Forgotten Nature? Experiences with and Knowledge of Nature Among Schoolchildren: A Pilot Study in Central Switzerland

This pilot study investigates the extent of familiarity among primary school children (6th grades, n = 142, 55.6 % boys) with common local animal and plant species and whether this knowledge differs depending on selected context variables. As the analysis shows, nature is of great importance, and mo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Revija za elementarno izobraževanje 2021-03, Vol.14 (1), p.1-10
Main Authors: Kühnis, Jürgen, Fahrni, Désirée
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescents
Animals
Biodiversity
central switzerland
Children & youth
Core curriculum
Data collection
Educational Environment
Environmental education
Flowers & plants
Knowledge
primary school children
Questionnaires
Science Curriculum
Social Studies
Sociodemographics
species knowledge
Teacher education
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Summary:This pilot study investigates the extent of familiarity among primary school children (6th grades, n = 142, 55.6 % boys) with common local animal and plant species and whether this knowledge differs depending on selected context variables. As the analysis shows, nature is of great importance, and most children already have gathered some basic experience of nature. On average, they correctly identified 51.2 % of the animals and 36.2 % of the plants, but there were obvious gaps in their knowledge. The present results showed a clear connection between the knowledge of native animal and plant species depending on the child’s nationality, whether they have a garden at home and how their parents stimulate their interest in nature.
ISSN:1855-4431
2350-4803
1855-4431
DOI:10.18690/rei.14.1.1-10.2021