Discovering Children’s Decision Making Processes In The Context Of Sustainable Development, Focusing On Sustainable And Healthy Diets.

Author(s):

Sharon Ross(presenting / submitting)Dr. Anke Hertrampf(presenting)Federica Valsangiacomo Ute Bender Prof. Dr. Franziska Bertschy Prof. Dr. Christine Kuenzli David

Conference:

ECER 2017

Network:

30. Environmental and Sustainability Education Research (ESER)

Format:

Paper

Session Information

30 SES 06 B, ESD and Young Learners

Paper Session

Time:

2017-08-23

15:30-17:00

Room:

K6.18

Chair:

Elsa Lee

Contribution

With the adoption of the 17 goals set through the Agenda-2030 in 2015 (United Nations, 2015), United Nations members, such as Switzerland, have agreed to actively support and promote sustainable development (SD) nationally. Whilst SD is a regulative idea, one of its key concepts is understanding that the influential interplay between the economic, socio-cultural, and ecological factors, concerns, and problems requires comprehensive, integrative consideration. These factors are not only reflected in two of the Agenda-2030 goals: responsible consumption and production, and good health and well-being, but are also politically integrated into the intercantonal curriculum for primary schools. However, a survey in 2010 disclosed that 72% of young people in Switzerland reported feeling insufficiently supported through education in sustainability, despite their apparent interest in the topic (Isopublic 2010). Further reports indicate that popular media promotes conflicting "sustainable and healthy eating“ information, leading to consumers feeling strained and in conflict with their desires, as opposed to feeling supported, and able to construct deliberated, sustainable choices. Moreover, empirical findings indicate that consumers both lack competences, requisite to make sustainable decisions in the context of food and nutrition (Infanger, 2012; Tobler et al., 2011), and that eating behaviour is predominantly controlled through habitude as opposed to rational consideration (Bender, 2014, Ryser et al, 2012). Simultaneously, it has been shown that eating habits and consumer choices concerning food have a considerable impact on sustainable development (United Nations, 2015; Tukker & Jansen, 2006). Individuals therefore require both knowledge and decision-making strategies to make well-informed decisions concerning SD. The complexity of these competences requires that attainment begins in the formative years. Educational settings need to provide specific learning situations, which support and enable students to attain reflected, self-dependent decision-making competences in the context of SD, and focus on sustainable diets (Bender, 2012; Künzli David & Bertschy, 2012; Bertschy, 2008).

However, empirical studies concerning education for sustainable development (ESD), focussing on the decision-making process and nutrition, have not been found to date. Various studies on decision-making competences have primarily focused on science education, socio-scientific issues and SD, or the argumentation abilities of the participants (Betsch, 2011; Eggert & Bögeholz, 2010; Sadler & Donnelly, 2006), but lacked focus upon health, nutrition and consumption. Current quantitative studies concerning nutrition and SD focus on the importance of sustainability and consumer understandings, but lack inter alia the qualitative focus in conjunction with the decision-making competence (Vainio et al., 2016; Roediger et al., 2015). Furthermore, intervention studies addressing the selectional phase of the decision-making process itself, have focused on the strategies as opposed to the actual process (Gresch & Bögeholz, 2013).

Specific formative emphasis and support is therefore required in both educational settings and the intercantonal spiralcurriculum to ensure the attainment of the national ESD goals, and, explicitly, the decision-making competence. The overriding aim of this project is to support teachers’ understandings of the decision-making process within the context of ESD. To do this, this research recognises the influence of both educational settings and socio-familial experiences, as identifying factors to illustrate the processes made by 11-12 year old students during an informed decision-making sequence, following a series of ESD lessons. The project uses a theoretical framework based on prevalent models used for decision processes (Betsch, 2011; Eggert & Bögeholz, 2010) and consists of two phases: Firstly, data is gathered and evaluated to discover the decision-making processes of year 6 students. Secondly, the findings will be used to create a didactical model, designed to support teachers’ understandings of the decision-making process and therefore promote SD through the attainment of the competence to make critically informed decisions.

Method

The study’s design uses a qualitative, explorative paradigm, with an understanding for the socio-cognitive development of competences. The sample group uses year 6 students (11-12 year olds) in rural, urban and agglomerate schools, based in the German speaking region of Switzerland. Ten specifically designed ESD lessons, focussing on nutrition, ensure that the participants receive the factual knowledge required to make critically informed decisions. Data gathering uses a two phase think-aloud protocol method that has been adapted to both the context of this research and the participants needs (Konrad, 2010). In the first phase, procedural decision-making data will be gathered from the students. The second phase uses a retrospective interview to allow questions to be posed, which further support our understanding of the participants’ actions during the decision-making process. Participants for the verbal data-gathering sequences are chosen from each class using two written tests that the students take after the last ESD lesson. The first test shows that an indicative level of formal knowledge has been attained, necessary to make an informed decision in this context. The second test is a value questionnaire, illustrating an individual’s personal values (Schwartz et al., 2012). Decisive factors to ensure maximal possible heterogeneity of each sample group therefore include, formal knowledge, values, gender, socioeconomic index, and descent. The data gathering sequences will be recorded for later analysis and analysed using both a theoretical model for qualitative content analysis and a software programme for computer-assisted qualitative data analysis. This combination will allow themes to be discovered and compared. A previously designed theoretical decision-making process model serves as a comparative guideline for the analysis of the empirical data. Validity is ensured through the implementation of inter-coder reliability and the study of literature both before and after analysis.

