Jennifer Suggate

Influences and Experiences Affecting the Pro‐environmental Behaviour of Educators

SUMMARY This paper examines the relative importance of various categories of influence and formative life experiences on the development of environmental educators’ knowledge and concern for the environment. The authors analyse the ways in which the importance of influences may change through time or be affected by the subjects age. Conclusions are drawn and discussed, including the crucial role of the family and of childhood experiences outdoors in promoting the development of concern for the environment and pro‐environmental adult behaviour.

An Overview of Significant Influences and Formative Experiences on the Development of Adults’ Environmental Awareness in Nine Countries

Summary This article, like the preceding one in this special issue of the journal, examines the relative importance of various categories of influence and formative life experiences on the development of environmental educators’ knowledge of and concern for the environment. It provides an overview of data deriving from nine countries (Australia, Canada, Greece, Hong Kong, Slovenia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Uganda, UK) and highlights global similarities and differences.

Significant Influences on the Development of Adults’ Environmental Awareness in the UK, Slovenia and Greece

Summary This article provides an overview and discussion of the relative importance of various categories of significant influences and formative life experiences on the development of environmental educators’ knowledge of and concern for the environment. A previous article in this journal (Palmer & Suggate, 1996) presents relevant findings deriving from the UK and analyses the ways in which the importance of influences may change through time or be affected by the subjects age. Here, the team of international authors presents data from three European countries and engages in both location‐specific and cross‐cultural comparative analysis.

The development of children's understanding of distant places and environmental issues: Report of a UK longitudinal study of the development of ideas between the ages of 4 and 10 years

The research reported here forms part of a major international study entitled Emergent Environmentalism. The overall purpose of the Emergent Environmentalism research is to investigate the acquisition and development of environmental knowledge, awareness and concern in both adults and young children. This report is of the results of one aspect of this study, namely the development of UK children’s ideas about certain distant places and environmental issues between the ages of 4 and 10 years. Our results are grouped into three sections. Firstly, the children’s factual knowledge about two distant environments (rainforests and polar lands) is considered. Secondly, the children’s ideas about the reasons for and the effects of environmental change in the two areas are discussed. Thirdly, the types of reasoning used by the children in their explanations of the effects of environmental change are examined. In conclusion, the analysis of understanding shows that children as young as 4 years of age are capable of making simple accurate statements about the effects of major environmental change on habitats and living things. Occasionally by the age of 8 and certainly by the age of 10, pupils are capable of appreciating and explaining the complexity of some of the relationships that exist among plants, animals and their habitats, and to provide accurate reasoned explanations of some of the effects of significant changes to global environments.

Thinking about waste: Development of English and Polish children's understanding of concepts related to waste management

SUMMARY This paper contains an overview and discussion of longitudinal and international data relating to young peoples developing understanding of waste materials and waste management from the age of four years. It describes data collected from samples of children in England and in Poland. Firstly we present longitudinal data from the English sample. Secondly we present data from four and six year-olds in Poland. Finally we make comparisons as far as is possible between the data from the two countries. Conclusions demonstrate that young people are very capable indeed of developing sophisticated understanding of waste issues; that carefully structured teaching materials designed to introduce an appropriate range of concepts in a progressive fashion are very important to the development of appropriate understanding; that teacher education on the subject is crucial to educational programmes, and that a holistic approach to waste management education underpins the acquisition of appropriate knowledge.

The number knowledge of four to five year olds at school entry and at the end of their first year

SUMMARY The early development of young childrens number skills has been extensively documented. Moreover throughout the primary school years children build upon these skills to develop more flexible strategies which make less demands on working memory and begin to learn number facts. This paper aims to explore the mix of number knowledge and strategies young children bring into school and the way these develop over the reception year. The wide range of knowledge possessed at school entry as well as the broad span of achievements at the end of childrens first year are noted. The relationship of these skills to the conventional UK reception class curriculum is considered. A persistent trend to find low scores in children who entered school in January is noted. Overall, many children display considerable numerical competence at school entry, most display marked improvement over the year, whilst a small minority still have made very limited progress despite the considerable efforts of their teachers. Reason...

Emerging knowledge of distant environments: An international study of four and six year olds in England, Slovenia and Greece

SUMMARY The research described here forms part of a major international research project entitled ‘Emergent Environmentalism’. This project aims to investigate the nature and origins of early ideas about the environment held by young people, the development of childrens environmental understanding and significant life experiences which influence the development of individuals environmental knowledge and concern. Findings discussed here derive from the three European countries of England, Slovenia and Greece and comprise the first published account of European cross-cultural data on knowledge of distant environments. The paper is concerned with young childrens developing awareness and understanding of two habitats, namely tropical forests, with the associated issue of deforestation, and polar lands, including the impact of global warming. Data help to explain aspects of the knowledge children have about these environments before they enter school, the development of this knowledge from ages four to six ...