Both direct and indirect approaches may be beneficial for fostering children’s interest in the natural worldBiology education and environmental education have a shared goal of promoting children’s interest in the natural world. However, these forms of education likely interact with child characteristics and various aspects of life in developing environmental attitudes, empathy for the natural world or even aspirations for a nature-focused career. This study aimed to gain a better understanding of how these relationships work.
Questionnaires completed by 679 children in England served as sources of data. The children were between 7 and 10 years of age and lived in various regions of England. The questionnaire included items about enjoying and being confident in learning, sense of belonging at school, life/learning aspirations, and views about nature. Data analysis focused on associations between various factors including (1) enjoyment and appreciation of nature, (2) empathy and affinity for animals, (3) sense of oneness with and responsibility towards nature, (4) interest in learning about nature, and (5) aspirations towards careers involving nature or animals.
Appreciation of nature and affinities towards animals were the two strongest predictors of children’s interest in learning about nature. Their interest in learning about nature was the strongest predictor of their aspirations towards careers involving nature or animals. Such aspirations were negatively predicted by age, in that older children expressed less interest than younger children. Other predictors of children’s aspirations towards careers involving nature or animals were reading books about nature and parental encouragement to spend time outdoors in nature. Other predictors of children’s interest in learning about nature include spending time outdoors, watching nature-related media, and experiencing confidence and enjoyment in their schoolwork.
Children generally reported positive views concerning nature and their learning. There were some gender differences, with girls reporting more frequent reading of books about nature/ wildlife, more confidence/enjoyment in learning, and a greater sense of belonging in school. Girls also reported more enjoyment/appreciation of nature, empathy/affinity for animals, oneness/responsibility for nature, and interest in learning about nature. Children whose parents/guardians had gone to university (versus those who had not) generally had more frequent reading of books about nature/wildlife, parental encouragement to spend time outdoors in nature, positive views for confidence/enjoyment in learning, aspirations in life/learning, belonging in school, and empathy/affinity for animals. They also tended to live closer to nature. The differences between children whose parents/guardians had gone to university and those who had not were small but raise the concern about inequality.
This study also found that children's views about nature may be linked to aspects of life that are not related to nature. Children's confidence and enjoyment in learning, aspirations for life and learning and sense of belonging in their school also predicted higher interest in learning, independent of their views of nature. This suggests that supporting things like children's confidence in school might open them up for exploration of interests in nature.
The overall results of this research suggest that “there may be many ways to promote and foster children's views, but different aspects of life may be more or less relevant for different outcomes.” This research also suggests that diverse and multiple approaches may be beneficial for fostering children’s interest in the natural world. Finally the authors encourage future studies that employ more specific definitions – such as enjoyment of nature or affinity for animals – rather than combining them in a general construct of "connection to nature."
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