Children's Interests and Orientations Towards Nature: Views from Young Children in England

Environmental education has historically aimed to foster life-long interests and orientations towards supporting and protecting nature, although it remains less clear how these views might associate with different aspects of education and life, and hence how they might be supported and fostered. In order to gain new insights, 679 children in England between 7 and 10 years of age were surveyed. On average, children expressed positive enjoyment/appreciation of nature, empathy/affinity for animals, oneness/responsibility for nature (reflecting orientations towards supporting/protecting nature), and interest in learning about nature, with girls conveying more positive views than boys. Children’s enjoyment/appreciation of nature, empathy/affinity for animals, oneness/responsibility for nature, and interest in learning about nature were all positively predicted by more frequent watching of nature/wildlife media and reading of books about nature/wildlife. Children’s enjoyment/appreciation of nature and interest in learning about nature were also both positively predicted by their confidence/enjoyment in their learning at school and by their aspirations in life/learning. Children’s empathy/affinity for animals and oneness/responsibility for nature were also both positively predicted by their sense of belonging within school. Numerous other insights were also revealed. Overall, the findings show many potential avenues to support children’s views, providing insights for education and policy