Abstract
Guided and open ended questionnaires are distributed to secondary school students in the small Greek city of Serres in order to study their preconceptions about the urban environment. According to students' responses the word city is mostly connected with negative natural, social and structural features. Evidence is provided that young people are developing a reasonable conscious of environmental issues, especially regarding acute everyday aspects of city life, e.g. solid waste management. Places of entertainment and leisure as well as places representing the history of the city are also highly appreciated. Noticeably, students have only a limited knowledge of the living species of their city, identifing as such mostly pets and other relatively large animals but almost no plants. Finally, a comparison is conducted with an analogous study from the small Spanish city of Orense leading to similar conclusions, a fact which lends support to the notion of a common European environmental education policy.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bell, B. (1981) When is an animal not an animal? Journal of Biological Education, 15(3), 213-8.
Bell, B. and Barker, M. (1982) Towards a scientific concept of “animal.” Journal of Biological Education, 16(3), 197-200.
Carmichael, P., Driver, R., Holding, B., Phillips, I., Twiggerr, D. and Watts, M. (eds.) (1990) Research on student's conceptions in science: a bibliography. Leeds, UK: University of Leeds.
Cohen, S. and Horm-Wingerd, D. (1993) Children and the environment: Ecological awareness among preschool children. Environment and Behavior, 25(1), 103-20.
Faraggitakis, G. (1996) The policy of the curriculum of the high school regarding environmental education. In Symposium of the Ministry of Youth And the Ministry of Environment, Ecology, Society and Education: reality and perspectives in Greece (Iatrou, G.D. and Mardiris, Th.A., eds.) Livani: Athens.
Fernadez, J. (1974) The mission of metaphor inexpressive culture. Current Anthropology 15(2), 119-45.
Flogaiti, E. (1996) Environmental education; approaches and arguments. In Symposium of the Ministry of Youth and the Ministry of Environment, Ecology, Society and Education: reality and perspectives in Greece (Iatrou, G.D. and Mardiris,. Th.A., eds.) Livani: Athens.
Georgopoulos, A. and Tsaliki, E. (1993) Environmental education: principles, methodology and practical plays. Gutenberg: Athens.
Gittins, J. (1992) Acting locally, thinking globally: a holistic approach to locally based communuty environmental action. Lecture in the 3rd European Conference for Environmental Education. March 29-April 4, Loutra Sidirokastrou, Greece.
Gump, P.V. (1980) School environments. In 2nd ed Children and the environment: human behavior and environment, (Altman, I. and Wohlwill, J.F., eds) Vol. 3 New York: Plenum Press.
Hull, R. and Harvey, A. (1989) Explaining the emotion people experience in suburban parks. Environment and Behavior 21, 323-45.
Hungerfold, H.R., Peyton, R.B., and Wilke, R.J. (1983) Yes environmental education does have definition and structure. Journal of Environmental Education, 14(3), 1-2.
Joardar, S.D. (1989) Use and image of neighbourhood parks: a case study of limited resources. Environment and Behavior 21(6), 734-62.
Kaplan, R. (1983) The role of nature in the urban context in Altman, I. and Wohlwill, J.F. (eds) Children and the envronment: Human behavior and environment, 2nd ed (Altman, I. and Wohlwill, J.F., eds,) Vol. 6. New York: Plenum Press.
Kellert, S.R. (1983) Affective cognitive and evaluative perceptions. In: Altman, I. and Wohlwill, J.F. (eds) Children and the environment: Human behavior and environment, 2nd ed (Altman, I. and Wohlwill, J.F., eds,) Vol. 6. New York: Plenum Press.
Kinnear, J. (1994) What science education really says about communication of science concepts. Paper presented at the 44th Annual Meeting of the International Communication Association, July 11-15, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Lalli, M. (1992) Urban-related identity: theory, measurement, and empirical findings. Journal of Environmental Psychology 12, 285-303.
Membiela, P., Nogueiras, E. and Suarez, M. (1993) Students' preconceptions about urban environmental problems and solid waste. Journal of Environmental Education 24(2), 30-4.
Membiela, P., Nogueiras, E. and Suarez, M. (1994) Students' preconceptions about urban environmental problems in a small Spanish city. Environmentalist 14(2), 131-8.
Moore, G.T. (1988) The designed environment and cognitive development: a brief review of five domains of research. Children's Environments Quarterly 2, 26-33.
Paraskeuopoulos, S. (1996) Society, education and environment. In Symposium of the Ministry of Youth and the Ministry of Environment, ecology, society and education; reality and perspectives in Greece (Iatrou, G.D. and Mardiris,. Th.A., eds.) Livani: Athens.
Parsons, R. (1991) The potential influences of environmental perception on human health. Journal of Environmental Psychology 11, 1-23.
Pfundt, H. and Duit, R. (1988) Bibliography; students' alternative frameworks and science education, 2nd ed. Kiel; IPN.
Richards, J.M., Jr. (1990) Units of analysis and the individual differences fallacy in environmental assessment. Environment and Behavior 22(3), 307-39.
Robottom, T. (1990) Contestation and consensus in environ mental education. Curriculum Perspectives 7(1), 23-7.
Sebba, R. (1991) The landscapes of childhood: the reflection of childhood's environment in adult memories and in children's attitudes. Environment and Behavior 23(4), 395-422.
Sheets, V.L. (1991) Affect, cognition and urban vegetation: some effects of adding trees along city streets. Environment and Behavior 23(3), 285-304.
Stead, B. (1980) Animals. Working paper No. 22, Learning in Science Project, University of Waikato, New Zealand.
Thijs, G.D. (1992) Evaluation of an introductory course on “force'” considering students' preconceptions. Science-Education 76(2), 155-74.
Ulrich, R.S. (1981) Natural versus urban scenes: some psychophysiological effects. Environment and Behavior 13, 523-56.
Ulrich, R.S. (1983) Aesthetic and affective response to natural environment. In Children and the environment: human behavior and environment, 2nd ed, (Altman, I. and Wohlwill,. J.F., eds,) Vol. 6. New York: Plenum Press.
UNESCO-PNUE (1988) Strategie d' Action en Matiere d'Education et de Formation Relatives a l' Environment Pour les Annees 1990. Nairobi-Paris: UNESCO-PNUE.
Unesco-UNEP (1983) International Environmental Education Programme, Environmental Education Series, No. 5.
Unesco-UNEP (1983) International Environmental Education Programme, Environmental Education Series, No. 8.
Unesco-UNEP (1986) International Environmental Education Programme, Environmental Education Series, No. 22.
Vasala, P. (1996) The ecology in the National Curriculum of Primary and Secondary Education. In Symposium of the Ministry of Youth and the Ministry of Environment, Ecology, Society and Education: reality and perspectives in Greece (Iatron, G.D. and Marliris, Th.A., eds.) Livani: Athens.
Yi-Fu, T. (1980) Children and the natural environment. In Children and the environment: human Behavior and environment, 2nd ed (Altman, I. and Wohlwill, J.F., eds,) Vol. 6. New York: Plenum Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Karapantsios, T., Boutskou, E. & Balouktsis, A. Students' awareness of the urban environment in a small Greek city. The Environmentalist 19, 305–316 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006697703486
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006697703486