Age and academic level may predict children's connectedness to nature and the success of environmental education in enhancing connectednessThe primary purpose of this German study was to investigate whether environmental education (EE) influences children's connectedness to nature. The secondary purpose of the study was to explore the extent to which children's level of connectedness to nature varied based on age and academic achievement.
Connectedness to nature was measured with the Inclusion of Nature and Self (INS) scale, which assesses the cognitive dimension of connecting with nature (the degree to which an individual has “a cognitive representation of self that overlaps extensively with his or her cognitive representation of nature”). The article reports on two sub-studies using the scale, the first establishing differences in connectedness with nature based on age and academic success and the second investigating whether EE can promote and sustain connectedness with nature.
In study 1, convenience samples of fourth graders (n = 154), and sixth graders (n = 150) from a Bavarian school system were recruited to participate. The sixth graders were divided in half based on their track in school – general education track vs. university-track. In study 2, 135 fourth graders and 55 sixth graders (from the general education track only) were assigned to a treatment group that participated in a four-day comprehensive EE program emphasizing direct contact with nature. A control group consisted of 74 (39 younger and 35 older) students that did not attend the EE program.
In study 1, significant differences were found between the younger sample and the older sample and, within the older sample, between university track and general education track students. Younger students appeared to be more connected to nature than older students and university track students were more connected than general education students. In study 2, both age groups who participated in EE experienced increases in connectedness to nature when compared to those who did not participate, as measured immediately after the intervention. Younger students showed greater connectedness as a result of EE than older students, and this enhanced connectedness was sustained four weeks later.
Based on the findings, the authors suggest that connectedness to nature can be influenced most prior to age 11 and consequently educators should focus on this age group. This study’s findings related to age differences are consistent with prior literature.
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