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THESIS

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Children's Exposure to the Natural
Environment and their Environmental
Attitudes
(An Explorator% Study)
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presente

Nancy Anne Surbrook

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Masters Family Studies

 

 

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chWmS—p 1

CHILDREN’S EXPOSURE TO THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
AND THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL ATTITUDES
(An Exploratory Study)

By

Nancy Anne Surbrook

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

Department of Family and Child Ecology

1997

ABSTRACT
CHILDREN’S EXPOSURE TO THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
AND THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL ATTITUDES

By

Nancy Anne Surbrook

This study examined the relationship of children’s exposure to the natural
environment and their environmean attitudes at varying age levels. Children
were divided into three age groups of 4, 7, and 10 years old. There were 34
four-year-old children, 22 seven-year—old children, and 29 ten-year-old children.
Children’s exposure to the natural environment and their environmental attitudes
were examined overall as well as between age groups. The results indicated that
environmental attitudes vary at different age levels, with the 7-year-old children’s
environmental attitude mean score being the highest of the three groups. The 7-
year—old group also had a slightly higher mean score for their exposure to the
natural environment. Because of these findings and the developmental stage of a
7-year-old, it seems that seven years old may be a critical time in the formation

of environmental attitudes. This theory must be investigated further.

.utjlllll

 

Copyright by
Nancy 1" Surbrook

1 997

To Jerry, for your patience, support, and encouragement in completing this

project.

Acknowledgments

The greatest reward of this project was that I learned that no individual is
an island of their own. I am grateful to may people for helping me learn this
lesson. I would like to express my appreciation to Dr. Anne Soderman, my
advisor and chairperson of my committee, for her time and commitment to this
project. Her expertise and input was very helpful throughout this project. I
would like to thank Dr. Alice Whiren for the idea of this project and the
encouragement to carry this though to the end. I would also like to thank Dr.
Robert Boger for all of the assistance with the design and the statistical analysis
of the data.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the staff at the Child
Development Laboratories for your support and strength through this project.
Thank you for being there.

I would also like to thank all of my family and friends whose support and
encouragement was also a great assistance as I ventured through this project.
Jerry, thank you for supporting me though the rough times. Mom and Dad,

thank you for all of your prayers.

The last group of individuals I would like to express my gratitude to is
the many principals, directors, teachers, parents, and children who volunteered to

participate in this project. Without them this project would not be possible.

Table Of Contents

Introduction ......................................................................................... 1
Problem Statement ............................................................................. 2
Conceptual Definitions ....................................................................... 3
Operational Definitions ...................................................................... 3
Ecological Framework ....................................................................... 4
Research Objectives ........................................................................... 6
Limitations of Research ...................................................................... 6
Summary ........................................................................................ 7

Review of Literature ...................... . ......... . ................... . . ....................... 8
Attitude Formation in Young Children ................................................... 8
Environmental Attitudes in Varying Age Groups ..................................... lO
Exposure to and Knowledge of the Natural

Environment at Varying Age Levels ............................................... 14
Age as a Variable in Environmental Studies ......................................... 15
Summary ....................................................................................... 16

Methodology ....................................................................................... 18
Research Design .............................................................................. 18
Subjects ......................................................................................... 18
Instrumentation ................................................................................ 2]

Exposure to the Natural Environment ................................................ 21
Environmental Attitudes .................................................................. 23
Procedure ....................................................................................... 25
Research Questions ........................................................................... 27
Data Analysis ................................................................................. 27
Age and Exposure to the Natural Environment ..................................... 27
Age and Environmental Attitudes ...................................................... 27
Environmental Exposure and Environmental Attitudes ............................ 28
Environmental Attitudes and Exposure to the Natural
Environment at Varying Age Levels ............................................. 28

vii

Results .............................................................................................. 29

Research Questions .......................................................................... 29
Question 1 .................................................................................. 29
Question 2 .................................................................................. 31
Question 3 .................................................................................. 33
Question 4 .................................................................................. 38

Discussion and Directions for Further Research ...................................... 43

Discussion ..................................................................................... 43
Age and Exposure to the Natural Environment .................................... 43
Age and Environmental Attitudes ...................................................... 44
Exposure to the Natural Environment and Environmental Attitudes .......... 46
Relationship of Children’s Exposure to the Natural Environment and

Environmental Attitudes at Varying Age Levels ............................... 49
Personal Observations ....................................................................... 50
Implications for Practitioners .............................................................. 51
Implications for Future Research ......................................................... 52
Conclusion ..................................................................................... 54
Appendix A: Communication With Schools ............................................. 56
Appendix B: Communication With Parents ............................................ 58
Appendix C: Permission Slip ................................................................ 59
Appendix D: Instruments .................................................................... 60

Parent Survey ................................................................................. 60

Children’s Environmental Response Inventory Adapted ............................. 70
Appendix E: UCHRIS Approval ........................................................... 91
References ........................................................................................... 92

viii

Lists Of Tables

Table 1: Demographics within Age Groups .............................................. 20
Table 2: Results of a One-Way Analysis of Variance for Age Differences

in Exposure to the Natural Environment ................................. 30
Table 3: Means and Standard Deviations of the Exposure to the Natural

Environment Scores based on Age ........................................ 30
Table 4: Results of a One-Way Analysis of Variance for Age Differences

in Environmental Attitudes ................................................... 32
Table 5: Means and Standard Deviations of the Environmental Attitude

Scores based on Age .......................................................... 32
Table 6: Interrelations between Child Exposure Items and Child Attitudinal

Items .............................................................................. 35
Table 7: Results of a 2x3 Simple Factorial Analysis of Variance for Age

and Exposure to the Natural Environment Effects on

Environmental Attitudes ...................................................... 39
Table 8: Mean and Standard Deviation of the Relationship between

Exposure of the Natural Environment and Environmental

Attitudes on Age ............................................................... 39

Table 9: Summary of the Findings .......................................................... 40

Table 10: Significant Relationships Between Surveys ................................... 42

List Of Figures

Figure 1: Family Ecosystem ................................................................... 5

Figure 2: CERIA Response Scale ........................................................... 24

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

Enviromnental awareness in children is becoming increasingly more important in
today’s society. To retrieve and restore the natural environment, adults need to
create changes in attitudes and behavior in children to promote better conservation of

our limited, natural resources (Cohen, 1992).

Awareness of the natural environment must be established at a young age to

promote positive habits and attitudes toward the natural environment later in life

(Strickland, Robertson, Jettinghoff, and Diener, 1983/84). Appreciation of, and

reslaect for, the natural environment is often developed through interaction with it

(Bernhart, 1973). An awareness of the natural environment can be observed in

y 01mg preschool children (Bunting & Cousins, 1985). As children experience nature

f. 1I‘sthand, they form attitudes about it. Children become aware of the natural

enVironment only when they come into contact with it and it affects them in a

Sigirlificant way (Cohen, 1992).
As children’s boundaries extend beyond the caretakers and home, the natural

eIl‘rironment plays an increasingly significant role in children’s lives (Kirby, 1989).
‘A natural setting has the degree of complexity, plasticity, and manipulability which
E“lQltiws a child to experience and develop significant play behaviors” (Kirby, 1989).

SQl'ne of these behaviors are role-playing, cause-effect actions, and constructive play

Children’s attitudes and learning habits develop early in life (Strickland,
Robertson, Jettinghoff, and Diener, 1983/84). Therefore, children need to develop
environmental concepts at an early age. As they grow older and gain outdoor
experiences, their environmental attitudes begin to develop (Pettus, 1974). These
attitudes are related to environmental behavior (Malkus & Musser, 1994).

Since children acquire knowledge through experience, outdoor exposure should
increase their knowledge. With knowledge and experiences, attitudes are formed.

To produce positive attitudes toward the natural environment, increased exposure to
the natural environment should be necessary.

There has been limited research conducted to determine the relationship between
children’s exposure to the natural environment and their environmental attitudes.
Studies that have been conducted have focused on energy education in preschool
children, (Strickland, Robertson, Jettinghoff, and Diener, 1983/84), exposure to, or
knowledge of, the natural environment, [Gillett, Thomas, Shok, & McLaughin (1991),
Kostla (1976), Dresner & Gill (1984), Frances, Boyes, Qualter, & Stainistreet (1993)
and Castle (1996)] and environmental attitudes [I-lines, Hungerford, & Tomera
(1986/87), Malkus & Musser (1994), Bunting & Cousins (1985), Harvey (1989), Jaus
(1984), and Shepard & Speedman (l985l86)]. This study will determine if children’s
environmental exposure influences their environmental attitudes at different age levels.
Problem Statement

This study will investigate the relationship of the exposure to the natural

environment and environmental attitudes in children between the ages of four, seven,

and ten. This study will also investigate age related differences in children’ 5
exposure to the natural environment and their environmental attitudes.
Conceptual Definitions

Age is the chronological number of years an individual has lived (W ebster’ 8
Dictionary, 1990).

Expgsure to the Natural Enviromnent is defined as the amount of the time spent
outdoors, as well as, how much the individual child enjoys being outdoors. It also
includes how often individuals participate in environmental movement activities such
as composting materials and recycling garbage.

Environmental Attitudes are the predispositions that are considered to represent
an individual’s environmental personality (Bunting & Cousins, 1983).

Pastoralism is the enjoyment of the natural environment in an intellectual and
aesthetic fashion (Bunting and Cousins, 1983).

Eam_i_l_y is “a bonded unit of interacting and interdependent persons who have
some common goals and resources” (Andrews, Bubolz, Paolucci, 1980).

Operational Definitions

Age of the children examined in this study were four, seven, and ten years old.

Exmsure to the Natural Enviromnent was measured by a survey administered to
the parents (Appendix D, Parent Survey). They were asked questions about their
families’ outdoor activities. The parents were asked about the frequency of their
trips to parks, beaches, and campgrounds and how much their child/ren enjoyed these

outdoor activities.

Environmental Attitudes were measured by an adapted version of the pastoralism
domain from Bunting and Cousins (1983, 1985) “Children’s Environmental Response
Inventor)” (CERD. This form was adapted to be suitable for younger children
(Appendix D).

Pastoralism was measured through the “Children’s Environmental Response
Inventory Adap ” (CERIA) scale (Appendix D).

m in this study consisted of the mother/father or the primary caregiver of
the children.
Ecological Framework

Children gain knowledge, experiences, and attitudes from other family members
(Sontag & Bubolz, 1993). Families are part of the total life system, interdependent
with other forms of life and the nonliving environment (Sontag & Bubolz, 1993).
Every environment is interrelated and influences each other (Sontag & Bubolz, 1993).

