Exploring the environmental attitudes of early childhood teachers in China : a step toward future sustainability /

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Student Theses

2023

Luo, Hua

Hong Kong : The Education University of Hong Kong

Thesis

Since 2012, the Chinese government has highlighted the ecological civilization policy focusing on the sustainable development of nature and humanity. Education should pave the way for this goal in the future, and our early years children (3-6 years) play an important role in helping society make changes in this direction. However, many children nowadays are alienated from nature, and early childhood teachers are still unfamiliar with this perspective. Very few studies emphasize the environmental literacy of early childhood teachers, especially in China. Therefore, this study aims to explore the environmental attitudes of early childhood teachers in China through three research questions: i) does their environmental knowledge predict their environmental attitudes? ii) what are the Chinese cultural impacts on their environmental attitudes? iii) how do Chinese culture, job satisfaction, and leadership affect their environmental attitudes? The first two questions adopt quantitative methods through an online questionnaire, and the third question embraces mixed methods, including surveys and interviews. In total, there are 832 valid responses in the online questionnaire, and 12 interviewees are involved. Based on the findings, early childhood teachers in China have a relatively low level of environmental knowledge. Their environmental attitudes toward conservation are more positive, but their environmental attitudes toward utilization are more negative. There is a significant difference between the two dimensions regardless of educational levels, working years, and workplaces, and the gap becomes larger when participants have higher educational levels and longer working years in kindergartens. Their environmental knowledge significantly predicts both dimensions of environmental attitudes when other factors are not considered. However, these links are fragile, and environmental knowledge only explains a tiny part of the variance of these two dimensions. Moreover, regarding the Chinese cultural factors of power, authority, and collectivism in kindergartens, power distance is at a moderate level. However, authority openness and collectivism are at a relatively high level. More authority openness and collective concerns predict a more positive attitude toward conserving natural environments, while more hierarchical power and collective concerns predict a more positive attitude toward utilizing natural environments. Finally, participants indicate a moderately high level of job satisfaction and teacher environmental leadership. Those working for more than one year and less than or equal to three years show the lowest level of job satisfaction, while those with undergraduate backgrounds show the highest level of teacher environmental leadership. Environmental knowledge, job satisfaction, teacher environmental leadership, and Chinese cultural factors predict their attitudes toward conserving and utilizing natural environments. Nevertheless, job satisfaction and teacher environmental leadership influence these two dimensions differently. Based on the moderated mediation model, environmental knowledge only affects environmental attitudes toward utilization. The association between teacher environmental leadership and their environmental attitudes is significantly moderated by job satisfaction and mediated by collectivism simultaneously. Meanwhile, interviews indicate that other factors should also be considered, such as previous experiences, economic conditions, and characteristics of female teachers. Therefore, this study recommends that more support be provided on utilizing natural resources for teachers, parents, and children, and improving teachers' job satisfaction. Principals should take compulsory measures with their power to engage early childhood teachers in learning more about natural environments to cultivate more positive environmental attitudes and support children's nature play, which is an essential step toward future sustainability

LG51.H43 Dr 2023eb Luoh

https://educoll.lib.eduhk.hk/records/dybQjBEe