Why is it important to protect the environment? Reasons presented by young children

Abstract

How children piece together their reasons for protecting the environment is an important but under-research area in early childhood education for sustainability (ECEfS). This article reviews findings related to young Maltese children’s (aged 3–7 years) reasons for protecting the environment. Adopting a qualitative case study approach, preliminary data were collected via observations in two state schools and one family household, semi-structured conversational interviews with children, children’s drawings and their interpretations of them, and document analysis. Findings showed that children were aware of the need to protect the environment, they were aware of some environmental issues within their local context. Children were able to share their opinions with adults about the importance of protecting the environment in different ways. Children’s reasons for protecting the environment centred round moral reasons; the effects on human life; the effects on endangered species; supports for living; and, aesthetics. Finally, the implications of these findings for ECEfS, policy and directions for future research are discussed.

Keywords:

• Early childhood education for sustainability
• young children
• environment
• environmental protection

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Funding

This study was self-funded by the author.

Notes

1 In the present study, the environment is defined as “physical and biological, human and non-human, natural, cultivated and constructed, social and political, cultural and aesthetic, and temporal with a past and future” (Smyth 1998, p. 1).

2 Malta is situated in Mediterranean Sea. It comprises an area of approximately 316 km² (National Statistics Office [NSO], 2014), and population of about 475,701 residents (NSO – Malta 2019).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jane Spiteri

Jane Spiteri is a lecturer in the Department of Early Childhood and Primary Education, within the Faculty of Education, at the University of Malta. She holds a PhD from the University of Edinburgh with a doctoral research on early childhood education for sustainability. She has long standing interest in environmental education with young children. Her particular interests are in education for sustainable development, early childhood education, outdoor learning and participatory research methods.