See figure 1.

 

A
V

FamilyV

Human Social- Natural
Built Cultural Physical-Biological
Environment Environment Environment

 

Figure 1: Family Ecosystem

(Sontag & Bubolz, 1993)

The values and attitudes parents incorporate into their family are part of the
societal norms and values. This is part of the social-cultural environment (Sontag &
Bubolz, 1993). Peers and community systems are also part of this environment.
Children acquire their attitudes based on those of parents, family, and friends
(Remmers, 1954).

Another environment that interacts with the family is the human-built
environment. This environment consists of man—made materials and resources, such
as housing, roads, and pollutants in the air and water. These materials and resources

directly influence the natural, physical/biological environment (Sontag & Bubolz,

1993). The natural physical/biological environment consists of the atmosphere,
climate, water, air, and other items in nature. The human-built environment often
alters many aspects of the natural physical/biological environment, which affects the
family as well as the children (Sontag & Bubolz, 1993).
Research Objectives
The main purpose of this study was to investigate children’s exposure to the
natural environment and to measure their environmental attitudes to detemtine if
there are differences across age groups. The objectives were:
1. To assess children’s exposure to the natural environment at different age
levels.
2. To assess the environmental attitudes of children at different age levels.
3. To determine if a relationship exists between children’s exposure to the
natural environment and their environmental attitudes.
4. To assess the relationship between children’s exposure to the natural
environment and their environmental attitudes at varying age levels.
Limitations of Research
One limitation of this research was the measurement tools used to evaluate the
children’s exposure to the natural environment and their environmental attitudes.
Since appropriate measurement tools could not be found, a tool to evaluate the
exposure to the natural environment was created (Appendix D). In order to measure
environmental attitudes a scale created by Bunting and Cousin’s, “Children’s
Environmental Response Inventory” (CERI;1983) was adapted to be suitable for the

younger age group (Appendix D).

Another limitation was in finding schools to participate. Because the research
was not related to reading, writing, or arithmetic, the majority of the schools that
were contacted declined to participate in this study. The low participation rate
limited the data collection and sample size.

The last limitation to this research was in the sample collected. The sample
size was small. The majority of the parents who participated were of a high socio-
economic status level, lived in a suburban area, and had a college degree.
Therefore, this sample was not representative of the total population and cannot be
generalized to the overall population.

Summary

Because research related to children’s exposure to the natural environment or
their environmental attitudes is limited, this exploratory study investigated children’s
exposure to the natural environment and their environmental attitudes at different age
levels, specifically ages 4, 7, and 10 years old. The purpose of this study was to
evaluate these relationships so that educators and researchers would have more
information about the impact of the natural environment on children’s environmental
attitudes.

The following chapter includes a literature review of related research. Chapter
three contains the sample description and the methods used in the study. The
results are presented in chapter four. Discussion, implications, and directions for

future research are presented in chapter five.

CHAPTER 2
REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Many people believe the best way to learn about the natural environment is
though environmental education programs (Gifford, May, & Boros, 1982/83).
Although environmental education programs do teach individuals about the natural
environment, children require hands—on experiences to understand the abstractions of
the natural environment. Unfortunately, many environmental education programs do
not include handson experiences in the natural environment (Regan & Fazio, 1977).

Many times, awareness of the natural environment is encouraged and promoted
by significant adults in a child’s life. Adults must first be environmentally aware
and have positive attitudes toward the environment to insure children will acquire the
same positive attitudes.

The following review of literature focuses on attitude formation, environmental
attitudes, exposure to, and knowledge of, the natural environment and age differences
in environmental studies.

Attitude Formation in Young Children

Attitudes are known as “typical reaction patterns individuals develop toward life
events” (Kostelnik, Soderman, Whiren, 1993). The foundation for attitudes begins in
early childhood and continues throughout a lifetime. Children’s attitudes are formed
based on interactions and observations of other individuals in their environment and
life experiences.

Environmental ecology deals with living things and their surroundings (Sontag &

Bubolz, 1993). Every environment that the child interacts with has an impact on his

or her attitude formation. Being a part of the family, a child gains knowledge and
experiences from other family members. The family exists in an environment
containing and interacting with many other environments. From the birth of an
individual into the family, a system of attitudes is continually being built and
elaborated upon (Rabin, 1985). Attitudes are partly formed on the basis of
information one is exposed to (Rabin, 1985).

One of these environments is the socio-cultural environment, which consists of
the interactions of the school and peer groups with the family and its individual

members (Sontag & Bubolz, 1993). According to Remmers (1954), an individual

 

will acquire attitudes similar to his or her parents, friends, and other primary groups.
The closer the relationship is, the greater the influence will be in the formation of
attitudes (McNab, 1976).

Another environment is the human-constructed environment, which consists of
man-made materials and resources. Some of these materials and resources are
housing, communication systems, government, and religion (Sontag & Bubolz, 1993).
The human-built environment consists of the changes people make in the natural,
physical/biological environment for survival and other needs as well as pleasures.
Therefore this environment has an impact on how individuals and families may
interact the natural, physical/biological environment (Sontag & Bubolz, 1993). The
natural, physical/biological environment consists of the atmosphere, climate, water,
animals, and all other items in nature.

All of these environments are interrelated and therefore influence each other.

The natural environment provides essential resources for all life on earth (Sontag &

10

Bubolz, 1993). In order to continue to provide essential resources which everyone
uses this interrelationship must be protected. Therefore there is a need to take into
account the interrelationship between the family and the natural physical/biological
environment, as well as its impact on the developing child (Sontag & Bubolz, 1993).
Environmental Attitudes in Varying Age Groups

Some studies have been conducted to determine what variables relate to the
environmental attitudes of individuals. Environmental attitude is defined as the
“values, attitudes, and predispositions considered to represent an individual’s
enviromnental personality” (Bunting and Cousins, 1983). In the following studies,
some of the variables that are related to environmental attitudes are age,
environmental education programs, and outdoor recreational activities. Most research
at the elementary age level focuses on instilling positive environmental attitudes.
This is because the main goal of environmental education programs is to create
positive attitudes that children can incorporate into their behavior. A positive
environmental attitude is when "an individual views him/her self as part of the
natural world, feels a personal responsibility for environmental problems and has an
awareness of the ramifications of the choices in environmental decision making”
(Kostka, 1976).

Hines, Hungerford, and Tomera ( 1986/87) performed a “meta-analysis” of
attitudinal variables to see how attitudes influence individuals to take responsible
enviromnental actions. They investigated attitudes toward ecology, the environment as
a whole, and environmental actions. Hines, et a1. (1986/87) concluded that

individuals with positive enviromnental attitudes are more likely to act more

 

11

responsibly toward the environment than those that do not have positive
environmental attitudes.

Hardy and Fox ( 1976) compared high school students’ environmental knowledge
and environmental attitudes from rural, suburban, and urban settings. They found
that among the rural high school students there was not a significant relationship
between their environmental attitudes and their knowledge, but in suburban and urban
high school students there was a significant relationship found. This was believed to
be because the instrument used was not appropriate for rural students because of the
lack of emphasis on value clarification. This study indicated that the area of
residence may affect environmental attitudes and knowledge.

Malkus and Musser (1994) found that elementary school aged children, ages 8
to 12, who had positive environmental attitudes were more likely to choose to
participate in environmental activities when given an opportunity to decide. Children
who felt positive about environmental issues and their role in helping the earth also
felt more positive about themselves. It was found that environmental attitudes
related to environmental behaviors in elementary school aged children.

Bunting and Cousins (1983) developed an instrument that examined children’s
attitudes about the natural world. The “Children’s Environmental Response
Inventory” (CERI, 1983) measures environmental attitudes of children, age nine and
older. The CERI is a modified revision of an existing environmental attitudes'
instrument developed by McKechnie (1974). This instrument is called the
“Environmental Response Inventory” (ERI) and has been designed for individuals 16

years of age and older. When developing this instrument, Bunting and Cousins

12

(1983) took into consideration that children develop environmental attitudes at a
relatively early age. The CERI has been used in a number of studies concluded by
Bunting and Cousins (1983), as well as other researchers. One study conducted in
order to test the instrument was evaluated with 1109 students of varying age levels.
The CERI test was found to be reliable with a Cronbach cc ranging from .78 to .91
(Bunting & Cousins, 1983). Validity was found to be generalized from the
Environmental Response Inventory (ERI) developed by McKechnie (1977).

The CERI was implemented in a study conducted by Harvey (1989). She used
the instrument to study the relationship of children’s past direct experiences with the
natural environment to their present attitudes about the natural environment. She
surveyed elementary school age children, ranging from age 8 to 11, from varying
environments. Harvey examined the association between children’s past experience
with vegetation and different demographic characteristics such as gender, age, and
socio—economic status. When evaluating the differences in gender, boys enjoyed
contact with vegetation as a play object more than girls. Girls’ attitudes toward
vegetation were consistently more positive than boys’. Age was significant when the
direct experience with vegetation was as a play object. The older children enjoyed
exposure with vegetation as a play object more than the younger children. The
higher the socio-economic status of the children, the more varied their past direct
experiences with the natural environment had been. The data show that the past
direct experiences with the natural environment of school age children varied
according the gender, age, and socioeconomic status. When examining

environmental attitudes, Harvey (1989) found that any past direct exposure was a

13

positive influence on environmental attitudes. The children also reported that they
did not have enough opportunity for the outdoor activities that they enjoyed.

Jaus (1984) studied the development and retention of environmental attitudes in
elementary school aged children. Students were given a pre-test to discover their
present environment attitudes before participating in an environmental education
program. After the environmental education program, students were given a post-test
to evaluate the changes in their environmental attitudes. The students had a positive
change in environmental attitude and became more environmentally conscious of their
actions because of the program. After a two-year period, students were given the
test again to determine if the positive environmental attitudes had remained. It was
found that the students still had positive environmental attitudes.

In another study, Shepard and Speelrnan (1985-86) investigated participation in
an outdoor education program as it related to the environmental attitudes of
elementary school age children. In this study, the outdoor education program had
very little effect on the students’ environmental attitudes.

According to the research, children’ s attitudes are formed based on the attitudes
of significant others in an individual’s life as well as his or her life experiences.
This research also shows that life experiences impact attitude formation more than
any other influence. Therefore, exposure to the natural environment may influence
the formation of environmental attitudes. The purpose for investigating environmental
attitudes is to determine how to increase positive environmental attitudes in
individuals. With positive environmental attitudes, individuals may participate in

more environmentally conscious activities in an effort to take care of our world.

