Factors Influencing Adults' Environmental Attitudes and Behaviors and the Role of Environmental Schools in Influencing their Communities

The present study revisits a subfield of environmental education: significant\ud life experiences, which studies the influences that shape the development of\ud environmental stewardship. In the present study, we examine the effect of various\ud formative experiences on a group of adults and analyze the role of school,\ud as a formative influence on the parents of the students. By employing factor\ud analysis, we were able to differentiate between groups of variables influencing\ud attitudes and those influencing behavior. Cluster analysis enabled us to\ud differentiate between types of respondents in accordance to their responsiveness\ud to influencing experiences. The results draw attention to (a) the\ud different pathways by which environmental attitudes and behaviors are influenced;\ud (b) the important role of the inner self (“personality”) in organizing\ud and giving meaning to all other formative influences; and (c) the effectiveness\ud of environmental schools in urban communities in Israel, in influencing the\ud behavior of students’ parents