An Analysis of the Predictive Validity of the New Ecological Paradigm Scale

Abstract

The widely used New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) scale was recently revised to address concerns about its dimensionality and validity. As an ever larger number of researchers from an increasing variety of disciplines incorporate environmental issues into their research, the need for environmental concern measures such as the NEP will broaden. The authors evaluated the predictive validity of the original and revised versions of the NEP scale, some abbreviated NEP-derived scales, and a non-NEP environmental attitudes scale. All of these scales explained a significant amount of the variance in a measure of intention to engage in proenvi-ronmental behavior. Based on the results, the authors suggest how researchers should use these scales in their research.     

A Day with Freeman Tilden

Abstract

The authors examined environmental concern and involvement of individuals in two voluntary associations, the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) and National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council, Inc. (NOHVCC). Environmental concerns were assessed using the New Environmental Paradigm (NEP). When compared, results from 10 of 12 NEP items were found to be significantly different. The IMBA group scored higher on the NEP, showing a greater level of agreement on environmental concern. IMBA respondents were also more involved with environmental organizations than the NOHVCC sample. The study results suggest that the level of environmental concern and involvement differs for those who are in specific voluntary associations and who choose specific outdoor activities. Implications are discussed for educators and resource managers.     

Acculturation and Ecological Worldview Among Latino Americans

Abstract

The authors examined environmental attitudes among foreign-born Latino Americans and differences in these attitudes associated with acculturation. Data were collected from Spanish-speaking students (N = 153) enrolled in 3 levels of English as a second language (ESL) courses and from English-speaking students (N = 39) enrolled in a Spanish as a second language course. Measures included the New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) scale, a 4-item acculturation scale, ESL course level, and demographics. Acculturation was negatively related to scores on the NEP scale, and Spanish-speaking students in lower level ESL courses scored higher on the NEP than students in higher level courses. These effects remained significant even when income and education were used as covariates. These findings suggest that culture is an important determinant of environmental attitudes.     

Validity Evidence against the Children’s New Ecological Paradigm Scale

Abstract

The Children’s New Ecological Paradigms scale was originally developed for children ages 10–12 and was presented as valuable for comparing that age group with older participants. This study uses cognitive interviews and measurement invariance testing to investigate how well the scores maintain the same meaning between these two age groups. The qualitative and quantitative results were consistent in revealing that at least 20% of the items function differently than expected when we use it for this purpose. The findings revealed similarities with critiques of the adult NEP and questioned the validity of the use of this instrument in its present form.     

Exploring the New Ecological Paradigm Scale for Gauging Children's Environmental Attitudes in China

A Chinese version of the revised NEP Scale was generated and adopted in a survey among 507 students (age 10 to 12 years old) from three elementary schools in Shenzhen, China. The results show an acceptable level of internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = .65) but some abnormalities on the modified NEP scale: items 1 and 7 presented very low item-total correlations (≤.10); factor analysis generated five unclearly-patterned factors. The abnormalities on the modified scale, in light of a focus group interview during item modification stage, are partially attributed to some fundamental problems on the original revised NEP Scale per se on one hand, and may be partially understood as cultural differences in interpreting statements on the scale between China and Western nations on the other.     

Population Education in the United States

Abstract

With the increased societal awareness of environmental issues, social scientists have expanded their examination of environmentally related topics. One component of this expansion has been the generation and growth of social theory which has the human-environment relationship at its core. This study is a further test of one of these theories, the New Environmental Paradigm (NEP). Using survey data, the relationship of the NEP to knowledge of environmentally relevant issues is examined. The results show ecological worldview as measured by the NEP scale has an independent influence on net environmental knowledge of other sociodemographic characteristics.     

The “New Environmental Paradigm” in a Mexican Community

Abstract

A sample of 422 Mexicans from a medium-sized city responded to the New Environmental Paradigm-Human Exception Paradigm (NEP-HEP) scale, which assesses peoples' beliefs about human-environment relations. The NEP scale contains questions referring to the need for a “natural balance” and “limits to human impact on nature.” In contrast, implicit in the HEP scale is a view of humankind as different from and with control over nature. The responses of the interviewees revealed higher levels of adherence to the NEP than to the HEP. However, confirmatory factor analysis showed the covariances between pro-NEP and pro-HEP factors to be high and significant, indicating that the participants did not see the two paradigms as mutually exclusive, as do members of some industrialized societies. The results point to a more holistic view of human relations with the environment, in contrast to the dualistic vision of some western countries.     