14

Exposure to and Knowledge of the Natural Environment at Varying Age Levels

The exposure to, and knowledge of, the natural environment has been studied in
adults more than in children. Most of the studies focus on the knowledge acquired
from some type of environmental education program or outdoor recreation experience.
The exposure to the natural environment refers to an individual's routine contact with
the natural environment (Castle, 1996) and his or her involvement in environmental
movement activities, such as the disposal of yard waste and recycling of materials.
Knowledge of the natural environment includes having a better understanding of the
concepts of interdependence between humans and nature (Dresner & Gill, 1984).

The following studies emphasize the differences in the exposure to, and the
knowledge of, the natural environment among teenagers and children.

Gillett, Thomas, Shok, and McLaughin (1991) attempted to increase
environmental knowledge and influence environmental attitudes through a wilderness
program for high school seniors. Tluough this program, students became more
environmentally aware and were able to increase their knowledge of environmental
issues. Environmental attitudes among the students also increased from the program.

In a similar study, Dresner and Gill (1984) investigated middle school students’
knowledge to the natural environment after a similar wilderness program. In
attempts to increase exposure to the natural environment, students were taught and
used various survival techniques in the wilderness. After the program, the students’
awareness of the natural environment did increase. Students were much more

enthusiastic about outdoor activities than they were before the experience.

15

Frances, Boyes, Qualter and Stanisstreet ( 1993) investigated elementary students’ ,
ages 8 to 12, knowledge about reducing the “Greenhouse Effect”. It was found that
children could distinguish between major environmental problems, such as global
warming and ozone layer depletion, but could not separate mentally the mechanics
involved in these problems.

Strickland, Robertson, Jettinghoff, and Diener (1983/84) implemented an energy
education program with preschool children. The objective was to see if the children
could acquire knowledge about energy and its effects on the natural environment
from the program. After the program, the children did show an increase in
knowledge about energy and its effects on the natural environment.

Castle (1996) evaluated the relationship between environmental exposure and
environmental attitudes in second grade children. She found that children were
willing to participate in the natural environment regardless of previous exposure to it.
She suggested that more research is needed in this area.

In many of these studies, exposure to and knowledge of the natural environment
was investigated in relation to environmental attitudes. According to Cohen ( 1992),
the earlier children experience and value their natural environment, the deeper and
more enduring their ability will be for perceiving and eXperiencing a relationship
with and dependency upon nature. Therefore, exposure to the natural environment
may influence environmental attitudes.

Age as a Variable in Environmental Studies
Differences across age groups have also been found. When investigating

differences, researchers have attempted to establish how to obtain positive

16

environmental attitudes at every age level. Research in this area is just beginning to
be conducted.

Szagun and Mesenholl (1993) investigated differences between teenagers, 12 to
18 years of age. They found the 15- and 18-year-old students did not tend to enjoy
nature activities as much as the 12-year-old students. Twelve-year-old students tend
to have more positive attitudes toward the natural environment than the 15- and 18-
year-old students. Adolescents from all age groups believed environmental
destruction was the most unacceptable behavior because it damaged the ecosystems
and acts of destruction are immoral.

Higher levels of concern about the natural environment are held by teens than
by adults (McTeer, 1978). Children have a higher level of concern than teenagers
and adults (Kellert, 1985). Therefore, age is an important variable when examining
environmental attitudes.

Summary

From this review of literature, it can be argued that attitudes form in early
childhood and that attitude formation is correlated to direct experiences.
Environmental education programs influence school aged students in attaining a better
awareness of the natural environment, but often these programs do not affect changes
in their environmental attitudes. 1n elementary school students, only half of the
programs are successful at impacting environmental attitudes. Some enviromnental
education programs lack the direct experience which is often necessary in forming

and changing attitudes (Regan & Fazio, 1977).

17

There has been only one other study conducted which relates exposure to the
natural environment in young children to any variable (Castle, 1996). Research to
evaluate the relationship between young children’ s exposure to the natural
environment and their environmental attitudes is limited. Children under seven have
not been subjects for research of environmental attitudes. This limited amount of

research demonstrates the need for research in this area.

Chapter 3
METHODOLOGY

Research Design

This was a cross sectional, quasi-experimental, exploratory research study. It
was conducted in suburban area child care centers, preschools, after school care
centers and elementary schools in Michigan. The purpose of this study was to
investigate the relationship of children’ s exposure to the natural enviromnent to their
environmental attitudes. The unit of analysis for this study was individual children
ages 4, 7, and 10 years of age. Children were combined into three groups
according to age.
Subjects

Families from many different suburban area child care centers, preschool
programs, after school care centers and elementary schools in Michigan were asked
to participate. The subjects of this study were 34 four-year-old children, 22 seven-
year—old children, and 29 ten-year-old children and their parents (mother or father or
other primary caregiver). There were a total of 83 families that participated. Two
families had two children in the age groups identified. Therefore there were 85
children that participated in the study. There were 52 girls and 33 boys.

The mean age of the parents was 38 years. Eighty-five percent of the fathers
and 84% of the mothers had attended college. Of those who had attended college,
61% percent of the fathers and 57% of the mothers had graduated with a Bachelor’s

degree or higher. The remainder of the parents had completed high school.

18

19

Over three quarters of the 83 families (77%) lived in a suburban community.
Eleven percent lived in a rural (farm or non-farm) community and 11% lived in an
urban community. Two percent did not respond.

Information about the grandparents was also collected. Seventy-one percent of
the maternal grandparents and fifty-five percent of the paternal grandparents lived in
a suburban community. Five percent of the children visited their maternal
grandparents daily. Three percent of the children visited their paternal grandparents
daily. Since the majority of the grandparents lived in a suburban community, and
the majority of the children did not visit their grandparents regularly, it was
concluded that these results were not related to the children’s amount of exposure to
the natural environment. Therefore they were excluded from the analysis. Table 1

contains the demographic information in each age group.

20

 

 

Table l
Demphics Within Age Groups
Variable four-year-old seven-year-old ten-year-old
'nurnber % number % number %
Number of Children 34 40% 22 26% 29 34%
Gender of Child
Male
Female
Age of Parents
1829 1 1% 1 1% 2 2%
30-39 18 21% 12 15% 16 19%
40-49 15 18% 8 9% 10 12%
50-59 1 1%
Mother's Education Level
Some High School 2 2%
High School Diploma 1 1% 5 6% 6 7%
Some College Courses 1 1% 3 4% 4 5%
Associate's Degree 16 19% 3 4% 10 12%
Bachelor's Degree 5 6% 6 7% 6 7%
Master's Degree 8 9% 2 2% 1 1%
Ph.D., MD. or other 8 9% 3 4% 2 2%
Father's Education Level
Some High School
High School Diploma 3 4% 4 5% 6 7%
Some College Courses 3 4% 5 6% 6 7%
Associate's Degree 1 1% 2 2% 3 4%
Bachelor’s Degree 10 12% 5 6% 7 8%
Master's Degree 2 2% 3 4% 2 2%
Ph.D., MD. or other 15 18% 3 4% 5 6%
Parental Income
$10,000$N,000
$20,000-$29,000 1 l % 4 5%
330,000-839,000 3 4%
$40,000-$49,000 8 9% 3 4% 2 2%
$50,000-$59,000 3 4% 3 4% 3 4%
$60,000 or above 3 4% 2 2% l. 1%
No Response 13 15% 11 13% 15 18%

 

Table 1 (continued)

 

 

 

Variable four-year-old seven-year-old ten-year-old
number % number % number %

Place of Residence

Rural/Farm 1 1%

Rural/Nonfarm 4% 2 2%

Suburban 21 25% 22 26% 22 26%

Urban 7 8% 2 2%

No Response

Area of School

East Lansing; Child Dev. Laboratories 23 27%

East Lansing 11 13%

Okemos or Haslett 10 12% 21 25%

Walled Lake 11 13% 8 9%

Instrumentation

Two different measurement tools were used in this research. The first survey

was given to parents to gain demographic information about the family and to assess

their child’s exposure to the natural environment (Appendix D, Parent Survey). The

second survey, called the Children’s Environmental Response Inventory Adapted

(CERIA), was given to the children in the study to evaluate their environmental

attitudes (Appendix D).

Exposure To The Natural Environment

The Parent Survey (PS) was used to measure the children’s exposure to the

natural environment (Appendix D). Created for this study, the Parent Survey (PS)

22

elicited information about each child’ 5 past experiences with the environment,
vegetation, parks, beaches, and camping. The thirty multiple choice and fill-in-the-
blank questions were designed to evaluate how much exposure each child had in the
natural environment.

The first 15 questions were used to determined each child’s exposure to the
natural environment. An environmental exposure score was calculated for each child
based on his or her parent’s response to the survey questions. Three points were
given to a “high exposure” response. These responses included often being involved
in planting vegetables and flowers, often participating in recycling and composting
activities, often playing outdoors, and often spending time at the park, the beach, as
well as camping. Two points were given to a “medium exposure” response. These
responses included occasionally being involved in planting vegetables and flowers,
occasionally participating in recycling and composing materials, occasionally playing
outdoors, " and occasionally spending time at the park, the beach, and camping. One
point was given to a “low exposure” response. These responses included rarely
planting vegetables and flowers, rarely recycling or composting materials, rarely
playing outdoors, and rarely spending time at the park, the beach, and camping.
There were zero points given to a “no exposure” response. These responses
included never planting vegetables or flowers, never recycling or composting
materials, never playing outdoors, and never spending time at the park, the beach,
and camping.

The Parent Survey (PS) was created by the primary researcher (Appendix D).

The question and response scale from the survey were shared with a panel of child

23

development experts. These experts concurred the test contained content validity. A
reliability test was conducted. This survey had a Cronbach’s cc of .53 which was
judged acceptable for this study.

Environmental Attitudes

The second survey was given to the children. An adapted version of the
“Children’s Environmental Response Inventory” (CERI), developed by Bunting &
Cousins (1983, 1985), was used to measure children’s environmental attitudes. This
instrument was adapted to be suitable and less abstract for the younger children in
this investigation. The adapted version was called the “Children’ 8 Environmental
Response Adap " (CERIA, Appendix D). The survey was narrowed down to 15
questions instead of twenty-two. This was done to make the length more reasonable
for the younger children. It was administered on a one-on-one basis by the primary
investigator of this research project. The children were shown pictures (Karp, 1987;
Hill, 1977; & Turner, 1991) of the natural environment and asked how much they
liked to do the activity in the pictures. This helped the children visualize the
questions being asked.

