Understanding Taiwanese adolescents’ connections with nature: rethinking conventional definitions and scales for environmental education

Tseng, Yu Chi; Wang, Shun Mei

doi:10.1080/13504622.2019.1668354

Cited by 26 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Through photovoice, ‘talking circles’ and interviews, Indigenous youth in Canadian cities revealed that they found calm, hope and metaphors of resilience in urban nature (Hatala, Njeze, Morton, Pearl, & Bird‐Naytowhow, 2020). When teens in Taiwan were interviewed about ‘their most connected moments in nature’, their most memorable teen experiences often involved deep sensory immersion in wild environments far from urban areas, where they experienced the thrill of achievement during challenging activities like hiking and stream‐tracking, awe and excitement at nature's beauty and calm and relaxation (Tseng & Wang, 2020).…”

Section: Developing Connections With Nature: Qualitative Descriptionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Childhood nature connection and constructive hope: A review of research on connecting with nature and coping with environmental loss

2020

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Within a generation, children's lives have largely moved indoors, with the loss of free‐ranging exploration of the nearby natural world, even as research indicates that direct experiences of nature in childhood contribute to care for nature across the life span. In response, many conservation organizations advocate connecting children with nature, and there has been rising interest in measuring young people's connectedness with nature, understanding how it relates to their well‐being and stewardship behaviour and creating programs to increase connection. This article reviews the literature on these topics, covering both quantitative and qualitative studies. It notes that this research emphasizes positive experiences and emotions, even as global environmental changes and biodiversity loss accelerate. Young people's emotions of worry, frustration and sadness as they learn about environmental degradation also express their understanding that they are connected to the biosphere. Therefore this review includes research on how young people cope with information about large‐scale environmental problems, and it identifies practices to sustain hope. The review concludes by suggesting how research on connection with nature and coping with environmental change can benefit from integration. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

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Section: Developing Connections With Nature: Qualitative Descriptionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Childhood nature connection and constructive hope: A review of research on connecting with nature and coping with environmental loss

2020

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“…Training can be crafted so that trainees are able to find and discuss the consequence of decreasing environmental conditions and policies that the government has set. So, this training will increase the participation of participants in environmental issues and cause environmentally concerning behavior (Ahi, Balci and Alisinanoğlu, 2017;Tseng and Wang, 2020;Wang et al, 2021). Increasing the effect of training to become more concerned about the environment is utilizing communication delivery in good training and information technology.…”

Section: B Environmental Care and Trainingmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Enviromental Knowledge and Training Environmental Care Attitudes

Amruloh¹,

Yulianto²

2022

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“…Socio-demographics, such as gender, ethnicity and economic status, generally can't be changed. I have demonstrated that it may be more fruitful to focus interventions on strengthening children's connection to nature -a malleable trait (Tseng & Wang, 2019), with a stronger relationship to behaviour.…”

Section: Socio-demographics and Pebmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In adults, connection to nature is stable over time and resistant to change (Kaiser et al 2014). It is therefore, all the more important to implement nature-based interventions in childhood, a time when connection to nature is still being formed and is more dynamic (Tseng & Wang, 2019).…”

Section: Interventions To Promote Pebmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It would be remarkable if short-term interventions involving a single half-day event, such as those investigated in this research, could have a measurably positive impact on children's connection to nature. Although connection to nature is thought to be malleable in children (Chawla, 2007;Tseng & Wang, 2019;Wells & Lekies, 2006), repeated and long-term exposures may be required to achieve sustained improvements (Schultz & Tabanico, 2007;Stern et al, 2008). Nonetheless, some studies have observed increases in children's and teenagers' connection to nature after short-term interventions (Kossack & Bogner, 2012;Liefländer et al, 2013;Sellmann & Bogner, 2013).…”

Section: Environmental Education and Children's Connection To Naturementioning

confidence: 99%

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Children’s environmental psychology, behaviour and education and wellbeing: The role of connection to nature

