{"title":"Understanding Austrian middle school students’ connectedness with nature","authors":"Petra Bezeljak, G. Torkar, A. Möller","doi":"10.1080/00958964.2023.2188577","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Fostering pro-environmental behavior to achieve a sustainable society is one goal of Education for Sustainable Development worldwide. Connectedness with nature positively correlates with pro-environmental behavior and therefore needs to be studied in detail. In this mixed-method study, applying the “Inclusion of Nature in Self” (INS)-scale, we investigated 1) how closely preadolescents from urban middle schools (n = 651, 6th grade) are connected with nature, 2) whether the type of school (general or academic track) or 3) the time spent outdoors influences students’ connectedness with nature. We also explored 4) students’ reasons for their specific INS level and 5) how reasons and levels interconnect. Data show that students’ reported nature connectedness differs significantly with school type and that the reasons for feeling connected to nature are diverse. Positive attitudes and emotions toward nature plus time spent outdoors seem to predict high connectedness with nature, indicating the importance of direct nature experiences.","PeriodicalId":47893,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Education","volume":"54 1","pages":"181 - 198"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7000,"publicationDate":"2023-03-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"2","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Environmental Education","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00958964.2023.2188577","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 2
Abstract
Abstract Fostering pro-environmental behavior to achieve a sustainable society is one goal of Education for Sustainable Development worldwide. Connectedness with nature positively correlates with pro-environmental behavior and therefore needs to be studied in detail. In this mixed-method study, applying the “Inclusion of Nature in Self” (INS)-scale, we investigated 1) how closely preadolescents from urban middle schools (n = 651, 6th grade) are connected with nature, 2) whether the type of school (general or academic track) or 3) the time spent outdoors influences students’ connectedness with nature. We also explored 4) students’ reasons for their specific INS level and 5) how reasons and levels interconnect. Data show that students’ reported nature connectedness differs significantly with school type and that the reasons for feeling connected to nature are diverse. Positive attitudes and emotions toward nature plus time spent outdoors seem to predict high connectedness with nature, indicating the importance of direct nature experiences.
期刊介绍:
Any educator in the environmental field will find The Journal of Environmental Education indispensable. Based on recent research in the sciences, social sciences, and humanities, the journal details how best to present environmental issues and how to evaluate programs already in place for primary through university level and adult students. University researchers, park and recreation administrators, and teachers from the United States and abroad provide new analyses of the instruction, theory, methods, and practices of environmental communication and education in peer-reviewed articles. Reviews of the most recent books, textbooks, videos, and other educational materials by experts in the field appear regularly.