The children responded to the CERIA questions using a five point Likert scale.
This Likert scale consisted of the five different sized dots representing how much
the children liked the images in the picture shown to them for each question.
Children were to point to the dot which represented how much they liked to do the

activity in each picture. Figure 2 displays this response scale.

24

Do not Do not Neither like like a little like a lot
like at all like it nor dislike

Figure 2: CERIA Response Survey

Children were tested at their child care center, preschool, after-school care
center, or elementary schools. Each child was told about the project and asked if
he/she wanted to participate. The CERIA (Appendix D) took about 5 minutes for
each child to complete. When tested, each child was given the following

instructions:

Hello, my name is Ms. . I have some pictures of outdoor places
I’d like to show you. I’m going to show you 15 pictures and you can tell me
how much you like what is in the picture. If you like the picture a lot you
can point the largest circle on this page. If you like the picture a little you
can point to the next smaller circle. If you neither like nor dislike the picture
can point to the middle circle. If you do not like the picture you can point to
the next smaller circle and if you really do not like the picture at all you can
point to the smallest circle.

The CERI survey was found to be “statistically robust....[with] Cronbach’s
oc....ranges from .78 to .91” (Bunting and Cousins, 1985). The pictures, questions,

and response scale used in this adapted test were shared with a panel of experts

25

who know about children and nature. These experts determined the survey to
contained content validity. The survey was determined to be reliable, with a
Cronbach’s cc of .70.

Procedure

At child care centers, preschool programs, and after-school child care centers,
the director of the program was contacted to give approval for his or her center to
be involved. The principal, assistant superintendent of schools, or the director of
instruction was contacted for approval for the elementary schools in his or her area
to be involved. Once approval was obtained, the researcher was able to proceed
based on the policies of each location.

In each location, the researcher sent an information letter (Appendix A) and a
permission slip (Appendix C) to each family who had a child who was four years
old, seven years old, and/or ten years of age. Both parent and child consent were
required for the family to be involved in the study (Appendix C). Once permission
slips were returned, the Parent Survey (PS), was sent to the parents to be filled out
(Appendix D). Once the parents completed the survey and returned it to the
primary investigator, their involvement in this study was complete. After giving the
parents two weeks to respond, dates were set to work with the children on site at
their school or child care center. The testing of the children’s environmental
attitudes occurred within 4 to 6 weeks after contact with the parents.

Rater reliability was assured by the primary investigator of this project. There
was only one adult involved in the distribution and administration of the

measurement tools to parents and children. The PS (Appendix D) was sent home

26

with the children, self-administered at home, and sent back to primary investigator
for scoring. The CERIA (Appendix D) Was administered to the children on a one-
on-one basis by the primary investigator at the school they attended.

When surveying the children, each question was asked the same way. See
Appendix D. If a child seemed confused the question was reworded to assist him
or her to understand it. The children either pointed to the appropriate circle or
verbally answered the question. When they verbally answered the question the
investigator asked them to point to the appropriate circle which matched their
response.

The permission slips (Appendix C), PS (Appendix D), and CERIA (Appendix D)
were coded with an identification number (1-85) and kept separate from each other.
This system allowed data to be analyzed without the family being identified by
name and assured confidentiality of the families.

When each child completed the CERIA (Appendix D), he or she was thanked
and returned to his or her classroom. Teachers, schools, and centers were also
thanked. The parents who participated were thanked and assured confidentiality of
all participants. They also were given the opportunity to contact the primary
investigator by telephone with any questions they had. A summary of the
conclusions was given to each school and/or center.

The process of gaining approval from the schools, obtaining subjects, collecting

data fiom parents and children, and scoring the data took about nine months.

27

Research Questions
The following research questions were investigated:

Question 1: Does children’ 8 exposure to the natural environment vary at
different age levels?

Question 2: Do children’s enviromnental attitudes vary at different age levels?

Question 3: How does children’ s exposure to the natural environment relate to
their enviromnental attitudes?

Question 4: Does the relationship between children’ s exposure to the natural
environment and their environmental attitudes vary at different
age levels?

Decision Rule: Alpha was set at .05.
Data Analysis

Age and Exposure to the Natural Environment

The data collected for this study was used first to assess children’s exposure to
the natural environment at varying age levels. The PS was used to assess the
children’s exposure to the natural environment (Appendix D). A total
enviromnental exposure score was assigned to each child based on the parent’s
responses. T o assess children’s environmental exposure at varying age levels a one-
way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used with age being the independent
variable and exposure to the natural environment being the dependent variable.

Age and Environmental Attitudes

Children’s responses on the CERIA (Appendix D) were classified into five

categories ranging from 1: Do Not Like at All to 5: Like a Lot. A total

28

environmental attitudes' score was assigned to each child. To analyze children’s
environmental attitudes at varying age levels, a one-way AN OVA was used with age
being the independent variable and environmental attitudes being the dependent
variable.

Environmental Exposure and Environmental Attitudes

To determine if a relationship existed between children’s exposure to the natural
environment and their environmental attitudes, the scores from the surveys were
analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficients, with exposure to the natural
environment being the independent variable and environmental attitudes being the
dependent variable. Individual correlations were also analyzed between each
individual question on each survey using Pearson correlation coefficients as well.

Environmental Attitudes and Exposure to the Natural Enviromnent at
Varying Age Levels

To determine if a relationship existed between children’s exposure to the natural
environment and children’s environmental attitudes at different age levels, a 2x3
simple factorial ANOVA was used with age (4,7,10) and exposure to the natural.
environment (High and Low) being independent variables and enviromnental attitudes
being the dependent variable. Means of each age group were also calculated.

The statistical package used to analyze the data was SPSS for Windows 6.1

(1996). The next chapter contains the results.

CHAPTER 4
RESULTS
This chapter is devoted to the results of the study. It is organized by research
question in the order that they are presented in Chapter 3.
Research Questions
Question 1:

Does children’s exposure to the natural environment vary at different age levels?

Children’s exposure to the natural environment was assessed using the
information collected in the Parent Survey (PS, Appendix D). A one-way AN OVA
was performed to analyze this question. It was found that children’s exposure to the
natural environment does not vary at different age levels. See Table 2. Gender,
socioeconomic status, education level of the parents, age of the parents, and the
place of" residence were all evaluated as well. Differences based on gender of the
children or any of the demographic information were not found.

When examining the mean scores for the groups it was found that the 7-year-
old group had a slightly higher mean score (x = 34.41) than the 4— and 10-year-old

groups (if = 33.44 and 33.62, respectively). See Table 3.

Table 2

Results of a One-Wa Anal sis of Variance for

the Natural Environment

e Differences in

 

 

 

 

 

Source of Variation Qt: Mean
Squares Squares Statistic Probability
Between Groups 2 6.64
Within Groups 82 1668.53 20.35
Total 84 1681.81
Table 3
Means and Standard Deviations of the m to the Natural Enviromnent
Scores Based on Age
Age Group Mean Standard N
Deviation
4-year-olds 33.44 3.69 34
7-year—olds 34.4 1 5.04 22
10-year-olds 33.62 4.95 29

 

31

Question 2:

Does children’s enviromnental attitudes vary at different age levels?

Children’s environmental attitude was assess using the CERIA (Appendix D). A
one-way ANOVA was used in the analysis of this question. It was found that
children’s environmental attitudes do vary at different age levels (p <.05). See
Table 4. This relationship indicated a significant difference in the 7-year-old mean
score. The 4—year-old group (if = 62.44) and the 10—year-old group (i = 62.90) had
similar environmental attitude mean scores while the 7-year-old group (it = 67.00)
had a significantly higher environmental attitude mean score. See Table 5. The
mean scores within the seven-year-old population were compared to evaluate
significance. Significant differences found based on the location of the subjects were
not found. Environmental attitudes were correlated to the gender of the children to
establish gender differences. Differences related to gender were not found.

Environmental attitudes were also correlated with the demographic information to
establish differences in socioeconomic status, education level of the parents, age of
the parents, and the place of residence. Differences according to demographic

information were not found either.

32

Table 4

Results of a One-Way Analysis of Variance for Age Differences in

Environmental Attitudes

 

 

 

Source of Variation d_f Sum of Mean F- Level of
Squares Squares Statistic Probability

Between Groups 2 311.68 155.84

3.13 .05*
Within Groups 82 4087.07 49.84
Total 84 4398.75
*p< .05
Table 5

Means and Standard Deviations of Environmental Attitude Scores Based on Age

 

 

Age Group Mean Standard N
Deviation

4-year-olds 62.44 7.71 34

7-year-olds 67.00 7.02 22

10—year-olds 62.90 6.24 29

 

33

Question 3:
How does children’ 5 exposure to the natural environment relate to their

environmental attitudes?

Pearson correlation coefficients were performed to analyze the children’ 8
exposure to the natural environment with their environmental attitudes. The Pearson
correlation coefficient for the total scores was .243 (p <03. There was not an
overall significant relationship between children’ 3 exposure to the natural environment
and their environmental attitudes.

Individual questions on each survey were also correlated. There were positive
significant relationships found between families that recycle and children’ s positive
reaction to the pictures of the colored leaves, the house in the woods, the forest,
camping. There were also positive significant relationships between the children who
participated in recycling and composting and their positive reactions to the pictures
of the path in the woods and camping.

There was a positive significant relationship between families that go camping
and children’s response to the picture of camping. There was also positive a
significant relationship between children’s enjoyment of camping and their response
to the camping picture, while there was a negatively significant relationship between
children’s response to the picture of the snow.

There was a negatively significant relationship between children who enjoyed

playing outside and their response to the picture of the mud, while there was a

34

positive significant relationship between children who enjoy playing outside and their
response to the picture of the beach. There was a negative significant relationship
between the families that go to the park and children’s response to the picture of

the sunrise. See Table 6.

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Question 4:
How does the relationship between children’ 5 exposure to the natural

environment and their enviromnental attitudes vary at different age levels?

The scores from the third question were used in this question as well. Age
was factored into the analysis to see if there were any differences between the
groups. A 2x3 simple factorial ANOVA was performed for this question. It was
found that children’s exposure to the natural environment as it relates to their
environmental attitudes does not vary at different age levels. See Table 7.

In the 4—year-old group, it was found that the children with a low exposure
level had a more positive environmental attitude mean score (35 = 63.15) than the
children with a high exposure level (i? = 61.43). The 7-year-old children’s mean
score (2 = 65.43 and 67.73) for the relationship environmental attitudes was higher
than the 4- (x = 63.15 and 61.43) and 10-year-old (x = 61.40 and 64.50) children’s
environmental attitude mean scores for both levels of exposure. See Table 8.

