The suggestions kindergarteners make about environmental issues: The case of wasting electricity

PDF (ελληνικά)
Published: Mar 26, 2018
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12681/jret.14137
Keywords:
energy kindergarten students mental models conceptions social constructivism
Ιφιγένεια Ηλιοπούλου
Πανεπιστήμιο Θεσσαλίας
Abstract

The issue of energy and its use constitutes a crucial contemporary issue with social, environmental and economic impacts. School education should play a key role in achieving energy saving towards a sustainable way of living. This study aimed at exploring the kindergarteners’ thoughts, identifying their concepts and mental models, on collective and personal ways of energy saving, and also, at exploring how these mental models might be interrelated. Twenty seven 6-year-olds attending two state schools located in Volos, a small provincial town in Greece, participated in the research. The content analysis of the data collected through interviews conducted with the aid of photographs and other visual means, indicates that two mental models held by young children appear to dominate: one that orientates to the short-term addressing of the energy waste and  one that orientates to the prevention of the problem and relates to preventive actions. Moreover, the research indicates that these two kinds of thinking are related. Finally, implications for education are also discussed in this paper.

Article Details
  • Section
  • Articles
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g. post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (preferably in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
References
Chou, C.Y. (2010). The development study of standardized assessment scales of energy conservation and carbon reduction concepts for students in elementary schools. Masters thesis, National Taichung. University of Education, Taichung.
Clark, A. (2007). A Hundred Ways of Listening. Gathering Children’s Perspectives of Their Early Childhood Environment, Young Children 62 (3), 76–81.
Cohen, L., & Manion, L. (1994) (4th Edition). Research Methods in Education. London: Routledge.
Δ.Ε.Π.Π.Σ. (2001). Διαθεματικό ενιαίο πλαίσιο προγραμμάτων σπουδών για το Νηπιαγωγείο. Αθήνα: ΥΠΕΠΘ ΦΕΚ 1366/18-10-2001, τχ.Β΄.
Davis, J. (2009). Revealing the Research ‘Hole’ of Early Childhood Education for Sustainability: A Preliminary Survey of the Literature. Environmental Education Research, 15 (2), 227–241.
Davis, J. (2010). Young Children and the Environment. Early Education for Sustainability. Sydney: Cambridge University Press.
Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). (2002). Achieving a better quality of life: review of progress towards sustainable development. London: Nobel House.
Eames, C., Roberts, J., Cooper, G., & Hipkins, R. (2010). Education for Sustainability in New Zealand Schools: An Evaluation of Three Professional Development Programmes. Wellington: Ministry of Education.
Edwards-Leis, C. E. (2012). Challenging Learning Journeys in the Classroom: Using Mental Model Theory to Inform How Pupils Think When They are Generating Solutions. In T. Ginner, J. Hallstrom, & M. Hulten (Eds.), Technology Education in the 21st Century (pp.153–162), PATT26 conference, Stockholm, Sweden.
Elliott, S., & Davis, J. (2009). Exploring the resistance: An Australian perspective on educating for sustainability in early childhood. International Journal of Early Childhood, 41(2), 65-76.
European Commission (2010). Energy 2020. A strategy for competitive, sustainable and secure energy. Brussels; E.C.
Farell, A. (2005). Ethical Research with Children. Berkshire: Open University Press.
Fien, J. (2004). Education for Sustainability. In R. Gilbert (Ed.), Studing Society and Environment. A Guide for Teachers, (pp. 84–200), South Melbourne: Thomson.
Greca, M. I., & Moreira, A. (2000). Mental Models, Conceptual Models, and Modeling. International Journal of Science Education, 22(1), 1–11.
Grodzinska-Jurczak, M., Stepska, A., Nieszporek, K., & Bryda, G. (2006). Perception of environmental problems among pre-school children in Poland. International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 15(1), 62-76.
Halford, S. G. (2014). Children’s Understanding: The Development of Mental Models. New York: Psychology Press.
Henderson, L., & Tallman, J. (2006). Stimulated Recall and Mental Models: Tools for Teaching and Learning Computer Information Literacy. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press.
