The Effect of a Nature-Based Environmental Education Program on Children’s Environmental Attitudes and Behaviors: A Randomized Experiment with Primary Schools

Silvia Collado, Claudio D. Rosa and José A. Corraliza
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Silvia Collado: Department of Psychology and Sociology, Universidad de Zaragoza, 44003 Zaragoza, Spain
Claudio D. Rosa: Department of Development and Environment, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilhéus 45658-630, Brazil
José A. Corraliza: Department of Social Psychology and Methodology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 17, 1-12

Abstract: The evidence about the effects of nature-based instruction on pro-environmentalism is uncompelling, mainly due to a lack of controlled experiments. This hinders causal claims and the provision of intervention guidelines. We present an experiment examining the impact of a nature-based environmental education (NBEE) program included in the school curriculum on children’s environmental attitudes (EA) and behaviors (EB). Children who followed the program through traditional instruction were used as a control group. Seven Spanish primary schools participated in the program and school classes were randomly assigned to the NBEE program (experimental group, N = 516) or the environmental education (EE) through traditional instruction (control group, N = 218). Our results indicate that children’s EA increased more in the NBEE group than in the control group. On average, EB remained virtually the same in both groups of children across time. In light of our findings, we encourage the promotion of a nature-based pedagogy in formal education to enhance children’s environmental attitudes.

Keywords: pro-environmentalism; contact with nature; experiences in nature; new ecological paradigm; pro-environmental behavior (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 complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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