Towards Greening Education: Examining the Environmental Values and Ecological Crisis Responsiveness in School Students

This study examines how children’s experiences with nature is associated with their emotionalresponsiveness to ecological crises, and the psychological mechanisms underlying thisrelationship. While environmental education in schools has improved awareness about nature, itsrole in shaping affective and value-based engagement with environmental issues remainsunclear. Drawing on Connectedness to Nature Theory, Value–Belief–Norm Theory, and Self-4Determination Theory, a structural model was tested to explore the relationships between natureexperiences through school and neighborhood greens, feeling of connectedness to nature,environmental values, beliefs, and responsiveness to ecological distress among school students.A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 538 students (aged 10–19 years) from the NationalCapital Region, India. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was usedto examine both direct and indirect relationships. Nature experiences were positively associatedwith feeling of connectedness to nature, which in turn was strongly associated withenvironmental values and beliefs. Environmental values and beliefs were significantly associatedwith students’ distress responses to images of ecological degradation. However, no significantdirect relationships were observed between nature experiences and responsiveness, or betweenconnectedness to nature and responsiveness. Instead, the relationship between nature experiencesand responsiveness was fully mediated through connectedness to nature and environmentalvalues. Age and grade level (used as a proxy for exposure to environmental education) were notsignificantly associated with the outcome variables, while gender showed small but significantassociations with environmental values and responsiveness. These findings suggest thatchildren’s engagement with nature is indirectly associated with their sensitivity to ecologicalharm through psychological pathways involving connectedness and values. The results highlightthe potential importance of experiential engagement with nature in shaping affective and value-based orientations toward environmental issues.