Then the researcher examined the range of the exposure to the natural
environment variable and of the environmental attitudes variable. It was found that
4-year-old children in this study had a larger range of scores for both variables.

The relationship between children’s exposure to the natural environment and
their environmental attitudes was correlated with the gender of the children, their
socioeconomic status, the education level of their parent, age of their parents, and
the place of residence. Significant relationships among the demographic information

were not found.

39

 

 

 

Table 7
Results of a 2x3 Sim le Factorial Anal sis of Variance for A e and ure to
the Natural Environment Effects on Environmental Attitudes
Source of Var’ntion d_f Sum of Mean F - Level of
Squares Squares Statistic Probability
Main Effects
Age (A) 3 330.02 110.01 2.19 .10
Emosure (B) 311.68 155.84 3.10 .06
A and B 101.00 50.50 1.01 .14
Total 84 4398.75 52.37
Table 8

Mean and Standard Deviation of the Regtionship between W

Natural Environment and Environmental Attitudes on Age

 

 

 

Age

Exposure Level 4-years-old 7-years-old IO-years-old
Low
Range 21 to 33

M (x = 30.28) 63.15 65.43 61.40

S12 (SD = 3.08) 7.00 9.00 7.00
High
Range 34 to 44

M (x = 37.14) 61.43 67.73 64.50
k S12 (SD = 2.65) 9.00 6.00 6.00

 

;

40

.A summary table of the findings for each research question was also created.

See Table 9.

Table 9

Summagyofthgli’inings

 

Question Instr-amends)

Analysis

Findings

 

Question 1: Does children’s
exposure to the natural
environment vary at
different age levels?

Parent Survey

Children’s
Environmental

QrestionZ: Does
children’s environmental
attitudes vary at different
age levels?

One-Way ANOVA

Mean Scores
One-Way ANOVA

1. Exposure to the
natural environment does
not vary at different age
levels.

2. Seven-year—old
children’s exposure to
the natural environment
mean scores were slight-
ly were slightly higher
than the 4- and 10-ycar-
old children’s mean
scores.

3. Demographic
information was also
analyzed. No significant
differences were found.

1. Environmental
attitudes do vary at
different age levels
(p>-05)

2. The difference was
the seven-year-old
children’s environmental
attitude mean scores,
which was higher than
the 4- and lO-year-old
groups’ mean score.

3. Demographic
information was also
analyzed. No significant
relationships were found.

 

41

Table 9 (continued)

 

 

Question Instrument(s) Analysis Findings
Question 3: How does Parent Survey Pearson Correlation 1. No overall
children’s exposure to and CERIA Coefficient significant relationship
the natural environment was found.
relate to their environmental 2. Individual questions
attitudes? were correlated;

significant relationships
are exhibited in Table

10.
Question 4: How does PS & CERIA 2x3 simple 1. No difference was
the relationship between factorial ANOVA between the age groups.
children’s expoarre to the mean scores 2. Four-year-old children
natural environment and with lower levels of
their environmental attitudes exposure to the natural
vary at different age level? environment had more

positive environmental
attitudes. Four-year-old
children with higher
levels of exposure to the
natural environment had
more negative
environmental attitudes.
3. Seven-year-old
children’s mean score
for their environmental
attitudes was higher

in both categories than
in the 4— and lO-year-
old groups.

 

42

A summary of items from the Parent Survey indicating exposure to the natural

environment or environmentally conscious activities and significant children’ s

attitudinal responses are illustrated in Table 10.

Table 10

SM cant Relationships between Surveys

 

 

Exposure Event

Picture Eliciting Attitudinal
Preference

 

Family Recycles

Child Recycles and Composts

Child Plays Outside

Family Goes to the Park
Family Goes Camping

Children Enjoy Camping

Colored leaves
House in the Woods
Forest

Camping

Path in the Woods
Camping

Negative relationship to Mud
Beach

Sunrise
Camping

Camping
Negative relationship to snow

 

The next chapter is devoted to the explanation of the findings, personal

observations and suggestions for future research.

Chapter 5
DISCUSSION AND DIRECTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
Discussion

This chapter is devoted to the findings. Personal observations will also be
evaluated along with the implications for practitioners and future researchers.

Age and Exposure to the Natural Environment

In the sample of children studied, it was found that children’s exposure to the
natural environment did not vary significantly at different age levels. Considering
parents were asked to evaluate the time their children spend outdoors and in family-
related outdoor activities, it may be that parental patterns of participation in outdoor
activities and time spent outdoors with their children remain the same throughout
their children’s younger years.

It was found that the exposure to the natural environment mean score (3? =
34.41) for the seven—year—old children was slightly higher, but not significantly
higher, than the 4— and lO-year—old mean scores (5: = 33.44 and 33.62, respectively).
When comparing this to the score distribution, it was found that the 7- and 10-year-
old children had similar amounts of exposure to the natural environment even though
the 7-year-old mean score was higher. It may be that 7- and lO-year—old children
have similar amounts on exposure to the natural environment. This is supported in
research done by Castle (1996), where the majority of the second grade children had
a similar amount of exposure to the natural environment.

Based on the 4-year-old children’s mean score (it = 33.44) and distribution of

their scores, it seems that younger children spend slightly less, but not a significant

43

44

amount, of time outdoors. When comparing the distribution of scores, the 4-year-old
children seemed to have slightly less exposure to the natural environment then the
other two groups. It may be that because the 4-year—old children are younger, they
may not participate in as many environmental or outdoor activities.

Another possibility may be that since the sample size was smaller for the 7-
and 10—year-old groups, these groups may not be as diverse in their responses. It
may also be that the parents who chose to participate in family-based outdoor
exposure experiences and natural environment activities found this survey important
and responded where as other parents did not respond.

Age and Environmental Attitudes

In the sample of children studied, it was found that children’s environmental
attitudes did vary at different age levels. The relationship that was found seemed to
be related to the increase in the environmental attitude mean score (7t = 67 .00) in
the 7-year-old group. Their environmental attitude mean score was higher than the
other two groups (x: 62.44 and 62.90, respectively). It seems that the 7-year-old
children in this study had more positive environmental attitudes than the 4- and 10-
year-old children. This finding is contradictory to Harvey’s (1989) findings. Harvey
(1989) found that older children enjoyed the outdoors more than the younger
children.

There are a number of possibilities for these positive environmental attitudes in
the 7-year-old children. The first possibility seemed to be that over half of the 7-
year-old children attended the same elementary school and this school may have had

an environmental education program implemented. To evaluate this possibility, the

45

researcher compared the total mean scores for the entire seven—year-old group (i =
67.00) with the mean scores of the 7-year-old children (i = 69.00) fiom the same
school. It was found that there were not any significant differences in the mean
scores. Even if the school did have an environmental education program
implemented, this is not the reason for the higher mean scores of the 7—year—old
group. p

The second possibility seemed to be the low number of 7-year-old children in
the study. This population may not have been diverse enough because of its size
and similar place of residence. With a larger, more diverse sample the differences
may be clearer.

The third possibility may be related to the development of the seven-year-old
children. According to Piaget (Thomas, 1992), developmentally seven-year-old
children are transitioning between the preoperational thought period and the concrete
operational thought period. During concrete operations, children are capable of
imagining the places in the pictures more readily than the younger children. In the
early transitional time period, children are aided by viewing the actual objects or
pictures of the object (Thomas, 1992).

Seven-year-old children still interact with and depend upon parents greatly. At
ten years old, children are beginning to be more interested in peer interaction than
family (Thomas, 1992). Since the questions asked were related to family activities,
the older children may have enjoyed the activities in the pictures but would rather

be with their friends than their parents.

46

When correlating environmental attitudes to gender, it was found that there was
not a significant difference between boys and girls in this study. This is
contradictory to the results found by Harvey (1989). She had found girls’ attitudes
to be more positive than boys’ attitudes.

W to the Natural Environment and Environmental Attitudes

When evaluating the relationship between children’ 8 exposure to the natural
environment and their environmental attitudes, it was found that there was not a
significant relationship overall. This is a contradiction to Harvey’s (1989) findings.
Harvey (1989) found that previous experience in the natural environment influenced
environmental attitudes positively. She examined children ages 8 to 11. She
evaluated the children’s past direct experience to the natural environment and
correlated it to their environmental attitudes. Harvey (1989) used the CERI created
by Bunting and Cousins (1983) to evaluate the children’s environmental attitudes.

However, when correlating the individual question scores from each survey,
some relationships were found. It was found that families who participate in
recycling have children who responded more positively to pictures of the colored
leaves, the house in the woods, the forest, camping. It was also found that children
who participate in recycling and composting materials responded positively to pictures
of the path in the woods and camping. It seemed to be that families who actively
participate in environmentally conscious activities have positive environmental
attitudes which influence the formation of their children’s environmental attitudes
more positively than those who do not participate in such activities. It also seemed

to be that children who participate in environmentally conscious activities have more

47

positive environmental attitudes than those who do not participate in such activities.
This was supported in the Hines, Hungerford, and Tomera (1987) research which
found that individuals who act responsibly toward the environment have positive
environmental attitudes. Malkus and Musser (1994) also support this finding. They
found that children’s, ages 8 to 12, environmental attitudes related to their
environmental behavior. These environmentally conscious activities work toward
protecting and preserving the natural physical/biological environment through reducing
the waste and pollution in the air, water, and land. This waste and pollution is part
of the human built environment (Sontag & Bubolz, 1993).

A significant relationship was found between children who play outdoors and
those who liked the picture of the beach. This may be because in Michigan it is
mild to cold most of the year, and these children may prefer to play in a warmer
weather, similar to that typically thought of when shown a picture of the beach.
When children saw the picture of the beach, they may have thought of warm
temperatures and spending time outdoors near the water to play in.

Another significant relationship found was in the families that went to the park
and those who liked the picture of the sun rise. Given this relationship, it may be
that families that visit the park may not visit other outdoor areas that are away from
their home or participate in other outdoor activities that often; therefore, their
children may not participate in many other outdoor activities away fiom their home.
They may have had an opportunity to observe the sun rise from their home, though.
This could be an activity they enjoy doing. These children also may enjoy getting

up early to see the sun rise with their parents, especially if the parents leave for

48

work early and return late at night. This possibility is also based on some of the
verbal responses given to the researcher when showing the children the pictures.
Some children had commented on enjoying seeing the sunrise in the morning with
their parents.

It was found that of the families that have been camping together, their children
really liked the picture of the family camping. It seems that children who have
experienced a camping expedition with their families have really enjoyed it.

