Nature vs. Nurture: Studying the Influence of Formal Environmental Education Receivedfrom Ages 4-18 on the Interpretation of Environmental Consciousness for Domestic Undergraduate Students of Dalhousie University’s Studley Campus

Abstract

Our study’s purpose was to investigate the relationship between environmental education prior to post-secondary education and current participation in sustainable behaviour and or beliefs. The issue of protecting our environment is both extremely complicated and important in ensuring a sustainable future for coming generations. Finding the most effective method to convey the importance of sustainable actions to individuals and organizations is invaluable in the fight against climate change. In order to investigate if prior education played a significant factor in domestic Dalhousie undergraduate students’ participation in sustainable behaviour we circulated self-reported surveys that used Likert scale and closed and open-ended questions (Appendix A). With the help of our many Dalhousie department administrators, and the use of social media as a tool we circulated the survey and began collecting data. This data was catalogued and converted into two separate scores ranked out of 100. These scores measured sustainable behavior/values or BVScore and environmental education or EdScore/ that was quantitatively analyzed against patterns found in the data. Similarly, qualitative analysis was used to find patterns in long-answer responses and determine if they had any correlation to either score. Once analyzed the data shows significantly higher EdScores in Ontario and British Columbia compared to Nova Scotia. The data also show a decrease in the number of outdoor experiences as respondents moved into higher level grades. Limitations to this study were high, limiting the number of statistically significant trends we were able to pull from the data. Despite lacking statistical significance this study provides valuable information to be used in development of future studies.