Understanding Primary School Students’ Beliefs Regarding the Adoption of Pro-Environmental Behaviors

Authors: Astrid de Leeuw, Pierre Valois

Abstract:

Environmental education is the key to enhancing or changing students’ ways of thinking and acting in order to create an environmentally robust future for all. The present study investigates the beliefs of 812 primary school students, which merit consideration when developing educational interventions. Results of multiple regression analyses reveal that educational interventions should focus on promoting students’ feelings of control over pro-environmental behaviors (PEB). For example, schools could provide recycling bins on the premises. Furthermore, it is critical to develop positive attitudes in students by stressing the various benefits of PEB for keeping our planet clean and protecting wildlife. Unfortunately, our results indicate that students believe that PEB is boring and annoying. Suggestions are offered for making PEB more interesting and relevant. Further research is needed to test the effectiveness of interventions based on the present results.

Keywords: Pro-environmental behaviors, primary school students, theory of planned behavior, beliefs, educational interventions.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1092548

References:

[1] de Haan, G., Bormann, I., & Leicht, A. (2010). Introduction: The midway point of the UN Decade for Education for Sustainable Development. Current research and practice in ESD, 56, 199-206.
[2] Midden, C. J. H., Kaiser, F., & McCalley, T. (2007). Technology's Four Roles in Understanding Individuals' Conservation of Natural Resources. Journal of Social Issues, 63, 155-174.
[3] Steg, L., & Vlek, C. (2009). Encouraging pro-environmental behaviour: An integrative review and research agenda. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 29, 309-317.
[4] Sterling, S. (2009). Sustainable education: Re-visioning learning and change. Bristol: Green Books.
[5] Ajzen, I., Joyce, N., Sheikh, S., & Gilbert Cote, N. (2011). Knowledge and the prediction of behavior: The role of information accuracy in the theory of planned behavior. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 33, 101-117. doi:10.1080/01973533.2011.568834
[6] Sheeran, P., & Taylor, S. (1999). Predicting intentions to use condoms: A meta-analysis and comparison of the theories of reasoned action and planned behavior. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 29, 1624-1675. doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.1999.tb02045.x
[7] Webb, T. L., Sniehotta, F. F., & Michie, S. (2010). Using theories of behaviour change to inform interventions for addictive behaviours. Addiction, 105, 1879-1892.
[8] Ajzen, I. (2005). Attitudes, personality, and behavior (2nd ed.). Milton-Keynes, England: Open University Press/McGraw- Hill.
[9] Ajzen, I. (2012). The theory of planned behavior. In P. A. M. Lange, A. W. Kruglanski, & E. T. Higgins (Eds.), Handbook of theories of social psychology (Vol. 1, pp. 438-459). London, UK: Sage.
[10] Bamberg, S., Ajzen, I., & Schmidt, P. (2003). Choice of travel mode in the theory of planned behavior: The roles of past behavior, habit, and reasoned action. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 25, 175-188. doi:10.1207/S15324834BASP2503_01
[11] De Groot, J. I. M. & Steg, L. (2007). General beliefs and the theory of planned behavior: the role of environmental concerns in the TPB. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 37, 1817-1836.
[12] Kaiser, F. G., &Gutscher, H. (2003). The proposition of a general version of the theory of planned behavior: Predicting ecological behavior. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 33, 586-603. doi: 10.1111/j.1559-1816.2003.tb01914.x
[13] Nigbur, D., Lyons, E., & Uzzel, D. (2010). Attitudes, norms, identity and environmental behaviour to predict participation in a kerbside recycling programme. British Journal of Social Psychology, 49, 259-284. doi: 10.1348/014466609X449395
[14] Bamberg, S., & Möser, G. (2007). Twenty years after Hines, Hungerford, and Tomera: A new meta-analysis of psycho-social determinants of pro-environmental behaviour. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 27, 14-25. doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2006.12.002
[15] Chao, Y. (2012). Predicting people’s environmental behavior: theory of planned behavior and model of responsible environmental behavior. Environmental Education Research, 18, 437-461. doi: 10.1080/13504622.2011.634970
[16] Kaiser, F. G., Hübner, G., & Bogner, F. X. (2005). Contrasting the theory of planned behavior with the value-belief-norm model in explaining conservation behavior. Journal of Applied SocialPsychology, 35, 2150- 2170. doi: 10.1111/j.1559-1816.2005.tb02213.x
[17] Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational and Human Decision Processes, 50, 179-211. doi: 10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-T
[18] Rivis, A., & Sheeran, P. (2003). Descriptive norms as an additional predictor in the theory of planned behaviour: A meta-analysis. Current Psychology, 22, 218-233. doi:10.1007/s12144-003-1018-2
[19] Ajzen, I., & Klobas, J. (2013). Fertility intentions: An approach based on the theory of planned behavior. Demographic Research, 29, 203-232. doi: 10.4054/DemRes.2013.29.8
[20] Ajzen, I., & Manstead, A. S. R. (2007). Changing health-related behaviors: An approach based on the theory of planned behavior. In K. van den Bos, M. Hewstone, J. de Wit, H. Schut & M. Stroebe (Eds.), The scope of social psychology: Theory and applications (pp. 43-63). New York: Psychology Press.
[21] Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (1980). Understanding attitudes and predicting social behavior. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
[22] French, D. P., & Cooke, R. (2012). Using the theory of planned behaviour to understand binge drinking: The importance of beliefs for developing interventions. British Journal of Health Psychology, 17, 1-17. doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8287.2010.02010.x.