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.     

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.     

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.     

The Development of an Environmental Science Degree Program in the United Kingdom

Abstract

The authors report a study that is based on the premise that, although it continues to be desirable to chart public attitudes toward the natural environment, the widely used 12-item New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) scale, published by R. E. Dunlap and K. D. van Liere in 1978, is in need of revision if it is to measure the public's more recent and sophisticated understanding of complex environmental issues. A quantitative and qualitative 2-stage international survey was conducted via the Internet in which respondents not only completed the NEP scale but also commented critically and in depth on the scale items. The authors determined that the NEP scale is limited with respect both to the anachronistic wording of items and its inability to capture people's increasingly thorough understanding of the nature, severity, and scope of environmental problems over the last 2 to 3 decades. Several suggestions are offered for updating the NEP scale if it is to continue to be a useful research tool.     

Environmental values and environmental concern

Abstract

Attitudes, values and concerns are frequently measured to monitor individual preferences of adolescents. As there is still some discussion about how to monitor those variables with respect to empirical instruments, directions of items or length of instruments, we applied two established scales (2 Major Environmental Value Model [2-MEV] and Environmental Motives Scale [EMS]) to a Slovenian sample of 804 middle and high school students. Subsequently, we confirmed the validity and reliability of both scales as well as their applicability to Slovene subjects, aged 12–18?years. The main objective of our study was to explore the relationship between three factors of environmental concern (EMS) and the two higher-order factors of utilisation of nature and preservation of nature (2-MEV). The results show that altruistic (ALT), biospheric (BIO) and egoistic (EGO) environmental concerns correlate strongly positively with preservation of nature, but negatively and less strongly but still significantly with utilisation of nature. We conclude that raising awareness of EGO environmental concern may be as important as ALT and/or BIO concern for understanding the environmental values and attitudes of an individual. Consequences and recommendations for designing and completing educational programmes are discussed.     

An empirical test of anchoring the NEP scale in environmental ethics

Some argue that the new ecological paradigm (NEP) scale is incomplete and does not adequately reflect contemporary debates in environmental ethics. We focus on one specific shortcoming of the NEP, its lack of an item to reflect an ecocentric viewpoint. To test this concern, we administered the NEP to three different audiences and included one additional item to capture an ecocentric perspective. The empirical tests were designed to determine whether the addition of such an item changed results in a meaningful way. We find evidence that NEP may already capture ecocentric viewpoints, but our investigation leads us to question the validity and reliability of the NEP in capturing ecological worldview.     

Environment-Oriented Decision-Making Problems for Secondary School

Abstract

The New Environmental Paradigm scale of environmental concern was applied in two survey populations in south Florida to determine whether differences in ethnic background influenced preferences toward the environment. Hispanic respondents from the general population were found to be very sensitive to an ecological model, whereas non-Hispanics in the general population moderately favored the ecological view. However, the results of the field survey (i.e., sample of Bkayne National Park users) indicated that Hispanic users were ecologically attuned to the environment on a par with non-Hispanics from the general population and from park samples. Although cultural heritage may play a role in determining environmental attitudes, exposure to situational opportunities such as park use and other social factors may influence a shift in those beliefs.     

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.     

Modeling Environmental Literacy of University Students

The present study proposed an Environmental Literacy Components Model to explain how environmental attitudes, environmental responsibility, environmental concern, and environmental knowledge as well as outdoor activities related to each other. A total of 1,345 university students responded to an environmental literacy survey (Kaplowitz and Levine in Environ Educ Res 11:143–160, 2005). The structural equation model revealed that high levels of environmental knowledge stimulate a university student’s concern, attitudes, and personal responsibility toward environmental protection. More specifically, environmental knowledge was reported to be a significant predictor of environmental concern, attitudes, and responsibility. Environmental knowledge had significant indirect relationships with environmental attitudes and responsibility. Moreover, while attitudes toward the environment were found to be a significant determinant of environmental responsibility, environmental concern held significant association with attitudes toward the environment and outdoor activities. Findings promise to give clues for finding an answer to the question “how education for sustainability can be improved in higher education curricula?”     