Regional Environmental Education Centers

Abstract

The development of the Children's Attitudes Toward the Environment Scale-Preschool Version (CATES-PV) is reported. The scale was administered to 42 preschool children. Their parents (34 mothers, 30 fathers) completed 2 environmental attitude scales, an environmental knowledge scale, and a questionnaire concerning environmentally related home practices. The scale has acceptable reliability, with a Cronbach's alpha of .68. Construct validity of the scale was suggested by the pattern of relationships found between child and parent measures. Specifically, children's attitudes were not correlated with verbal ability, but with the degree to which children participated in environmentally relevant activities in the home. The implications of those results for preschool curricula and practices are discussed.     

Book Reviews

Abstract

Educators have invested considerable effort in developing environmental education programs that address students' knowledge, attitudes, and action competence regarding environmental issues. The authors explore the effectiveness of such programs in terms of both student learning outcomes and the intergenerational influence that results when students discuss their learning experiences with their parents and other community members. Six environmental education programs involving 284 students in Queensland schools, from Grades 5-12, were investigated. Students and their parents were surveyed and interviewed regarding their perceptions about the program, the program's influence on their environmental learning, and the extent and nature of discussions that the program stimulated between students and their parents. The authors draw conclusions about key features that should be incorporated into environmental education programs to encourage and empower students to bring about environmental change in their homes and communities.     

Developing a Measure of Perceived Environmental Risk

Abstract

This study conceptually and empirically develops a scale that measures perceptions of environmental risk (PER). PER is a measure that is different from the measure of environmental knowledge but equally important because people tend to act on their perceptions regardless of whether they are accurate. A reliable and valid assessment of perceived environmental risk is important for environmental education because it will provide a general overview of the present state of perceptions regarding environmental risk, and it will provide measures of specific environmental issues. Therefore, this type of scale either can provide a comprehensive measure for environmental education programs or can measure specific selected items that apply to certain situations or programs, or both. Administrators and teachers could use this scale to indicate the effectiveness of environmental education programs. We define perceptions of environmental risk as a general measurement of risk which assesses the degree to which one perceives danger, peril, or hazards to either self, community, society, or all three, in regard to specific environmental issues. In developing this scale, we used various heterogenous groups across multiple studies to affirm the scale's validity and reliability.     

Influence of an Environmental Studies Course on Attitudes of Undergraduates at an Engineering University

Studies suggest that at engineering universities, where the percentage of males and engineering majors is high, pro-environmental attitudes are likely to be weak and may not change. The 15-item New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) scale was used to measure differences in student attitudes before and after an environmental studies course. Results revealed students held more pro-environmental attitudes about the validity of the ecological crisis, the existence of resource constraints, and the delicacy of nature's balance after the course. Students did not shift their views regarding the domination of humans over the environment or their belief in human ingenuity to overcome resource limits. Engineering majors showed weaker endorsement of the NEP compared to non-engineering majors, but the increase in their endorsement after the course was statistically significant.     

Development of a Metric to Test Group Differences in Ecological Knowledge as One Component of Environmental Literacy

Abstract

Environmental literacy has been defined in numerous ways and attempts have been made to measure how environmentally literate people are. Many attempts to measure literacy have instead measured people's knowledge about pollution and their attitudes toward the environment. According to many environmental education experts, knowledge and attitudes are important components of environmental literacy, especially if the goal of environmental education is to change behavior. However, the experts also indicate that, to change an individual's behavior, knowledge about the environment must be associated with environmental sensitivity, personal beliefs, and decisionmaking and problem-solving skills. The research presented in this article contributes to environmental literacy research by offering a tested, valid survey instrument to measure ecological knowledge—one component of environmental literacy. In this article, we provide an example of how this instrument can be applied by comparing knowledge levels among diverse groups of Ohio citizens.     

A New Ethic of Responsibility

Abstract

The authors compared a qualitative study of teacher decision making during the 1st year of implementation of an environmental education curriculum. The authors examined perceptions of training, the program, of administrative and peer support, and the manner in which the program was implemented in each classroom. Administrators were perceived as supporting the program because it helped to facilitate other school goals. Participants perceived that others did not understand the program. Initially, participants found the training difficult because the program was different from what they were accustomed to doing. The researchers found that teachers' perceptions stemmed from cognitive changes that the program stimulated.     

Environmental Pollution: An Ecological Perspective

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of participation in a 3-day outdoor environmental education program on preservice teachers' attitudes toward self-efficacy—which is a teacher's belief that he or she can teach environmental education (EE) effectively—and on outcome expectancy—which is a teacher's estimation of his or her influence on student learning. Participants were a convenience sample of 72 preservice elementary teachers taking a science methodology course at a state university. Participants were divided into 2 groups for this modified pretest/2-posttest/control group study. The instrument for all 3 tests was Sia's (1992) Environmental Education Efficacy Belief Instrument. The authors used parametric t tests to compare group means. The results suggested that the preservice teachers' self-efficacy was high before the program and remained unchanged by their teaching experiences but dropped significantly approximately 7 weeks after teaching. The lack of change in self-efficacy from the teaching experience was attributed to the structured nature and success of the teaching experience, but the negative effect of time on self-efficacy was believed to have resulted from the preservice teachers reevaluation of their ability to teach as they learned more about teaching methodologies. In addition, there was no significant change in outcome expectancy as a result of participation in the program or over time (7 weeks).     