It was difficult to make conclusions about the negative relationships that were
found. Significant relationships were found in children who play outside and
responded negatively to the picture of the mud. Since children are often strongly
discouraged from playing in the mud, it may be that they still enjoy playing outside
but they do not like to play in the mud or it may seem wrong to the children to
enjoy playing in the mud.

Another significant relationship was with children who enjoy camping and
responded negatively to the picture of the snow. The picture of the snow in the
survey given to children did not have any people in it; therefore children may have
believed they would have been playing in the snow alone. So it seems to be that
children who enjoy camping, may enjoy spending time with their parents and do not
enjoy playing in the snow alone as much. It may also be that children prefer the
warmer weather of camping than playing outdoors in the cold snow. Again since
Michigan has very cold winters, this picture could have elicited thoughts of below
freezing days where it is too cold to play outdoors and in the warmer times,

children are able to spend more time outdoors.

49

Another possibility for these negative relationships may be that these pictures are
measuring more than the children’s attitudes toward playing in the mud or snow.
These responses could be part of the child’s learned inhibitions (Moran, 1987).
According to Freud, parental inclinations are linked to the child’ 8 internal and
unconscious determinants of his or her preferences (Moran, 1987). These inhibitions
could be related to parental response to the stimuli or based on the child’ s previous
experiences. This type of inhibition may be formed during the second or third year
of life during the anal period (Thomas, 1992). These activities may invoke the
arousal of dangerous impulses to the child and therefore he or she chooses not to
participate in these kind of activities (Madison, 1961).

Relationship of Children’s Exposure to the Natm-al Enviromnent and their
Environmental Attitudes at Varying Age Levels

It was found that the relationship between children’ 5 exposure to the natural
environment and their environmental attitudes does not differ with respect to age in
the group of children studied. When examining the scores, it was found that the
four-year-old children with low levels of exposure (“i = 30.28) had a higher
environmental attitude mean score (2 = 63.15) than the environmental attitude mean
score (r = 61.43) of the four-year-old children with higher levels of exposure (it =
37.14). It was thought that the 4-year-old children who do not receive as much
exposure to the natural environment had more positive environmental attitudes. This
may be because younger children may not have as much exposure because of their

age, and they require supervision when they are outdoors.

50

It was found that the 4-year-old children who received higher levels of exposure
to the natural environment (i = 37.14) had lower environmental attitudes (x =
61.43). This may be because the younger children may be restricted more, by
parents, outdoors to insure safety. It may also be because of their age they are not
physically capable of doing some activities outdoors that look enjoyable to them.
This may be especially true if the children have older siblings with greater
capability. These younger children may feel left out when playing outdoors.

The environmental attitude mean scores (x = 65.43 and 67.73) for the 7-year-old
children with low and high exposure levels were higher than either of the 4- (r =
63.15 and 61.43) and 10—year—old (x = 61.40 and 64.50) children’s mean scores.
This could be due to the fact that the 7-year-old group was small and limited in
diversity. This group was the smallest of the three groups. The majority of the
children attended the same school and all of them lived in similar neighborhoods.

The3 higher mean scores could also be attributed to the developmental level of
the 7-year-old children. According to Piaget, (Thomas, 1992) at 7 years old children
are transitioning from preoperational thought to concrete thought. Based on these
results and the developmental time period of the 7-year-old group, it could be that
environmental attitudes can be more strongly influenced at this age level.

Personal Observations

It was extremely difficult to access elementary schools for this project. Many
of the school principals, directors of instruction, and assistant superintendents declined
to participate in this project because it was not related to reading, writing, or

arithmetic. Even after receiving approval from the schools, parent participation was

51

very low. This could be because there is a low priority of environmental issues in
the school systems, as well as among parents. Environmental education does not
seem to be a priority in today’s educational system. Of the families asked to
participate, many may have felt this study was unimportant or did not find the time
to fill out the survey. Because of the low participation this research project was
very time consuming. It took approximately 9 months to collect the data for this
project.

The children responded in a number of different ways to the CERIA. Many
quickly pointed to their response and others took their time deciding. Many of the
children responded to why they chose a particular answer and others were silent
through the whole test. This may be because the primary investigator was a
stranger to the children and some were shy individuals, while others were very
excited to look at the pictures and to share their experiences.

Implications for Practitioners

Although there is still much to learn about children and nature, adults can begin
to make a difference now. Teachers and parents need to promote these positive
attitudes throughout childhood through exposure and educating children about the
nature world. Children acquire knowledge through experience. Teachers and parents
need to involve children in nature related activities. This involvement will give
them the experience to gain knowledge about the environment.

According to the findings of this study, it seems to be that families who
participate in environmentally conscious activities influence the formation of their

children’s environmental attitudes. To promote positive enviromnental attitudes in

52

children it may be inferred that environmentally conscious activities should be
incorporated in the classroom. Examples of these would be to recycle materials
used, turning the OH lights when not using them to conserve energy, incorporating
books about the environment, planting vegetables and other plants, and going on
field trips to natural environmental areas such as a wetland areas and/or a nature
walk. At the same time, teachers need to explain to children the importance of our
interaction in and with the natural environment. According to some of the findings
of this study, it may be more beneficial to seven-year-old children to incorporate
these activities into the classroom. It seems that this may be an influential age for
the development of environmental attitudes. More research is needed in this area to
support these findings, however.

Parents should increase the amount of environmentally conscious activities they
participate in at home.
Implications for Future Research

The CERIA consisted of 15 pictures of the natural enviromnent. These pictures
were chosen to be developmentally appropriate for ages 4 through 10. Some of the
pictures seemed to be inappropriate for the older children, such as the pictures of
the sandbox play. Since the original CERI was appropriate for ages 9 to adulthood,
it may be more effective to use the original for the 10-year-old sample. For the
younger children, the CERIA would need to parallel the questions used for the 10-
year-old sample in order to compare the groups.

Considering it was difficult to make conclusions about the negative relationships,

i.e., children who like to be outside but do not like to the picture of the mud and

53

children who like to go camping but did not like the picture of the snow, the future
researchers may want to interview children to elicit more explanatory responses in
these areas. When using this environmental attitudes scale though, future researchers
may want to replace the pictures of the mud and the snow so that the scale solely
focuses on environmental attitudes and not other inhibitions that may have been
developed during the anal period of development.

Although the CERIA was found to be reliable, in contained pictures of places
which children may not see very often, if ever. There may have been more
diversity among the children’ 5 responses if the pictures were related to an outdoor
area which was more familiar to themselves, such as a yard, playground, and sports
field. This would elicit attitudes regarding the near outdoor environment which may
be different than that of the far outdoor environment.

The PS measured the parental assessment of the children’ 5 exposure to the
natural environment. Children today spend a majority of their time in school or
with friends. Parents are not always aware of the time their children spend outdoors
when they are not around. Therefore, a corresponding survey to assess the total
awareness and knowledge of the natural environment may have given more thorough
results.

It also seemed that the surveys used in this study were very similar in content
and question responses. In the future, researchers might want to evaluate the parent
survey, since the reliability of this scale was acceptable but also borderline. The

content may need to be expanded upon in order to receive more diverse answers. It

54

seemed that in this study the parents and the children were answering the same
questions and there were a lot of parallels between them.

Some expansions which could be made would be questions which evaluated
other activities the family may participate in, such as a computer used by the
children. How much television is watched in the home? How much time does the
child spend away from home and where is the child when helshe is not at home?
All of these questions would assist in determining the exposure and value of the
natural environment in the family.

The sample used in this study was limited in diversity. A more diverse
population with respect to socio-economic status, cultural background, age level of
the parents, family structure, and education level may create results more
representative of the overall population. A comparison of children from urban areas
and rural areas would evaluate differences in place of residence as well. Differences
have been found in older children in a previous study (Hardy & Fox, 1976).

This study used children’s general age and not their exact age. In future
research, it will be beneficial to collect the birthdate of the children as well to
assess the children’s exact age. This would assist in comparing the differences
within the groups as well as between groups. With a larger number of children the
results may be more significant and generalizable to the overall population.
Conclusion

This study is only the beginning in this area. It was small, but did have some
significant findings. Future research needs to focus on the children’s awareness and

knowledge of the natural environment as it relates to their enviromnental exposure

55

and their environmental attitudes. There are a number of different aspects to
examine in the research to learn about the depths of the links between children and
the namral environment. Further research is needed to gain more knowledge of this

intriguing topic.

APPENDIX A

Communication With Schools

57

Nancy Surbrook
6293 W. Lake Dr.
Haslett, MI 48840

January 14, 1997

Richard Neus

Bennett Woods Elementary School
2650 Bennett Rd.

Okemos, MI 48864

Dear Mr. Neus,

My name is Nancy Surbrook, and I am a graduate student at Michigan State
University pursuing a Masters degree in Family and Child Ecology. I am
conducting a research study examining young children’s exposure to the natural
environment and how it affects their environmental attitudes. Most studies that
have been conducted have focused on children’s attitudes toward the natural
environment and on older children in general.

I am looking for children to participate in this study. Participation will involve
children four, seven, and eleven years old to answer questions about their
attitudes about the environment. Participation consists of approximately 50 seven
year old children and 50 ten year old children. The questions will consist of a
series of pictures shown to the child. They will then be asked to tell how much
they like the picture. The survey questions will take approximately 10 minutes
to complete. Participation will also involve sending a survey home to parents to
evaluate the exposure to the natural environment of the children.

Attached is an information sheet and a sample permission slip that will be sent
to the parents of the children. I can promise you that no one will be forced to
participate in this activity if they choose not to. The information gathered from
this study will be used for the purposes of this project only, and the
confidentiality of all children and parents will be maintained.

I would appreciate your informing me of your decision as soon as possible. I
can be reached at 339-6435. If you have any questions, please feel free to
contact me.

Thank you for your help.

Sincerely,

Nancy Surbrook

APPENDIX B

Communication with Parents

58

Appendix B: Communication With Parents

Nancy Surbrook

6293 W. Lake Dr.

Haslett, Mi. 48840
January 13, 1997

Dear Families,

My name is Nancy Surbrook, and I am a graduate student at Michigan State
University pursuing a Masters degree in Family and Child Ecology. I am
currently investigating young children’s exposure to the natural environment and
how it affects their environmental attitudes. Some studies that have been
conducted have focused on children’s attitudes toward the natural environment and
on older children in general.

I am looking for children to participate in this study. Participation involves your
four year old, seven year old or ten year old child answering questions about
their attitudes toward pictures shown to them of the natural environment. They
will be asked to tell how much they like the pictures shown to them. The
survey questions will take approximately 10 rrrinutes to complete and will be
conducted at the school or child care center your child attends. Enclosed is a
survey for you to fill out regarding the amount of exposure your child has had
to different natural environment areas. You can return this survey by sending it
back to school and the permission slip with your child. If you are not interested
in participating you do not need to return the permission slip or the survey.