Technical Education in Hong Kong

The present study explores the environmental attitudes (EA) of senior high school students in Turkey, explains which determinant factors affect these EAs, and concludes with some suggestions for curricular reform. This study includes over nine hundred students from different school types, neighbourhoods, geographical regions, and socioeconomic backgrounds. The researcher used two different questionnaires that were based on postmaterialist values: one based on the New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) and the other developed by the researcher called the General Environmental Attitudes and Perceptions (GAP). The results of ANOVA and t‐tests show that EAs of students vary depending on school type, gender, parents' education levels, parents' political views, professions, and household income. Students at public high schools, females, lower middle class students, students with well educated parents in white‐collar professions, and students with liberal parents have more pro‐environmental attitudes than the others. Students from vocational schools, almost all of which are based on single‐sex education, have scored the lowest on both surveys.     

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.     

Strengthening Environmental Communications

Abstract

An attitudinal survey that contrasted student perceptions on environmental/energy questions during the decade of intense concern for these issues was conducted at Cornell University in 1971 and 1981 (3414 and 3867 students sampled, respectively). The survey was designed to measure changes in attitude toward thirty-five specific items in five major categories (Food-stuffs, Household items, Transportation, Personal items, and Recreation). Significant differences were observed between the two surveys with most of the differences associated with political leanings, income, gender and geographical background. The changes were in the direction of a more materialistic lifestyle with less consideration for environmental/energy issues and concerns.     

The NatureMapping Program: Resource Agency Environmental Education Reform

Abstract

Environmental education for youth and adults is being redefined at resource agencies. The driving forces are education reform and citizen demands to be involved in environmental management decisions. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife examined its traditional environmental education programs and identified the need to create opportunities for citizen involvement as a means to educate while directly impacting its mission. Through a partnership with the Washington Cooperative Research Unit Gap Analysis Project, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife created the NatureMapping Program. The NatureMapping Program enables volunteers, including schools, to collect environmental data that are valuable to governments and communities for problem solving and decision making. A recent study of schools actively NatureMapping describes increased school-community links, motivated students, and a systemic change in curriculum through interdisciplinary inquiry. Resource experts have benefited from new species information and increased community involvement.     

Telling it Like it Is

Abstract

This study examined attitudes about business and the environment in a sample of 237 business students, using a 14-item measurement scale, the Business-Environment Questionnaire. The study also explored the underlying worldview concerning the environment using the New Environmental Paradigm Scale (Dunlap and Van Liere 1978). Overall, the study found the expressed attitudes of the sample to be strongly pro-environmental and primarily related to a concern for the balance of nature. The results appear consistent with the emergence of a “New Environmental Paradigm.” To the extent that attitudes of contemporary business students indicate the future orientation of the business community, corporate policies toward the environment may undergo a considerable shift in the future.     

Father Involvement and Father–Child Relationship Quality: An Intergenerational Perspective

Objective. The present study looks at predictors that may be associated with father–child relationship quality and whether relationship quality appears to be transmitted across generations. Design. This study includes 2,970 U.S. families who participated in the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study. Structural equation modeling was used to assess associations between fathers’ relationship with paternal grandfathers (PGF) during their own childhood and when their own children are 1 year old, father involvement at age 1, and child reports of father-child relationship quality at age 9. Results. Paternal grandfathers involvement with fathers during childhood was positively associated with the father-paternal grandfathers relationship at child age 1, which in turn was associated with greater father involvement at age 1. More father involvement at age 1 was associated with child reports of better father-child relationships at age 9. The pathways from paternal grandfathers involvement during fathers’ childhood and father–paternal grandfathers relationships at age 1 to father–child relationship quality at age 9 were fully mediated by father involvement at age 1. Conclusions. Patterns of father involvement and the quality of father–child relationships tend to be passed down across generations. To ensure an active, positive father involvement and its associated benefits for children, parenting interventions should focus promoting positive fathering behaviors to promote positive relationships with children in their own and future generations.     

