Environmental Attitudes in Trainee Teachers in Primary Education. The Future of Biodiversity Preservation and Environmental Pollution

Abstract

The environmental challenges of the twenty-first century are a consequence of the impact that human beings have on nature. Because of this, environmental attitudes are paramount in establishing effective measures regarding both biodiversity preservation and environmental pollution. Therefore, the main goal of this paper has been evaluating the environmental attitudes of future primary education teachers, considering their responsibility for teaching the new generations of citizens. A quantitative methodology has been applied to describe the reality observed. The data collection instrument used was the scale of environmental attitudes towards specific problems; this scale was applied to a sample of 307 students of the degree in Primary Education at the University of Granada. More specifically, the subscales corresponding to pollution, biodiversity, natural spaces and recycling were analysed. Results reveal a high level of environmental attitudes in future primary education teachers; moreover, there is a positive interdependence among the different subscales. Finally, it is of great importance to evaluate the environmental attitudes of future primary education teachers, given that the future of biodiversity preservation and environmental pollution are in the hands of new generations.