The influence of the family, the school, and the group on the environmental attitudes of European students

Abstract

The attitudes of young people arise from an intense interaction with their social groups of reference, and in this work we examine the extent to which this background conditions the individual environmental attitudes of the young. Using data provided by the PISA 2006 survey for the European Union, we test for the influence of the family, the characteristics of the school, and the social interactions or school peer group on attitudes toward the environment. The existence of social interactions, as well as the important role of family characteristics and school activities, are confirmed. The results allow us to emphasize the importance of the social context of the adolescent, and the need to take this into account as a channel that amplifies the influence of specific environmental education strategies.

Keywords:

• peer effects
• environmental attitudes
• PISA
• school

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Nevertheless, a hierarchical linear model including two random intercepts, at the school and country levels, has also been estimated (Rabe-Hesketh and Skrondal 2005). The estimated coefficients and significance levels are very similar and are available upon request.