Attached is a permission slip that will give authorization for your child to
participate in the activity. I can promise you that no child will be forced to
participate in this activity if helshe chooses not to. The information gathered
from this study will be used for the purposes of this project only and the
confidentiality of all the children will be maintained. Filling out the attached
permission slip does not obligate your child to participate in the study. Your
child may drop out at any time.

I would be very grateful for your child’s cooperation and assistance and for your
permission to allow your child to participate. Please take a few moments to fill
out the attached permission slip. If you have any questions, please feel free to
contact me. Thank you for your help.

Sincerely,

Nancy Surbrook
(517)339-6435

APPENDIX C

Permission Slip

59

Appendix C: Permission Slip

This study investigates children’s exposure to the natural environment and how it
affects their environmental attitudes. Your childlren ages four, seven and/or ten
will be asked to answer questions about their attitudes toward pictures shown to
them about the natural environment. They will be asked to tell how much they
like each picture shown to them. This survey will be conducted at the child’s
school, preschool and/or child care center. It will be conducted on a one-on-one
basis by the primary investigator. The survey questions will take approximately
10 minutes to complete. Parents will also fill a survey out. This survey will be
used to determined the amount of exposure your children have had to different
natural environment areas. You can fill out this survey and return it back to the
school, preschool, or the child care center that you children attend. This survey
will take a approximately 5 minutes for you to fill out. Your participation as
well as your child/ren’ s is voluntary and you can discontinue your involvement or
your childlren can discontinue his/her/their participation in this project at any time
without explanation and without penalty. All data will be kept confidential by
the primary investigator. Only aggregate data will be available to parents,
directors, and principals. If you have any questions or concerns concerning
participation of yourself or your childlren fell free to contact me, Nancy
Surbrook, at (517) 339-6435.

I/we voluntarily agree to participate in this study and give permission for my/our
childlren to also participate in this study.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Parent Signature Date
Parent Signature Date
Child’ 5 Signature Date

 

 

Child’s Signature Date

APPENDIX D

Instruments

60

Appendix D: Instruments

PARENT SURVEY

The goal of this survey is to find out the past experiences that young
children have with the natural environment. Please indicate your response to the
questions below by placing a check mark beside the best answer to each
question.

1. How often does your child participate in planting vegetables and/or flowers?

( ) Never
( ) Rarely
( ) Occasionally
( ) Often
2. How often does your family participate in composting yard waste?
( ) Never
( ) Rarely
( ) Occasionally
( ) Often
3. How often does your family participate in recycling of materials?
( ) Never
(__ ) Rarely
(' ) Occasionally
( ) Often

4. How often does your child participate in recycling and/or compost yard
waste?

( ) Never

( ) Rarely

( ) Occasionally
( ) Often

5. How often does your child play outside?
) Never

) Rarely

) Occasionally

) Often

AAA/K

6]

6. How much does your child enjoy playing outdoors?
( ) Does not enjoy playing outdoors at all
( ) Enjoys playing outdoors very little
( ) Sometimes enjoys playing outdoors
( ) Enjoys playing outdoors often

7. How much does your child enjoy playing games with other children, such
as hopscotch and softball, when he/she is outside?

( ) Never

( ) Rarely

( ) Occasionally
( ) Often

8. How much does your child enjoy using tools and objects, such as shovels
and rakes, when helshe is outside?

( ) Never

( ) Rarely

( ) Occasionally
( ) Often

9. How much does your child enjoy observing and actively investigating the
physical environment? (Ex. Plants, trees, and flowers)

( ) Never

( ) Rarely

( ) Occasionally

( ) Often

10. How often does your family spend time at a park?

( ) Never

( ) Rarely

( ) Occasionally

( ) Often

11. How much does your child enjoy playing at the park?
( ) Does not enjoy it at all
( ) Enjoys it very little
( ) Sometimes enjoys the park
( ) Enjoys it a lot of the time

12. How often does your family spend time at the beach?
( ) Never
( ) Ramly
( ) Occasionally
( ) Often

62

13. How much does your child enjoy playing at the beach?
( ) Does not enjoy it at all
( ) Enjoys it very little
( ) Sometimes enjoys the beach
( ) Enjoys it a lot of the time

14. How often does your family go camping?

( ) Never

( ) Rarely

( ) Occasionally
( ) Often

15. How much does your child enjoy camping?
) Does not enjoy it at all
) Enjoys it very little
) Sometimes enjoys the camping
) Enjoys it a lot of the time

(
(
(
(
16. Where do you live in the community?
( ) Rural/farm
( ) Rural/non-farm
( ) Suburban
( ) Urban
17. Where do the maternal grandparents live?
( ) Rural/farm
( ) Rural/non-farm
( ) Suburban
( ) Urban

18. Where do the paternal grandparents live?
( ) Rural/farm
( ) Rural/non-farm
( ) Suburban
( ) Urban
19. ow often do your children visit their maternal grandparents?
) Daily
) Weekly
) Monthly
) Occasionally

63

20. How often do your children visit their paternal grandparents?

( ) Daily

( ) Weekly

( ) Monthly

( ) Occasionally

21. What is your age?

 

22. What is the age of the other parent of your child?

 

23. What is the average age of the maternal grandparents?

 

24. What is the average age of the paternal grandparents?

 

25. What is your occupation?

 

26. What is the occupation of the other parent of your child?

 

27. What is your sex?
( ) male
( ) female

28. What is your educational level?
) some high school classes
) high school diploma
) some college classes
) Associate’s Degree
) Bachelor’s Degree

) Master’s Degree

) Ph.D., MD, or other higher education degrees
) Other

AAAAAAAA

29.

30.

What is the educational level of the other parent of your child?

(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(

)

vvvvvvv

some high school classes

high school diploma

some college classes

Associate’s Degree

Bachelor’ 5 Degree

Master’s Degree

Ph.D., MD, or other higher education degrees
Other

What is your estimated annual household income?
) less than $10,000

(
(
(
(
(
(
(

$10,000-$19,000
$20,000-$29,000
$30,000-$39,000
$40,000-$49,000
$50,000-$59,000
$60,000 and above

65

Parent Survey Scoring Sheet

The goal of this survey is to find out the past experiences that young
children have with the natural environment. Please indicate your response to the
questions below by placing a check mark beside the best answer to each
question.

1. How often does your child participate in planting vegetables and/or flowers?

0( ) Never
1( ) Rarely
2( ) Occasionally
3( ) Often
2. How often does your family participate in composting yard waste?
0( ) Never
1( ) Rarely
2( ) Occasionally
3( ) Often
3. How often does your family participate in recycling of materials?
0( ) Never
1( ) Rarely
2( ) Occasionally
3( ) Often

4. How often does your child participate in recycling and/or compost yard
waste?

0( ) Never
1( ) Rarely
2( ) Occasionally
3( ) Often
5 How 0 11 does your child play outside?

fte
0( ) Never
) Rarely
) Occasionally
) Often
6. How much does your child enjoy playing outdoors?
0( ) Does not enjoy playing outdoors at all
1( ) Enjoys playing outdoors very little
2( ) Sometimes enjoys playing outdoors
3( ) Enjoys playing outdoors often

66

7. How much does your child enjoy playing games with other children, such as
hopscotch and softball, when helshe is outside?

0( ) Never

1 ( ) Rarely

2( ) Occasionally
3( ) Often

8. How much does your child enjoy using tools and objects, such as shovels
and rakes, when helshe is outside?

0( ) Never

1( ) Rarely

2( ) Occasionally
3( ) Often

9. How much does your child enjoy observing and/or actively investigating the

10.

11.

12.

13.

physical outdoor environment? (Ex. Plants and flowers)
0( ) Never

1( ) Rarely

2( ) Occasionally

3( ) Often

How often does your family spend time at a park?
0( ) Never

1( ) Rarely

2( ) Occasionally

3( ) Often

How much does your child enjoy playing at the park?

0( ) Does not enjoy it at all

1( ) Enjoys it very little

2( ) Sometimes enjoys the park
3( ) Enjoys it a lot of the time

How often does your family spend time at the beach?

0( ) Never

1( ) Rarely

2( ) Occasionally
3( ) Often

How much does your child enjoy playing at the beach?

0( ) Does not enjoy it at all

1( ) Enjoys it very little

2( ) Sometimes enjoys the beach
3( ) Enjoys it a lot of the time

67

14. How often does your family go camping?

0( ) Never

1 ( ) Rarely

2( ) Occasionally
3( ) Often

15. How much does your child enjoy camping?
0( ) Does not enjoy it at all
1( ) Enjoys it very little
2( ) Sometimes enjoys the camping
3( ) Enjoys it a lot of the time

16. Where do you live in the community?
) Rural/farm

) Rural/non-farm

) Suburban

) Urban

17. Where do the maternal grandparents live?
( ) Rural/farm
( ) Rural/non-farm
( ) Suburban
( ) Urban

Rural/farm
Rural/non-farm
Suburban

18. Where do the paternal grandparents live?
(
(
(
( Urban

vvvv

19. How often do your children visit their maternal grandparents?
( ) Daily
( ) chkly
( ) Monthly
( ) Occasionally
20. How often do your children visit their paternal grandparents?
( ) Daily
( ) Weekly
( ) Monthly
( ) Occasionally

21. What is your age?

 

68

22. What is the age of the other parent of your child?

 

23. What is the average age of the maternal grandparents?

 

24. What is the average age of the paternal grandparents?

 

25. What is your occupation?

 

26. What is the occupation of the other parent of your child?

 

27. What is your sex?

(
(

)
)

male
female

28. What is your educational level?

5 AAAAAAAA
b)
H

AAAAAAAA

)

vvvvvvv

some high school classes

high school diploma

some college classes

Associate’s Degree

Bachelor’ 8 Degree

Master’s Degree

Ph.D., MD, or other higher education degrees
Other

s the educational level of the other parent of your child?

some high school classes

high school diploma

some college classes

Associate’s Degree

Bachelor’s Degree

Master’s Degree

Ph.D., MD, or other higher education degrees
Other

69

30 . What is your estimated annual household income?
) less than $10,000

$10,000-$19,000

$20,000-$29,000

$30,000-$39,000

$40,000—$49,000

$50,000—$59,000

$60,000 and above

70

Children’s Environmental Response Inventory Adapted

Adapted for younger children from the “Children’ 8 Environmental Response
Inventory” (CERI) by Bunting and Cousins.

