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Norwegian Kindergarten Children’s Knowledge about the Environmental Component of Sustainable Development

Author

Listed:
  • Claudia Melis

    (Department of Nature, Environment and Health, Queen Maud University College for Early Childhood Education, 7044 Trondheim, Norway)

  • Per-Arvid Wold

    (Department of Nature, Environment and Health, Queen Maud University College for Early Childhood Education, 7044 Trondheim, Norway)

  • Kathrine Bjørgen

    (Department of Physical Activity and Health, Queen Maud University College for Early Childhood Education, 7044 Trondheim, Norway)

  • Børge Moe

    (Department of Physical Activity and Health, Queen Maud University College for Early Childhood Education, 7044 Trondheim, Norway)

Abstract

Although kindergarten children are the group of citizens who will face the consequences of today’s environmental challenges, research on their knowledge about environmental sustainability is limited. In June 2019, we interviewed 56 children (five to six years old) from eight kindergartens in Norway and asked kindergarten staff and the children’s parents to fill out a short questionnaire. The aim of the study was to investigate children’s knowledge of how our actions affect the natural environment and children’s self-declared sense of belonging to nature. Our results show that upon completing kindergarten, many children had gained an early understanding of environmental sustainability. Garbage disposal, deforestation, and air pollution from vehicles were the environmental issues children were most aware. We detected a positive association between time spent in nature with parents and children’s knowledge; this emphasizes the importance of children spending time in nature with their parents.

Suggested Citation

  • Claudia Melis & Per-Arvid Wold & Kathrine Bjørgen & Børge Moe, 2020. "Norwegian Kindergarten Children’s Knowledge about the Environmental Component of Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-16, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:19:p:8037-:d:421347
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. World Commission on Environment and Development,, 1987. "Our Common Future," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780192820808.
    2. United Nations UN, 2015. "Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development," Working Papers id:7559, eSocialSciences.
    3. Julie Ernst & Firdevs Burcak, 2019. "Young Children’s Contributions to Sustainability: The Influence of Nature Play on Curiosity, Executive Function Skills, Creative Thinking, and Resilience," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(15), pages 1-22, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Claudia Melis & Per-Arvid Wold & Anna Maria Billing & Kathrine Bjørgen & Børge Moe, 2020. "Kindergarten Children’s Perception about the Ecological Roles of Living Organisms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-15, November.
    2. Elżbieta Izabela Szczepankiewicz & Jan Fazlagić & Windham Loopesko, 2021. "A Conceptual Model for Developing Climate Education in Sustainability Management Education System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-26, January.
    3. Kalliopi Kanaki & Michail Kalogiannakis & Emmanouil Poulakis & Panagiotis Politis, 2022. "Investigating the Association between Algorithmic Thinking and Performance in Environmental Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-16, August.
    4. Hosany, A. R. Shaheen & Hosany, Sameer & He, Hongwei, 2022. "Children sustainable behaviour: A review and research agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 236-257.

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