Students from School 1, which was the largest school in the biggest city and provided students with a strong pro-environmental knowledge base, were more likely to refrain from picking the plastic-coated paper. Students from School 4, located in the smallest town in the study, were more likely to pick the shiny plastic paper.

An analysis was performed to determine how attitudes influence the relationship between knowledge and behavior. The researchers found that knowledge was a significant predictor of attitudes, and the degree of attitudes was a significant predictor of reported behavior. However, with the impact of the mediator (attitude), knowledge was not a significant predictor of behaviors, indicating that attitudes have influence over the relationship between knowledge and behaviors. Spontaneous behaviors were only loosely connected to knowledge.

This study did have some limitations. First, a convenience sample of volunteers was used rather than a random sample. The study only considered five elementary schools in Hungary, which also limits the generalizability to the United States and other countries. The researchers also noted that there are several factors that contribute to knowledge and behavior, so the small number of factors considered was also a limitation. The operative behavior activity used in the methods was also a limitation, since participant aesthetic preferences could influence the type of paper they select.

The results from this study add more knowledge to environmental education's understanding of influences towards pro-environmental behavior in children. The authors note that the field of environmental education should still develop programs that focuses beyond delivering environmental knowledge to children, but they believe these results point towards the influence knowledge (albeit weak) still has on pro-environmental behaviors. Thus, programs should include activities that increase environmental knowledge in their programs.