Whitburn¹

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<p>A personal relationship with nature, which develops in childhood, is associated with wellbeing benefits and greater engagement in pro-environmental behaviour (PEB) in adulthood. This thesis investigates the relationships between children’s connection to nature and their psychological wellbeing and engagement in PEB. It also tests whether nature-based environmental education can promote children’s connection to nature and engagement in PEB. The first study is a meta-analysis of the relationship between connection to nature and PEB. This meta-analysis demonstrated a significant positive, moderately-sized association between connection to nature and PEB. Standard tests indicated little effect of publication bias. Univariate categorical analyses showed that the scales used to measure connection to nature and PEB were significant moderators of the relationship and explained the majority of the between-study variance. The geographic location of a study, age of participants and the percentage of females in a study were not moderators. I then conducted a longitudinal quasi-experiment (with control groups) with children aged 7-13 years from schools who attended environmental education programmes in Wellington City, New Zealand (N = 324). Data was collected via a self-administered questionnaire and a gifting experiment immediately before and four weeks after environmental education interventions. Structural equation modelling, followed by Information Theoretic model selection and inference was used to test theoretical models that explained how children’s connection to nature, and other variables of interest, were associated with their wellbeing (vitality and life satisfaction) or their engagement in PEB. Mixed-design ANOVAs tested whether environmental education influenced children’s connection to nature, PEB and wellbeing. Structural equation models revealed that children’s connection to nature had a direct, positive association with their vitality, but not their life satisfaction. The children’s use of nature for psychological restoration had a direct, positive association with their vitality and their life satisfaction. The model explained 28% of the variance in vitality and 5% of the variance in life satisfaction. Models that contained socio-demographic variables were not well supported. Connection to nature had a direct, positive relationship with PEB. Connection to nature mediated the relationship of environmental attitude and the use of nature for psychological restoration with engagement in PEB. Knowledge was not significantly related to PEB. This model explained 71% of the variance of children’s PEB. Models that contained socio-demographic variables were not well supported. Connection to nature had the strongest association with PEB of the variables tested. Environmental education had no overall significant effect on children’s connection to nature, environmental attitudes, use of nature for psychological restoration, vitality or life satisfaction. However, the effect of environmental education on children’s connection to nature depended on their baseline level of connection to nature. Connection to nature increased after environmental education field-trips only in children with a relatively high baseline connection to nature. There was an increase in children’s PEB, species’ knowledge and financial support for conservation compared with children in the control group. There are some limitations in this research. While the structural equation models imply directionality, they demonstrate correlational relationships between the variables. In addition, the survey data is collected by self-reports which can over-estimate associations between variables. A social desirability response bias, may also limit this research. This research demonstrates the central importance of connection to nature for children’s psychological wellbeing and PEB. This thesis advances previous work by (i) providing a quantitative summary of the existing research to show there is a moderately-sized, positive association between individuals’ connection to nature and their engagement in PEB, (ii) advancing theory by demonstrating that children’s affective connection to nature is positively associated with greater psychological wellbeing and greater engagement in PEB and (iii) demonstrating empirically that while environmental education did not promote affective connection to nature in most children, it did increase their support for conservation and engagement in daily PEBs and their species’ knowledge. Promoting connection to nature has implications for motivating PEB and increasing wellbeing. Environmental education can influence knowledge and beliefs, but may not consistently promote affective connection to nature. Environmental education could incorporate experiences that stimulate children’s affective faculties to promote connection to nature.</p>

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Understanding Taiwanese adolescents’ connections with nature: rethinking conventional definitions and scales for environmental education

Cited by 26 publications

References 27 publications

Childhood nature connection and constructive hope: A review of research on connecting with nature and coping with environmental loss

Childhood nature connection and constructive hope: A review of research on connecting with nature and coping with environmental loss

The Impact of Enviromental Knowledge and Training Environmental Care Attitudes

Children’s environmental psychology, behaviour and education and wellbeing: The role of connection to nature

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