Caring for a dog and attitudes towards nature of elementary school students

Raziskave ugotavljajo, da preživljanje časa v naravi vpliva na otrokov razvoj odnosa do narave in na njegovo okoljsko vedenje. Več časa kot otroci preživijo v naravi, bolj pozitiven odnos do nje bodo razvili. Glede na to, da tudi skrb za psa zahteva določen čas preživet v naravi, bi lahko sklepali, da bolj kot posameznik skrbi za psa bolj pozitiven je njegov odnos do narave. Raziskavo v kateri sem raziskovala ali se odnos do narave razlikuje med učenci ki bolj oz. manj skrbijo za psa sem izvedla v osnovnih šolah Jugovzhodne Slovenije, sodelovalo je 480 učencev starih od 12 do 15 let. Raziskava je temeljila na deskriptivni in kavzalno neeksperimentalni metodi. Učenci so izpolnjevali vprašalnik v katerem sem preverjala njihov odnos do narave, okoljsko vedenje in skrb za psa. V raziskavo sem vključila tudi starše učencev, ki imajo doma psa. Starši so izpolnili le vprašalnik o skrbi za psa. S statistično analizo podatkov sem ugotovila, da spol, razred in skrb za psa vplivajo na odnos do narave in sicer imajo dekleta bolj pozitiven odnos do narave, prav tako imajo bolj pozitiven odnos do narave učenci nižjih razredov, ter učenci ki prevzemajo več skrbi za psa. Podobno se je izkazalo pri okoljskem vedenju na katerega vpliva razred, ki ga učenec obiskuje in skrb za psa. Učenci v nižjih razredih in učenci, ki prevzemajo več skrbi za psa, izkazujejo bolj okoljsko vedenje. Z raziskavo sem želela razširiti področje raziskovanja vplivov na odnos do narave, saj večina izvedenih raziskav ugotavlja kako lastništvo domačih živali vpliva na odnos do narave. Pogosto predvsem pri otrocih lastništvo živali ne pomeni nujno, da otrok zanjo skrbi in se z njo ukvarja. S tem razlogom sem se osredotočila na skrb za psa, ter kako le ta vpliva na odnos do narave in okoljsko vedenje.Studies show that spending more time in nature affects a child\u27s development of his environmental attitude and on his environmental behavior. The more time children spend in nature the more positive environmental attitude they develop. Given that taking care of a dog demands a significant time spent in nature, we could assume that the more time an individual takes care for a dog the more positive his environmental attitude will be. The research, in which I was researching whether there is a difference in environmental attitude amongst children who take care of their dog more as opposed to children who do so less, I conducted in primary schools in southeast Slovenia where there were 480 participating children aged from 12 to 15 years of age. The research was based on descriptive and causal non-experimental method. The students filled out a questionnaire in which I was checking their environmental attitude, environmental behavior and how much they take care of their dog. I also included the students’ parents in the research. The parents filled out only the questionnaire regarding the taking care of the dog. With statistical data analysis I figured out that gender, grade and the extent of care for a dog have an effect on environmental attitude. It turns out that girls, students in lower grades and students that take more responsibility for the care of the dog have a more positive environmental attitude. I observed a similar outcome with regards to environmental behavior, where the students grade and the extent of care for a dog have a positive effect on environmental behavior. With this research I wanted to broaden the field of research on the effects of environmental attitude as most conducted research tries to figure out how the ownership of pets affects environmental attitude. Ownership of pets, especially by children, often doesn’t mean that children take care or deal with them. It is because of this fact that in my research I focused on the extent of care for the dog and how it effects environmental attitude and behavior