Japanese Journal of Environmental Education
Online ISSN : 2185-5625
Print ISSN : 0917-2866
ISSN-L : 0917-2866
Volume 22, Issue 1
Displaying 1-7 of 7 articles from this issue
Articles
  • Kazuaki MATSUMOTO, Naoyuki KAMIKO, Toshiyuki SHIMIZU
    2012 Volume 22 Issue 1 Pages 1_3-13
    Published: October 15, 2012
    Released on J-STAGE: March 31, 2014
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
      Shifting people's behavior toward more environmentally friendly ways has gained importance under an increasing need to make our society sustainable. Although many studies have focused on determinants of pro-environmental behavior, few of them have targeted children.
      In this study, determinants of children's pro-environmental behavior were discussed based on the results of a questionnaire survey of elementary school students. The survey respondents were 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students attending 15 elementary schools in Japan. The questionnaire comprised questions regarding attitudes to, and recognition of, the environment, evaluation of pro-environmental behavior, and frequency of performing that, measured on a 5-point Likert scale. The study focused on water-saving and water-preserving behavior, as these are among the types of pro-environmental behavior most familiar to students. Scoring, aggregation, correlation analysis, and path analysis were conducted based on 1187 replies to the survey.
      A comparison of the results with those of previous studies revealed a difference between the determinants of pro-environmental behavior for students and those for adults. The strongest determinant for pro-environmental behavior in students was feasibility evaluation. No effect of goal intention on behavior was observed. Therefore, student behavior was affected by evaluation of the behavior as feasible for the individual, and did not stem from an attitude of wanting to be environmentally friendly. As age increased, determinants of goal intention shifted from cost-benefit evaluation to social norm evaluation.
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  • Toshiko YAMAMOTO
    2012 Volume 22 Issue 1 Pages 1_14-24
    Published: October 15, 2012
    Released on J-STAGE: March 31, 2014
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
      The present study was conducted to analyze the relationship between experience of nature in childhood (preschool to elementary school) and the social nature of university students with reference to parental attitudes. The study was based on a questionnaire survey of 429 students (163 men and 264 women; 293 from residential areas and 123 from farming areas) attending five universities in May 2008. Students with much nature experience were accepted by their parents to a greater extent than those with less nature experience; in this context, nature experience included activities such as camping, hiking and climbing, growing flowers, make-believe play, playing outdoors and in mountain areas, rearing insects, etc. Such children might also have visited art museums and participated in nature observations, as well as having been taught the importance of good habits and manners. The results showed that the opinions of the parents about child education had influenced their children's nature experience. Comparison of the means of the social disposition “empathy" factor scores and the social attitude “social skill" factor scores revealed a tendency for higher scores to reflect more, rather than less, nature experience. The social nature of these children, nurtured through non-routine activities such as camping, was probably also nurtured by daily involvement with friends and family. University students showed an association between experience of nature in childhood and their social nature.
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  • -A Case Study of a Town Trail Practice in Urban Environmental Education in the UK-
    Takashi MITANI
    2012 Volume 22 Issue 1 Pages 1_25-38
    Published: October 15, 2012
    Released on J-STAGE: March 31, 2014
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
      This article reveals the relationship between the Urban Environmental Education (UEE) and social context. UEE is a campaign conducted by the education unit of the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) in the United Kingdom for promoting environmental education in urban cities. TCPA emphasizes the importance of ‘educational resources’, which refers to educational space; educational facilities, such as human resource; and the network of facilities. Among these, educational space is regarded as the most important resource by the education unit.
      One challenge in the history of UEE research has been to elucidate the relationship between ‘method and approaches’ and social context. To overcome this challenge, we conducted a case study for revealing issues specific to ‘educational resources’, This study has chosen the case of Leicester Town Trail (LTT) as educational space, the first Town Trail in the United Kingdom. Furthermore, this study examines the theoretical framework of LTT and reveals issues specific to LTT as an educational practice, as well as the local social context at the time of LTT’,s establishment.
      The findings of the study were as follows: First, LTT aimed to tackle ‘visual pollution’, which is linked to inner-city problems and responding to re-development plans. Second, the content of LTT is related to the re-evaluation movement of Leicester’s present environment. Third, the educational value of LTT is socially oriented.
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  • -Application to Teaching Practices Focusing on the Five Senses-
    Teppei KAMBAYASHI
    2012 Volume 22 Issue 1 Pages 1_39-52
    Published: October 15, 2012
    Released on J-STAGE: March 31, 2014
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
      Environmental education is an interdisciplinary field that encompasses a variety of areas. However, such an interdisciplinary field presents the challenge of creating a common understanding.
      The purpose of this study was to construct a metatheory for deriving a fundamental common understanding of environmental education. The first step was to formulate a "Structure-Construction Environmental Education Model (SCEEM)" by applying structural constructivism. The second step was to present teaching practices focusing on all five senses as an approach through which the SCEEM can be applied.
      The results suggested that the goals of the practitioner became clearer through practicing an environmental education program based on the SCEEM. Our findings suggest that the SCEEM can include various values and is an effective metatheory for creating a flexible framework.
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