Expected Outcomes

As stated above, aim of this study is to identify and illustrate the well-informed decision-making processes of year 6 students in the context of ESD, with a focus on nutrition. This requires identifying the individual steps of the students’ decision-making processes, the comparison to the theoretical model, the use of factual knowledge in phase one of the interview, and whether the factors used to ensure heterogeneity influence the phases of the process. Following tendencies were shown through the analysis of the data gained in the pilot study: • Informal knowledge was initially used to inform the decisions and the decision-making process. • Personal experiences with both the school and social settings were used as informative factors during the process. • The serial phases represented in the theoretical decision-making process model did not concur with the students’ narratives. • An “answer first, explain after” manner of answering was identified, as opposed to the expected serial phases of decision-making shown in the theoretical model . • The question-and-answer methodological form during the retrospective phase of the data gathering was easier for the students to adhere to. • During the retrospective phase, there was a tendency for the students to use factual knowledge gained through the ESD lessons to explain and implement their original thoughts and narratives. The findings from the pilot study led to further insights and methodological adaptations of both the educational and the data gathering sequences. The adapted form will be used in the main study, which will be carried out in February and March 2017, where we expect a notable increase in the identification of the individual decision-making process phases and an increased declaration of factual information during the first phase of the think-aloud protocol. Some of our findings from the main study will be presented at the ECER 2017.

References

Bender, U. (2012). Health-Related Attitudes of Adolescents in the Canton Basel-City. Ernährungs Umschau 59(12), 676-683. DOI: 10.4455/eu.2012.955 Bertschy, F. (2008). Vernetztes Wissen in der Grundschule fördern. Umweltpsychologie. 12(2), 71–90. Betsch, T. (2011). The Stability of Preferences. Frontiers in Psychology. Vol. 2. Article 290. Eggert, S.; Bögeholz, S. (2010). Students’ use of decision-making strategies with regard to socioscientific issues: An application of the Rasch partial credit model. Science Education. 94 (2). 230-258. Gresch, H., & Bögeholz, S. (2013). Identifying Non-Sustainable Courses of Action: A Prerequisite for Decision- Making in Education for Sustainable Development. Research in Science Education., 43(2), 733–754. Infanger, E. (2012). Die gesunde Lebensmittelwahl. Was wissen wir über den Konsumenten und die Konsumentin in der Schweiz? Bericht im Auftrag des BAG. 31. 5. 2012. Bern: SGE. http://www.sge-ssn.ch/media/bericht_fokusgruppen_definitiv_11.pdf Isopublic. (2011). Jugend und Nachhaltigkeit. Ergebnisse einer repräsentativen Befragung von 14- bis 18-jährigen Jugendlichen der Schweiz. Stiftung Umwelbildung Schweiz. http://www.umweltbildung.ch/fileadmin/user_upload/resources/6_studie_jugend_nachhaltigkeit.pdf Konrad, K. (2010). Lautes Denken. In G. Mey & K. Mruck (Eds.). Handbuch Qualitative Forschung in der Psychologie. 1. Auflage. 476–490. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften. Künzli David, C., & Bertschy, F. (2012). Education for Sustainable Development: Conceptual Foundations, Pedagogical Structure and Practical Implementation. Education for Sustainable Development - European Approaches. 33–53. Bad Homburg: VHS. Roediger, M.; Hamm, U. (2015). How are organic food prices affecting consumer behaviour? A review. Food Quality and Preference. 43, 10-20. Ryser, C.; Fournier-Fall, A.; Frei, S.; May, A. (2012). Ernährungsmassnahmen zur Förderung von Gesundheit. In: BAG Bundesamt für Gesundheit (Ed.) (2012): Sechster Schweizerischer Ernährungsbericht. Bern: BAG, 209-279. Sadler, T. D., & Donnelly, L. A. (2006). Socioscientific Argumentation: The effects of content knowledge and morality. International Journal of Science Education. 28(15). 1463–1488. Schwartz, S. H.; Cieciuch, J.; Vecchione, M.; Davidov, E.; Fischer, R.; Beierlein, C.; et al. (2012). Refining the theory of basic individual values. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 103(4), 663–688. Tobler, C.; Visschers, V.; Siegrist, M. (2011). Eating green. Consumers’ willingness to adopt ecological food consumption behaviors. Appetite 57(3), S. 674–682. Tukker, A., Jansen, B. (2006). Environmental impacts of products: A detailed review of studies. Journal of Industrial Ecology. 10(3), 159–182. United Nations. (2015). Transforming our world: The 2030 agenda for sustainable development. http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/ Vainio, A.; Niva, M.; Jallinoja, P.; Latvala, T. (2016). From beef to beans: Eating motives and the replacement of animal proteins with plant proteins among Finnish consumers. Appetite. 106, 92-100.

Author Information

Sharon Ross (presenting / submitting)

PH Bern IVP-NMS

Educational Research

Berne

Dr. Anke Hertrampf (presenting)

FHNW, Basel, Switzerland

Federica Valsangiacomo

PH FHNW, Solothurn, Switzerland

Ute Bender

PH FHNW

Basel

Prof. Dr. Franziska Bertschy

PH Bern IVP-NMS, Switzerland

Prof. Dr. Christine Kuenzli David