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 4
th, 5
th, and 6
th 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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