Considering Efficacy of an Outdoor Environmental Education Program: Facilitating Elementary Students’ Environmental Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviours

Various sources have sought to consider the educational interventions that foster changes in perception of and attitudes toward nature, with the ultimate intent of understanding how education can be used to encourage environmentally responsible behaviours. With these in mind, the current study identified an outdoor environmental education program incorporating these empirically supported interventions, and assessed its ability to influence environmental knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours. Specifically, this study considered the following research questions: 1) To what degree can participation in this outdoor education program foster environmental knowledge and encourage pro-environmental attitudes and self-reported pro-environmental behaviours? 2) How is this effect different among students of different genders, and those who have different prior experiences in nature? Two motivational frameworks guided inquiry in the current study: the Value-Belief-Norm Model of Environmentalism (VBN) and the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). The study employed a quantitative survey methodology, combining contemporary data measuring knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours with archived data collected by program staff, reflecting frequency of environmentally responsible behaviour. Further, a single qualitative item was included for which students provided “the first three words that [came] to mind when [they] think of the word nature.” Terms provided before and after the program were compared for differences in theme to detect subtle or underlying changes. Quantitative results indicated no significant change in student knowledge or attitudes through the outdoor environmental education program. However, a significant change in self-reported behaviour was identified from both the contemporary and archived data. This agreement in positive findings across the two data sets, collected using different measures and different participants, lends evidence of the program’s ability to encourage self-reported pro-environmental behaviour. Further, qualitative results showed some change in students’ perceptions of nature through the program, providing direction for future research. These findings suggest that this particular outdoor education program was successful in encouraging students’ self-reported environmentally responsible behaviour. This change was achieved without significant change in knowledge or environmental attitudes, suggesting that external factors not measured in this study might have played a role in affecting behaviour.

Gender differences in the relationships between bullying at school and unhealthy eating and shape-related attitudes and behaviours

Background. Previous research has found links between being a victim of bullying and reporting more unhealthy eating behaviours and cognitions, particularly in girls. However, little is known about the factors that might mediate these relationships. Aim. The present study compared the relationships between bullying, emotional adjustment, restrained eating, and body dissatisfaction in adolescent boys and girls. Sample/method. Self-report data were collected from a sample of 11- to 14-year-olds (N= 376) on experiences of bullying, emotional symptoms, and unhealthy eating and shape-related attitudes and behaviours. Results. Bullying, emotional symptoms, restrained eating, and body dissatisfaction were all correlated. Emotional symptoms were found to significantly mediate the relationships between verbal bullying with body dissatisfaction in girls but not in boys. Conclusions. Findings suggest that the experience of being verbally bullied places adolescent girls at risk of developing emotional problems which can then lead to body dissatisfaction. Longitudinal research is necessary to disentangle these pathways in more detail to facilitate the development of informed interventions to support children who are being bullied.

A magyar fiatalok jellemzése pénzügyi attitűdjeik és magatartásuk mentén – Vizsgálat a felsőoktatásban tanulók pénzügyi attitűdjeiről és magatartásáról = Characterization of the Hungarian youth with their financial attitudes and behaviours – A survey about the financial behaviour and attitudes of students

A pénzügyi piacok és termékek egyre komplexebbé válnak, ami együtt jár a pénzügyeket illető információs szakadék mélyülésével is – a lakosság egyre kevésbé képes pénzügyeiről körültekintő döntéseket hozni. Jelen tanulmány a magyar felsőoktatásban tanuló fiatalokat pénzügyi attitűdjeik mentén szegmentálja és jellemzi, annak érdekében, hogy hozzájáruljon a pénzügyi kultúra szintjét növelő programok sikerességéhez, legyen az állami indíttatású (pénzügyi edukáció) vagy a versenyszféra által vezérelt. A vizsgált fiatalok alapvetően három csoportba sorolhatók: (1) Konzervatívak, (2) Lázadók és (3) Tapasztaltak. A Konzervatívakra a stabil morális értékrend, alacsony kockázatvállalási hajlandóság jellemző, céljaik között egyaránt találunk rövid és hosszú távúakat is – informáltságuk, és ebből eredően pénzügyi ismeretszintjük alacsony, a hitelekkel szembeni attitűdjük negatív. A Lázadók csoportjára az „Élj a mának!” magatartás a jellemző, vagyis rövid távú céljaik vannak, kevésbé tudatosak, pénzügyi ismeretszintjük alacsony, ugyanakkor nyitottak az újdonságokra és a kockázatvállalási szintjük magasabb a másik két csoporténál. A Tapasztaltak csoportjára a tudatosság és a pénzügyi megfontoltság a jellemző – pénzügyi ismeretszintjük magasabb a másik két csoporténál. Náluk a hosszú távú célok dominálnak, de alacsony kockázatvállalási hajlandóság mellett. _____ Financial markets and financial instruments have become more and more complex in the last decades. Unfortunately, financial literacy of population cannot keep up with the innovation activity of financial sector. By segmenting and describing Hungarian young adults along their financial attitudes, the aim of this study is to provide recommendations to the programs aiming to enhance the development of financial literacy. According to the authors’ results, 18-25 year-old young adults can be categorized as (1) conservatives, (2) rebels and (3) experienced. Conservatives can be characterized by stable moral and values, low risktaking willingness and inappropriate financial knowledge. Both short and long term goals can be explored among their preferences. Conservatives have negative attitude to bank loans. The rebels can be described by the ancient Latin saying: “Carpe Diem”. They have short-term goals and the future financial stability is not an issue for them – their financial literacy is low. However, rebels are open-minded and their risk-taking willingness is greater than the other two group members. Despite of the low level of risk-taking willingness, the highest level of financial literacy is showed by the experienced group. They have long-term goals and are able to receive information about complex financial instruments.