Aligning Physical Activity Measures With the International Classification of Functioning,Disability and Health Framework for Childhood Disability

ABSTRACT

The introduction of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health has placed emphasis on framing health behavior as a multidimensional construct. In relation to childhood physical activity, this encompasses dimensions of functional performance, activity attendance, and subjective perceptions of involvement and enjoyment within activity settings. Current literature, however, primarily investigates physical activity in terms of performance and activity levels. The resulting misalignment of theory and measurement practice challenges the development of a comprehensive understanding of childhood physical activity behavior. For children with disabilities, who may have nuanced experiences in activity, there may be greater necessity to examine additional dimensions of physical activity (e.g., participation). In an effort to support meaningful interpretations of physical activity behavior measures among children with disabilities, the purposes of this article are to (a) conceptualize childhood physical activity within the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, and (b) provide guidance on aligning measurement tools with physical activity dimensions.     

Empirical evaluation of an educational conservation programme introduced in Swiss secondary schools

This paper surveys the consequences of pupils' participation in a conservation education programme by monitoring changes in their relevant knowledge as well as in their environmental perception. The programme in question is an extra-curricular education unit about an endangered migrant bird (Apus apus; Apodidae) which was initiated by a state-wide conservation agency and offered free of charge to all secondary schools of the German-speaking part of Switzerland. An activity package was provided to the participating classes and individually introduced by the classroom teacher during an entire school year. The programme highlighted the bird's natural history and also focused on the individual involvement of pupils who built artificial nest-boxes and watched the bird's breeding and feeding behaviour at appropriate outdoors sites. A bilingual approach was included by sharing these observations with pupils of (French-speaking) Senegal, this country being the wintering region of the rd. bi Based on an instrument measuring environmental perception, i.e. individuals' preservation and conservation preferences (from an attitudinal and behavioural point of view) and built on construct validation procedures published in a previous study, the influences of the education programme were evaluated on a pre-/post-test basis. The post-test was delayed for at least a month after experiencing the education programme in order to exclude short-term effects. The programme had a significant positive effect on the specific knowledge level and on two of the five environmental perception subscales. The results are discussed in the context of other related outdoor ecology education programmes.     

Psychology and Ecology: Beliefs in Technology and the Diffusion of Ecological Responsibility

ABSTRACT:

The attitudes of individuals who engage in environmentally responsible activities (e.g., recycling, energy conservation, community projects, consumer boycotting, etc.) with either low, moderate, or high frequency were compared using semantic differential techniques. Results showed that evaluative dimension scores for “pollution,” “technology,” and “nature” yielded a multiple-R of .63 with the behavioral criterion. Attitude toward pollution was a strong predictor of involvement in anti-pollution activities. Also, strong beliefs in technology may diffuse environmental responsibility in a way analogous to the presence of other bystanders in interpersonal altruistic situations. Taken together, the results indicate that personal commitment to environmentally corrective behaviors is importantly determined by the person's evaluative response to widely publicized environmental topics. Further theoretical and educational implications are also discussed.     

Parental Involvement as a Protective Factor During the Transition to High School

ABSTRACT

The authors investigated whether student-perceived parental involvement predicts improvement in academic, behavioral, and relational outcomes for low-achieving adolescents. With a sample of 59 racially diverse 9th-grade students, the authors measured 3 dimensions of parental involvement: direct participation, academic encouragement, and expectations for grades and attainment. Analyses revealed associations between 2 types of parental involvement and outcomes, which held after considering student gender and race. Students whose parents had higher expectations about grades and attainment had higher grade point averages and were rated as more academically engaged by their teachers. Students who reported that their parents were more academically encouraging experienced more care from their teachers. Results suggest certain types of parental involvement may be more effective than others in supporting low-achieving adolescents’ school performance.     

Analyzing Neutral Responses on Environmental Issues: The Case of the 1991 British Columbia Assessment of Science

Abstract

One troublesome aspect of survey research is the large number of respondents who choose a neutral response on forced-choice questionnaires. Neglecting the high percentages of neutral responses on some environmental issues may distort the picture of respondents' attitudes toward the environment and compromise much valuable information on the issues. With the data from the 1991 British Columbia Assessment of Science (D. Bateson et al., 1991), canonical analysis of contingency tables was used to investigate the nature of neutral responses on 8 environmental issues. The findings showed that many neutral responses may not be truly neutral. The students' attitudes toward the 8 environmental issues also changed from Grades 6 to 10. Some areas of concern for environmental education are exposed, and their causes discussed.