The environmental worldview of children: a cross‐cultural perspective

Abstract

The authors’ research investigated young people’s environmental worldviews using the revised ‘New Ecological Paradigm’ scale for children. The scale is a widely used measure of people’s shifting worldviews from a human dominant view to an ecological one, with humans as part of nature. However, the scale has not been used with children. By administering the scale to children aged 13–15 in Belgium and Zimbabwe, the authors found statistical differences between the two subgroups in their perspectives on human–environment interactions. Children in Zimbabwe and Belgium display ecological worldviews but differences occur at the human dominance dimension. Respondents in Belgium believe in human–nature equality, whereas Zimbabwean youngsters feel more dominant over nature and emphasize a utilitarian view of the environment.