Our connection with nature is important for mental and physical well-being and this connection depends on how we understand, value and engage with the natural world. However, there is persistent evidence that young people remain disconnected from nature. In this article we discuss reasons why many secondary schools in England are having difficulty…

Our pupils' generation will eventually have the daunting responsibility of making decisions about local and global biodiversity. School provides an early opportunity for them to enter into formal discussion about the science and values associated with biodiversity conservation; but the crowded curriculum offers little time for such activities.…

Education for scientific literacy entails the development of scientific knowledge and the ability to apply this knowledge and value judgments to decisions about real-life issues. This paper reports an attempt to involve secondary level biology students in making decisions about an authentic socio-scientific issue--that of bat conservation--through…

The conservation of biodiversity is an important socio-scientific issue that is often regarded as a precondition to sustainable development. The foundation for citizens' understanding of conservation issues can be laid down in formal school education. This research focuses on decision-making discussions about biological conservation issues among…

Discusses the findings of a study of the views of 15 and 16 year-olds on the importance of biodiversity conservation. Reports general disapproval for human economic activities that might threaten wildlife with extinction, although significantly fewer boys than girls held this view. (Contains 16 references.) (Author/YDS)