Attitude towards species and conservation among teacher students in Italy, Norway, and Pakistan
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Given the high global rate of species disappearance due to human impacts on ecosystems, it is crucial to examine attitudes towards species conservation to foster future coexistence. This study investigated attitudes towards various species and their conservation priorities among teacher students in Norway, Italy and Pakistan. As future educators, these students will play a key role in shaping the next generation’s attitudes and knowledge of biodiversity. A total of 207 teacher-education students participated in the study by completing a voluntary online questionnaire. The questionnaire included demographic questions (age and nationality), five items from the NR-6 nature relatedness scale, 15 species images and a ranking task in which students ranked seven reasons for protecting biodiversity based on perceived importance. An invariance analysis showed that the nature relatedness scale was not comparable among the three countries. The investigation of the PCA-scores on the nature relatedness scale suggests that the patterns differed most between Pakistan and Norway. Pakistani and Italian students generally declared a more positive attitude towards species conservation than their Norwegian counterparts. The intrinsic value of species and their role in ecosystems were ranked the most important reasons for conserving species in Italy and Norway, whereas religion was ranked first in Pakistan. Given the ongoing biodiversity crisis, it is concerning that some future educators hold negative attitudes towards protecting certain species. Teacher education programs should place greater emphasis on the importance of plants and invertebrates in ecosystems and promote discussions on attitudes towards species to promote coexistence.
Source: Sustainable Environment
Authors: Anna Maria Billing, Abu ul Hassan Faiz, Gabriella Falcicchio, Rolv Lundheim, Anne-Lise Olsen, Per-Arvid Wold, Claudia Melis
Language: English
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7083678397