Huckle, J. (2006). Education for Sustainable Development. A briefing paper for the Training and Development Agency for Schools. Retrieved February 2015, from: http://www.citized.info/pdf/induction/John Huckle.doc
Author (2011). Αντιλήψεις παιδιών Νηπιαγωγείου και Γ΄τάξης Δημοτικού για για διάφορες διαστάσεις περιβαλλοντικών θεμάτων όπως: Το δάσος, Τα απορρίμματα, Η ρύπανση αέρα και θάλασσας και η Κατανάλωση νερού και ηλεκτρικής ενέργειας. Διδακτορική διατριβή, Τμήμα Δημοτικής Εκπαίδευσης, Πανεπιστήμιο Θεσσαλίας.
Ilich, J. (2008). Review of the Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative – WA. Perth: Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative – WA (AuSSI-WA).
Johnson-Laird, P. N. (1983). Mental Models. Cambridge: Cambridge University.
Kruger, C., & Summers, M. (2000). Developing Primary School Children's Understanding of Energy Waste. Research in Science & Technological Education, 18(1), 5- 21.
Larri, L. (2010). Evaluation of the Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative ACT 2010. Canberra: ACT Department of the Environment, Climate Change, Energy and Water.
Lee, L.S., Lin, K.Y., Guu, Y.H., Chang, L.T., &Lai, C.C. (2013). The effect of hands-on ‘energy-saving house’ learning activities on elementary school students’ knowledge, attitudes, and behavior regarding energy saving and carbon-emissions reduction. Environmental Education Research, 19(5), 620-638.
Mackey, G. (2012). To know, to decide, to act: the young child’s right to participate in action for the environment. Environmental Education Research, 18(4), 473-484.
Maxqda (2007). MAX Qualitative Data Analysis. Berlin: Verbi Software.
McLaren, P., & Kincheloe, J. (2009). Critical Pedagogy: Where Are We Now?. New York: Peter Lang.
Mezirow, J. (2000). Learning as Transformation: Critical Perspectives on a Theory in Progress. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1984). Qualitative Data Analysis: A Sourcebook of New Methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Ntona, E., Arabatzis, G., & Kyriakopoulos, L.G. (2015). Energy saving: Views and attitudes of students in secondary education. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 46, 1–15.
Παιδαγωγικό Ινστιτούτο (2011). Πρόγραμμα σπουδών του διδακτικού – μαθησιακού πεδίου «Περιβάλλον και εκπαίδευση για την αειφόρο ανάπτυξη» υποχρεωτικής εκπαίδευσης. Αθήνα: Π.Ι.
Pramling Samuelsson, I., & Kaga, Y. (2008). The contribution of early childhood education to a sustainable society, 9-17. Paris: UNESCO.
Rickinson, Μ., Hall, M., & Reid, A. (2016) Sustainable schools programmes: what influence on schools and how do we know? Environmental Education Research, 22(3), 360-389.
Robinson, L., & Vaealiki, S. (2010). Ethics and pedagogy at the heart of early childhood education for sustainability. In J. Davis (Ed.), Young children and the environment: Early education for sustainability (pp.154–84). Melbourne: Cambridge University Press.
Senge, M. P. (2006). The Fifth Discipline. The Art and Practice of Learning Organization (Revised edition). London: Random House Business Book.
Shepardson, P. D., Wee, B., Priddy, M., & Harbor, J. (2007). Students’ Men Models of the Environment. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 44 (2), 327–348.
Stuhmcke, M.S. (2012). Children as change agents for sustainability: An Action Research Case Study in a Kindergarten. Phd diss., Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.
Toth, N., Little, L., Read, C. J., Fitton, D. & Horton, M. (2013). Understanding teen attitudes towards energy consumption. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 34, 36-44.
Tsai, J.S. (2010). The study of energy knowledge attitude and behavior of the sixth-grade students in Kaohsiung County. Masters thesis, National University of Tainan, Tainan.
United Nations Commission on Environment Development (UNCED) (1992). The global partnership for environment and development: a guide to Agenda 21. Geneva: UNCED.
Vygotsky, L.S. (1978). Mind in Society. Cambridge, MA: Harbard University Press.
Wandersee, J. H., Mintzes, J. J., & Novak, J. D. (1994). Research on Alternative Concepts in Science. In D. L. Gabel (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Science Teaching and Learning (177–210). New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
Zhong, H.Y. (2010). The study on energy saving and carbon reduction knowledge, behavior and attitude of the 5th and 6th. Masters thesis, Taipei Municipal University of Education, Taipei.
Environment for young Europeans. What you can do. Retrieved October 2016, from: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/archives/youth/air/air_what_you_can_en.html