Factors Influencing Schoolchildren's Responses to a Questionnaire in Wildlife Conservation Education

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BALLOUARD J., Mullin S. J., AJTIC R., Brito J. C., ELMOUDEN E. H., ERDOĞAN M., ...Daha Fazla

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENCE EDUCATION, cilt.37, sa.3, ss.469-483, 2015 (SSCI) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 37 Sayı: 3
  • Basım Tarihi: 2015
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1080/09500693.2014.993000
  • Dergi Adı: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENCE EDUCATION
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.469-483
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Survey methodology, Sample size, Iconic species, Environmental education, Affectivity, BIODIVERSITY, KNOWLEDGE, ANIMALS, ISSUES, SNAKES
  • Akdeniz Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Questionnaires are important tools for assessing attitudes regarding conservation issues. However, they are not easily comparable and their reliability has been insufficiently assessed. We examined factors influencing responses to open- and closed-ended questions about animal conservation to more than 600 schoolchildren (9 years old on average). We analysed the level of understanding, controllable (e.g. sample size) and less controllable factors (e.g. affectivity). Most children responded appropriately to the questions, but subtle changes in the phrasing influenced the answers. Affectivity towards endearing species and spontaneity also influenced the responses whereas small sample sizes (similar to 50 children) provided relatively stable patterns. Overall, we suggest that standardization of questionnaires administered over large spatial and time scales is needed to accurately assess children's attitudes towards conservation issues.