Child’ s Age:

 

DIRECTION’S FOR ADULT:

This survey tries to find out what young children enjoy in the natural
environment around them. There are fifteen items with corresponding pictures in
which children are asked to respond. Since many young children cannot read, an
adult will work one-on-one with each child. Within each item the adult will
define the picture and ask how much the child enjoys the scene. The child will
be asked to point to the appropriate dot which represents how much they like the
image in the picture. One practice question is provided below for the child to
learn about the nature of the questions and how to respond using the different
sized dots. The adult giving the survey will use the exact same wording with
each child being tested. The entire script is provided below beginning with the
next section called “Directions for the Child”.

DIRECTIONS FOR THE CHILD:

Hello, My name is MsJMr. . I have some pictures of different
things from the outdoors such as trees and water that I want to show you.
When I show you a picture of something I am going to ask you how much you
like what is in the picture. You can tell me how much you like the picture by
pointing at the dots I have here. If you like what is in the picture a lot you
can point to the largest dot (point to the largest dot). If you like the picture a
little you can point to the next largest dot (point to the next largest dot). If you
neither like nor dislike the picture you can point to the middle dot (point to the
middle dot). If you do not like the picture you can point to the small dot
(point to the small dot). If you do not like the picture at all you can point to
the smallest dot (point to the smallest dot). Show me the dot which means you
like the picture a lot. Show me the dot which means you like the picture a
little. Show me the dot which means you neither like nor dislike the picture.
Show me the dot which means you do not like the picture. Show me the dot
that means you do not like the picture at all. Great! You can point to the dot
that shows how much you like the picture. Now let’s look at some pictures.

7i

PRACTICE QUESTION :

A. This is a picture of a ball.

How would like playing with the ball?

Would you like it a lot, like it a little, neither like it not dislike it, not like
it, or not like it at all?

Point to the dot that represents how much you would like to play with this
ball.

MEASUREMENT QUESTIONS:

1.

This is a picture of a path in the woods where some people like to walk.
How would you like walking in the woods with your family?

Would you like it a lot, like it a little, neither like it not dislike it, not like
it, or not like it at all?

Point to the dot you choose.

This is a picture of all different colored leaves.

How would you like walking through the leaves?

Would you like it a lot, like it a little, neither like it not dislike it, not like
it, or not like it at all?

Point to the dot you choose.

. This is a picture of some mud.

How would you like to play in the mud?

Would you like it a lot, like it a little, neither like it not dislike it, not like
it, or not like it at all?

Point to the dot you choose.

This is a picture of the sun rising in the morning.

How would you like to get up early and watch the sun rise?

Would you not like it at all, not like it, neither like it not dislike it, like it a
little, or like it a lot?

Point to the dot you choose.

This is a picture of a house in the woods where some nice people live.

How would you like living with your family in a house in the woods?
Would you not like it at all, not like it, neither like it not dislike it, like it a
little or like it a lot?

Point to the dot you choose.

72

6. This is a picture of a forest.
How would you like to play in the forest?
Would you like it a lot, like it a little, neither like it not dislike it, not like
it, or not like it at all?
Point to the dot you choose.

7. This is a picture of a yard with lots of different plants and trees where
some children like to play.
How would you like playing in this yard?
Would you like it a lot, like it a little, neither like it not dislike it, not like
it, or not like it at all?
Point to the dot you choose.

8. This is a picture of a family camping in the woods. This is the tent where
they sleep.
How would you like camping in the woods with your family?
Would you like it a lot, like it a little, neither like it not dislike it, not like
it, or not like it at all?
Point to the dot you choose.

9. This is a picture of a flower garden.
How would you like to plant flowers?
Would you like it a lot, like it a little, neither like it not dislike it, not like
it, or not like it at all?
Point to the dot you choose.

10. This is a picture of a sandbox.
How would you like to play in the sandbox?
Would you like it a lot, like it a little, neither like it not dislike it, not like
it, or not like it at all?
Point to the dot you choose.

ll.This is a picture of a beach.
How would you like to play at the beach?
Would you like it a lot, like it a little, neither like it not dislike it, not like
it, or not like it at all?
Point to the dot you choose.

12. This is a picture of some trees.
How would you like to climb one of these trees?
Would you not like it at all, not like it, neither like it not dislike it, like it a
little or like it a lot?
Point to the dot you choose.

73

13. This is a picture of somebody’s house in the winter, there is snow all
around it.
How would you like to play in the snow?
Would you like it a lot, like it a little, neither like it not dislike it, not like
it, or not like it at all?
Point to the dot you choose.

14. This is a picture of ducks in the water.
How would you like to feed these ducks?
Would you like it a lot, like it a little, neither like it not dislike it, not like
it, or not like it at all?
Point to the dot you choose.

15. This is a picture of a lake.
How would you like to go swimming in the lake?
Would you not like it at all, not like it, neither like it not dislike it, like it a
little or like it a lot?
Point to the dot you choose.

74

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Appendix E

UCRIHS Approval

 

OFFICE or
RESEARCH

AND
GRADUATE
STUDIES

Michloan State university
232 Administration Building
antmumnunmgm
enema

517/355-2180
FAX: 517/432-1171

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Appendix E: UCRIHS Approval

MICHIGAN STATE

UNIVERSITY
June 20, 1996

To: Nancy A. Surbrook
4464 Janice Lee Dr. Apt. 8208
Okemos, MI 48864

RE: IRBfl: 96-335
TITLE: CHILDREN‘S EXPOSURE TO THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
AND THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL ATTITUDES

REVISION REQUESTED: u/Ié
APPROVALDA‘I‘E: 06/20/96

The University Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects'(UCRIHS)
' ‘ ' 1e e.‘ I am pleased to adVise that the
rig ts and welfare of the human subjects appear to be adequately
protected and methods to obtain informed consent are appropriate.
agerefore, the 3 “:35 approved this preject and any reViSions listed
ove.

RINIIAL: UCRIHS approval is valid for one calendar year, beginning with
the approval date shown above. Investigators planning to
continue a progect beyond one year must use the green renewal
form (enclosed With t e original approval letter or when a
project is renewed) to seek u date certification. There is a
maXimum of four such expedite renewals possible. Investigators
wishing to continue a preject beyond that time need to submit it
again or complete reView.

RIVISIONS: UCRIHS must review an chan es in grocedures involving human
subjects, rior to initiation of t e chan e. If this is done at
the time o tenewa , p ease use the green renewal form. To
revise an approved protocol at an other time during the ear,
send your written request to the. CRIHS Chair, requesting revised
approval and referenCing the proyect's IRE # and title.‘ Include
in our request a description of the change and any reVised
ins ruments, consent forms or advertisements that are applicable.

paostnts/

CBANGIS: Should either of the following arise during the course of the
work, investigators must noti y UCRIHS promptly: (1) problems
(unexpected side effects, comp aints, e c.) involv1ng uman
subjects.or (2)_changes in the research enVironment or new
information indicating greater risk to the human sub ects than
existed when the protocol was preViously reViewed an approved.

If we can be of any future help. please do not hesitate to contact us
at (517)355-2180 or FAX (517)‘ 2-217‘2.

Sincerely,

DEW:bed

cc: Anne Soderman

List of References

92

List of References

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Babbie, E. (1995). The Practice of Social Research (7Lh ed.) California:
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Baird, D. (1991, October) Environmental Education: Looking to the Past
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Barnhart, L. (1973). Outdoor Recreation and Environmental Attitudes.
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Castle, A. (1996). Children’s Exposure to the Natural Environment as
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Chawla, L. (1988, Fall). Children’s Concern for the Natural Environment.
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93

Dresner, M. & Gill, M. (1984). Environmental Education at Summer
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Frances, C., Boyes, E., Qualter, A. & Stanisstreet, M. (1993). Ideas of
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Gifford, R., Hay, R., & Boros, K. (l982/l983,). Individual Differences in
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Hardy, C. A. & Fox, N. D. (1976). Environmental Awareness in Rural,
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Harvey, M. R. (1989, Spring). Children’s Experiences with Vegetation.
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Hill, D. M. (1977). Mud, Sand, & Water. National Association for the
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Hines, J. M., Hungerford, H. R., Tomera, A. N. (1986/87). Analysis and
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Jaus, H. M. (1984). The Development and Retention of Environmental
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Karp, M. (1987). America (pp. 25, 139, 157, 199, 227, 243, 265, 277,
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Kellert, S. R. (1985). Attitudes Toward Animals: Age-Related
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Kirby, M. A. (1989, Spring). Nature as Refuge in Children’s
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Kostelnik, M. J., Soderman, A. K., & Whiren, A. P. (1993).

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94

Kostka, M. D. (1976). Nature Center Program Impact. Journal of
Environmental Education,_Z, p. 52-64.

Madison, P. (1961). Freud’s Concept of Repression all Defense, Its
Theoretical and Observational Langpage. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota
Press.

Malkus, A. J. & Musser, L. M. (1994). The Children’s Attitudes Toward
the Environmental Scale. Journal of Environmental Education 25, p. 22-26.

 

McKechnie, G. E. (1974). ERI Manual. Berkeley: Consulting
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McKechnie, G. E. (1977). The Environmental Resppnse Inventog is
Application. E_nviromnentfi_and Beh_avior. 9. P. 255-276.

McNab, W. L. (1976, November). Sexual Attitude Development in
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McTeer, HJ. (1978). Teenage-Adult Differences in Concern for
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Moran, G. S. (1987). Some Functions of Play and Playfulness: A
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Nabhan, G. P. & Trimble, S. (1994). The Geogr_aphy of Childhood.
Boston, MA: Beacon Press.

Pettus, A. (1974). Environmental Education & Environmental Attitudes.
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Regan, D. T. & Fazio, R. (1977). On the Consistency Between Attitudes
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Exmriential Social Psychology, 13, p. 28-45.

Rivkin, M. S. (1995). The Great Outdoors: Restoring Children’s Right to
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95

Shepard, C. L. & Speelman, L. R. (1985/86). Affecting Environmental
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Sontag, M. S. & Bubolz, M. M. (1993). Human Ecology Theory. In P.G.
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SPSS for Windows 6.1 (1996).
Strickland, M. P., Robertson, E. B., Jettinghoff, C. R. & Diener, C. S.

(1983-84) Pretest & posttest Comparisons of Preschool Children’s Knowledge
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Szagun, G. & Mesenholl E. (1993). Environmental Ethics: An Empirical
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Thomas, R. M. (1992). Comparing Theories of Child Development.
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Turner, T. (1991). Sierra Club: 100 Years of Protecting Nature. New
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