Field News

Abstract

The recent (1990) establishment of a new campus of the University of Washington at Tacoma (UWT) has led to the development of an upper-division environmental curriculum within an interdisciplinary arts and sciences framework. All of the natural sciences at UWT were founded under the rubric of environmental science, which was integrated with a range of other disciplines' perspectives on the environment, to form a more comprehensive environmental education program. The community-oriented mission, evolving structure, and flexibility of this relatively new urban commuter campus allowed the authors to create a multitiered environmental education program that broadly integrates environmental issues into interdisciplinary undergraduate education and is consistent with national and international environmental education goals. In this study, the authors compare the curricula developed at UWT with other new and established environmental programs nationally.     

Dartmouth's College Course I

Abstract

This article describes the background, activities, and outcomes of the Advanced Technology Environmental Education Center and its Summer Fellows Institute as a model for disciplinary and cross-disciplinary infusion of environmental science and technology content, curriculum, and methods into the classroom. The authors describe experiences, themes, and activities that occurred during 5 years at the Summer Institute for some of the nation's top high school and community college teachers.     

A Modified NEP/DSP Environmental Attitudes Scale

Abstract

The relationship between people and the rest of nature is central to the debate concerning the management of natural resources. An understanding of how environmental concern is reflected in people's attittudes and value systems is important for the development of responsive environmental management. Effective attitude measures already exist, most notably the New Environmental Paradigm scale. Since this measure was produced, however, certain issues not addressed by the scale have become increasingly important within the environmental debate. These include concepts such as the intrinsic value of nature, or the moral duties of humans to the rest of nature-issues that surface repeatedly in the environmental literature. The study has shown that it is possible to include references to the intrinsic value of nature, as well as the moral duties people have to the rest of nature and to other human beings, within a reliable and unidimensional attitude scale.     

Promoting pro-environmental behaviour in a community in Singapore – from raising awareness to behavioural change

Abstract

Despite heightened awareness about climate change, individuals remain rather indifferent to the issue. The reasons being that many public education programmes rely essentially on information dissemination and do not help individuals understand the given information. The authors believe that there is potential of environmental education for understanding and promoting pro-environmental behaviour. The proposed transformative education for climate change (TrEC) programme focuses on three elements (knowledge, skills and values) to help individuals understand environmental issues and to empower them to take pro-environmental action. This mixed method study was conducted in collaboration with various government agencies and 173 residents in a housing estate in Singapore. The findings suggest that with better understanding (knowledge) about the climate change issue, individuals can make informed decisions (attitude) and be encouraged to adopt pro-environmental behaviour (action).     

An Experiment with the Controlled Reader

Abstract

This study was an investigation of items on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) to ascertain if verbal responses to items missed indicated that the concept was familiar at the same level of abstraction as the word in the PPVT. One hundred 8-year-old children-25 black boys, 25 black girls, 25 white boys, and 25 white girls-were administered Form A of the PPVT. Eighty-eight children responded verbally to the pictures of the stimulus words missed. Data were analyzed by means of a two-way analysis of variance. A chi square test of significance was used to determine significance level of difference between items for each group. Judges analyzed verbal responses to determine if responses elicited were 1) at the same level of abstraction as the stimulus word, 2) considered to be synonymous to the stimulus word, and 3) indicated the student's understanding of the concept signified by the word. A total of 23 words were identified as being missed disproportionately by one group more than the other. Verbal responses indicated that the concept was familiar for 16 items and unfamiliar for three items. Of the remaining four items, there was indication of differences among the groups.     

An Inventory for Assessing Environmental Education Curricula

Abstract

Since Gardella's Environmental Education Curriculum Inventory was developed in 1986 (J. Gardella, 1993), it has been used to evaluate environmental education (EE) curricula and programs to determine how well they represent EE's substantive structure as expressed in the Goals for Curriculum Development in Environmental Education developed by H. R. Hungerford, R. B. Peyton, and R. J. Wilke (1980). In recent years, environmental educators have called for environmental sensitivity and social sciences to be added to the foundation levels of environmental education and the Goals for Curriculum Development. The Inventory for Assessing Environmental Education Curricula is an attempt to revise the Gardella inventory so as to incorporate both environmental sensitivity and social components.