Considering Efficacy of an Outdoor Environmental Education Program: Facilitating Elementary Students’ Environmental Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviours

Various sources have sought to consider the educational interventions that foster changes in perception of and attitudes toward nature, with the ultimate intent of understanding how education can be used to encourage environmentally responsible behaviours. With these in mind, the current study identified an outdoor environmental education program incorporating these empirically supported interventions, and assessed its ability to influence environmental knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours. Specifically, this study considered the following research questions: 1) To what degree can participation in this outdoor education program foster environmental knowledge and encourage pro-environmental attitudes and self-reported pro-environmental behaviours? 2) How is this effect different among students of different genders, and those who have different prior experiences in nature? Two motivational frameworks guided inquiry in the current study: the Value-Belief-Norm Model of Environmentalism (VBN) and the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). The study employed a quantitative survey methodology, combining contemporary data measuring knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours with archived data collected by program staff, reflecting frequency of environmentally responsible behaviour. Further, a single qualitative item was included for which students provided “the first three words that [came] to mind when [they] think of the word nature.” Terms provided before and after the program were compared for differences in theme to detect subtle or underlying changes. Quantitative results indicated no significant change in student knowledge or attitudes through the outdoor environmental education program. However, a significant change in self-reported behaviour was identified from both the contemporary and archived data. This agreement in positive findings across the two data sets, collected using different measures and different participants, lends evidence of the program’s ability to encourage self-reported pro-environmental behaviour. Further, qualitative results showed some change in students’ perceptions of nature through the program, providing direction for future research. These findings suggest that this particular outdoor education program was successful in encouraging students’ self-reported environmentally responsible behaviour. This change was achieved without significant change in knowledge or environmental attitudes, suggesting that external factors not measured in this study might have played a role in affecting behaviour.

An investigation of cross-cultural differences in binge-drinking perceptions and behaviours

This paper examines the variance in binge-drinking attitudes and behaviours between university student cohorts from Western and Eastern countries who reside in Australia. In particular, we investigate the impact of social influence on these consumer responses. An online survey resulted in 190 useable responses from university students at three different Australian universities. The results show that students from Western countries consume alcohol at higher levels and demonstrate more ‘approach’ behaviours towards binge-drinking, whereas students from Eastern countries demonstrate more ‘avoid’ behaviours. Social distancing from drunk or story-telling people is evident as students from Eastern countries while students from Western countries were more likely to indulge in story-telling and either ignored or encouraged surrounding people who were drunk.

The impact of the Canadian Standardized Test of Fitness and of health counselling on health attitudes and behaviour

The purpose of this research study was to determine whether or not the use of a single day of Personal Wellness Evaluations would be meaningful enough to change the attitudes of participants toward adopting a healthier lifestyle, or if it was necessary to include regular planned health counselling alon-g with the Personal Wellness Evaluations in order to'observe changes in beliefs, attitudes and behaviours toward active living and the adoption of a healthier lifestyle. Attitudes and behaviours toward physical fitness and healthy lifestyle choices were assessed through a questionnaire composed of the following instruments: Fishbein and Ajzen Attitude and Behaviour Questionnaire, Leisure Behaviour Questionnaire, Ten Centimeter Bipolar Health Continuum, Neugarten Life Satisfaction Assessment, Job Description Index, Selected questions from the Ontario Health Survey, and the Symptom Reporting Questionnaire. Physical fitness evaluation consisted of the Canadian Standardized Test of Fitness, measures of blood pressure, and total cholesterol. The participants were divided into three groups: Group 1- CSTF & health counselling, Group 2- CSTF only, and Group 3- a control group. All three groups received the questionnaire both at the beginning and at the end of the study. Group 1 and Group 2 also participated in fitness testing at these same times, with a three-month time interval between test times. Group 1 also received weekly one-hour health education sessions during the three months between fitness testing. While there were some differences found between the three groups in this study, the results of this study suggested that this three-month workplace wellness program had no impact on the participants' attitudes and behaviours toward health and physical activity. There were no significant differences in the physical fitness measures between Group 1 and Group 2 , nor in the participants' questionnaire responses. These results may be due to the participants' lack of compliance to this wellness program. Employees who 11 participate in a workplace weIlness program must be self-motivated to comply with the program in order to receive the full benefits the program has to offer. Some participants in this study did not have the internal motivation necessary to remain in the study for the three-month period. Future research may consider implementing a workplace wellness program for a longer duration as well as incorporating a specific physical fitness program for the participants to follow. An exercise program could improve the participants' physical fitness, while the health counselling would give the individuals the health education necessary to lead a healthy lifestyle.