Cargando…

First steps towards sustainability? University freshmen perceptions on nature versus environment

The Global Earth Overshoot Day, the date when all annually available natural resources are consumed, is set for July this year. For densely populated European countries like Germany or Switzerland, that specific day is due even earlier (May). To overcome such an unsustainable lifestyle, immediate ac...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Maurer, Michaela, Bogner, Franz Xaver
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7295217/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32542054
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0234560
_version_ 1783546610792267776
author Maurer, Michaela
Bogner, Franz Xaver
author_facet Maurer, Michaela
Bogner, Franz Xaver
author_sort Maurer, Michaela
collection PubMed
description The Global Earth Overshoot Day, the date when all annually available natural resources are consumed, is set for July this year. For densely populated European countries like Germany or Switzerland, that specific day is due even earlier (May). To overcome such an unsustainable lifestyle, immediate actions are required, which includes substantial educational efforts. As the model of "Sustainable Development" is complex, appropriate pedagogical actions need to support cognitive learning, critical thinking and behavioural actions. Knowledge about individual conceptions in relation to the Environment, Nature and Ecological Footprints contributes to pre-conditions to succeed. To what extent present teaching methods influenced individual conceptions during the first UN-decade regarding those terms is illustrated by 464 Swiss-German university freshmen who participated in our paper-pencil test, which is based on four open questions. The term of Environment was perceived as the sum of biocentric, ecocentric and anthropocentric views. The participants often equated the term to Nature and associated it with positive feelings or emotions. Therefore, calm, joy and aesthetic appreciation were predominantly named. Regardless of the concept, humans were perceived as the Greatest Environmental Threat. In contrast, recommendations to reduce Environmental Footprints regarding mobility & transport, waste avoidance and consumption differ. Following a binary logistic regression analysis, the involvement of the Inclusion of Self Scale (INS) was used as an explanatory variable to detect patterns of those conceptions. Relating sustainable concepts, natural resources were frequently named exceeding saving water and energy or other association dealt with second-hand issues or regional/ seasonal usages. Such ideas are shaped by experiences and scientific expertise.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-7295217
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2020
publisher Public Library of Science
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-72952172020-06-19 First steps towards sustainability? University freshmen perceptions on nature versus environment Maurer, Michaela Bogner, Franz Xaver PLoS One Research Article The Global Earth Overshoot Day, the date when all annually available natural resources are consumed, is set for July this year. For densely populated European countries like Germany or Switzerland, that specific day is due even earlier (May). To overcome such an unsustainable lifestyle, immediate actions are required, which includes substantial educational efforts. As the model of "Sustainable Development" is complex, appropriate pedagogical actions need to support cognitive learning, critical thinking and behavioural actions. Knowledge about individual conceptions in relation to the Environment, Nature and Ecological Footprints contributes to pre-conditions to succeed. To what extent present teaching methods influenced individual conceptions during the first UN-decade regarding those terms is illustrated by 464 Swiss-German university freshmen who participated in our paper-pencil test, which is based on four open questions. The term of Environment was perceived as the sum of biocentric, ecocentric and anthropocentric views. The participants often equated the term to Nature and associated it with positive feelings or emotions. Therefore, calm, joy and aesthetic appreciation were predominantly named. Regardless of the concept, humans were perceived as the Greatest Environmental Threat. In contrast, recommendations to reduce Environmental Footprints regarding mobility & transport, waste avoidance and consumption differ. Following a binary logistic regression analysis, the involvement of the Inclusion of Self Scale (INS) was used as an explanatory variable to detect patterns of those conceptions. Relating sustainable concepts, natural resources were frequently named exceeding saving water and energy or other association dealt with second-hand issues or regional/ seasonal usages. Such ideas are shaped by experiences and scientific expertise. Public Library of Science 2020-06-15 /pmc/articles/PMC7295217/ /pubmed/32542054 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0234560 Text en © 2020 Maurer, Bogner http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Maurer, Michaela
Bogner, Franz Xaver
First steps towards sustainability? University freshmen perceptions on nature versus environment
title First steps towards sustainability? University freshmen perceptions on nature versus environment
title_full First steps towards sustainability? University freshmen perceptions on nature versus environment
title_fullStr First steps towards sustainability? University freshmen perceptions on nature versus environment
title_full_unstemmed First steps towards sustainability? University freshmen perceptions on nature versus environment
title_short First steps towards sustainability? University freshmen perceptions on nature versus environment
title_sort first steps towards sustainability? university freshmen perceptions on nature versus environment
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7295217/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32542054
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0234560
work_keys_str_mv AT maurermichaela firststepstowardssustainabilityuniversityfreshmenperceptionsonnatureversusenvironment
AT bognerfranzxaver firststepstowardssustainabilityuniversityfreshmenperceptionsonnatureversusenvironment