“It wouldn't be the same without nature”—The value of nature according to Finnish upper secondary school students

Sjöblom, Pia; Wolff, Lili-Ann

doi:10.1080/00958964.2017.1367637

Cited by 11 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…About a third of students connect their positive emotions with aesthetic aspects of nature. This finding further supports the idea found in other studies (Keith et al, 2022;Kellert & Wilson, 1993;Maurer & Bogner, 2020a;Sjöblom & Wolff, 2017;[Author(s)]), that youth tend to identify with aesthetic aspects of nature focusing on beauty, colors, and other positive visual characteristics. It is interesting to note that students noticed beauty in very different settings: in picture postcard settings in the mountains but also in the backyard of their city apartment building (see figures 2 and 4).…”

Section: Positive Feelings Toward Naturesupporting

confidence: 90%

What does Nature mean to You? – Photo analysis of Urban Middle School Students’ Perception of Nature

Bezeljak¹,

Möller²,

Johnson³

2023

Preprint

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In the present study, we explore the perception of urban middle school students’ representations of nature using participatory photography and their nature connectedness. 121 preadolescents (6th grade, age 11-13) were asked to take a photo of what nature is to them and write a short description of what is in the image. In a mixed method study applying the “Inclusion of Nature in Self” scale, we investigated 1) what are middle school students’ perceptions of nature as evidenced through their own photography, 2) what are the differences between students who are more connected with nature and those who are less connected and 3) how can photography be used as a tool to investigate students' perceptions of nature? Students’ nature perceptions were diverse, with a majority showing plants and nature close to home. More than half mentioned positive emotions and a third aesthetic aspects of nature. Students who scored higher on the INS, defined as more connected to nature photographed a greater diversity of phenomena and geographies, many outside of urban areas. Participatory photography proved to be an excellent choice for an inclusive data collection method in Education for Sustainable Development, especially for students with reading or writing difficulties or language barriers.

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Section: Positive Feelings Toward Naturesupporting

confidence: 90%

What does Nature mean to You? – Photo analysis of Urban Middle School Students’ Perception of Nature

Bezeljak¹,

Möller²,

Johnson³

2023

Preprint

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“…Amid increasing concerns about children's disconnection from nature (Louv 2005;England Marketing 2009;Gill 2005; Sustainable Development Commission 2011), the role of schools in providing opportunities for children to learn about nature and the outdoors through outdoor learning is increasingly important (Tugurian and Carrier 2017;Sjöblom and Wolff 2017). Assessments of the time children spend outdoors in natural environments show that significant groups of the population spend little time outdoors (Hunt, Burt, and Stewart 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Concerns have been expressed that if children do not know of and appreciate the natural world they are less likely to care for it and so adopt pro-environmental behaviours (Zylstra et al 2014;Beery and Wolf-Watz 2014). It is suggested that time children spend at school could be used to provide opportunities for children to be outdoors in nature (Adams and Savahl 2017) and nurture an interest in and ethic of care for nature (Tugurian and Carrier 2017;Hart 1994;Sjöblom and Wolff 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing a relationship with nature and place: the potential role of forest school

Harris

2021

Environmental Education Research

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Outdoor learning provides an opportunity for schools to foster children's engagement with nature. This paper focusses on forest school practitioners' perceptions of children's development of a relationship with nature and the place where forest school occurs, through interviews with forest school activity leaders. Reflecting on literature, the analysis of interviews sought to identify the processes through which attachment to place or connection to nature occurs. The findings suggest that through regular and repeated activities in a natural setting at forest school, children become more relaxed, overcome any fears, have fun, connect with nature as they come to know it better, and develop an affinity for the location.Further, they develop a sense of ownership and concern for the forest school setting and desire to protect it. For some forest school practitioners, fostering a relationship with nature and place, and developing proenvironmental behaviour, is a fundamental part of their practice.

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“…The search keywords used were "interest in nature." Although we found some publications that tried to empirically measure interest in nature (e.g., Sjöblom and Wolff, 2017;Palmberg et al, 2019;Ahnesjö and Danielsson, 2020), no validated instrument covering the three dimensions of the psychological construct of interest was found. In most cases, these were single item measurement instruments.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To examine whether a validated and established measurement tool for interest in nature already exists in the literature, we searched the scientific database Education Resources Information Center (ERIC). The search keywords used were “interest in nature.” Although we found some publications that tried to empirically measure interest in nature (e.g., Sjöblom and Wolff, 2017 ; Palmberg et al, 2019 ; Ahnesjö and Danielsson, 2020 ), no validated instrument covering the three dimensions of the psychological construct of interest was found. In most cases, these were single item measurement instruments.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nature Interest Scale – Development and Evaluation of a Measurement Instrument for Individual Interest in Nature

et al. 2021

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Interest is an important factor for successful learning that has been the subject of intensive research for decades. Although interest in nature is of great importance for environmental education, to date there is no valid and reliable measurement tool. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to develop and test a scale for interest in nature, the Nature Interest Scale (NIS). In study 1, nine items were selected based on the three dimensions of the psychological interest construct to represent interest in nature. The factor structure of this new measurement instrument, was tested using confirmatory factor analyses. The results show that the instrument represents the three dimensions of the interest construct well. In study 2 the validity (discriminant and convergent validity) as well as the reliability (internal consistency, composite reliability, test-retest reliability) of the NIS were demonstrated. In study 3, the applicability of the NIS was tested with a different target group, students with learning disabilities. The results of this factor analysis also confirm the factor structure of the scale. Thus, this study provides a valid and reliable measurement tool for individual interest in nature that can be used for future research.

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“It wouldn't be the same without nature”—The value of nature according to Finnish upper secondary school students

Cited by 11 publications

References 39 publications

What does Nature mean to You? – Photo analysis of Urban Middle School Students’ Perception of Nature

What does Nature mean to You? – Photo analysis of Urban Middle School Students’ Perception of Nature

Developing a relationship with nature and place: the potential role of forest school

Nature Interest Scale – Development and Evaluation of a Measurement Instrument for Individual Interest in Nature

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