Students’ Care for Dogs, Environmental Attitudes, and Behaviour

Gregor Torkar, Tina Fabijan and Franz X. Bogner
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Gregor Torkar: Faculty of Education, University of Ljubljana, SL-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Tina Fabijan: Faculty of Education, University of Ljubljana, SL-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Franz X. Bogner: Chair of Biology Education, Centre for Mathematics & Science Education, University of Bayreuth, D-95477 Bayreuth, Germany

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 4, 1-11

Abstract: Does the act of caring for a dog have a substantial connection to the environmental values and behaviours of children? The scientific current literature contains little empirical research regarding the effect of pet ownership on environmental attitudes and behaviours in children. The Two Factor Model of Environmental Values (2-MEV) scale and the General Ecological Behaviour (GEB) scale were applied to measure environmental attitudes/values and ecological behaviours aligned with the Children’s Care for Dogs Questionnaire (CTDQ) to measure individual care for dogs. The subjects were Slovenian adolescents in primary education and lower secondary education. A clear relationship emerged: students that reported a better level of care for their pet dogs tended to engage in more environmentally responsible behaviours. Preservation and utilization attitudes had no significant influence on caring for a dog. Female students tended to report better care for dogs and practiced environmental behaviour more often. Younger students scored higher on the preservation values and practiced environmental behaviour more often. Overall, this study provides an evidence-based framework for educational initiatives that aim to include long-term care for animals. This study proposes a method with which educational programs could achieve the goal of fostering environmental behaviours.

Keywords: caring for dogs; environmental values; environmental behaviours; students; 2-MEV scale (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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