What do Spanish 5-7 year-olds say about some Environmental issues? An Exploratory Study to Detect and Analyse their Ideas

Jou nal o Educa ion and Human De elopmen Ma ch 2017, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 103-119 ISSN: 2334-296X (P in ), 2334-2978 (Online) Copy igh © The Au ho (s). All Righ s Rese ed. Published by Ame ican Resea ch Ins i u e o Policy De elopmen DOI: 10.15640/jehd. 6n1a11 URL: h ps://doi.o g/10.15640/jehd. 6n1a11 103 Wha do Spanish 5-7 yea -olds say abou some En i onmen al issues? An Explo a o y S udy o De ec and Analyse hei Ideas C uz-Guzmán, Ma a1; C iado, Ana Ma ía1 Depa men o Expe imen al and Social Sciences Teaching Facul y o Educa ion Sciences Uni e si y o Se ille, Spain. Mon illa, Sa a2. Pío XII P ima y School and Kinde ga en Se ille, Spain Abs ac Basic quali a i e esea ch is p esen ed in o de o alue and compa e p eschool (5-6yea old) and i s -yea p ima y le el(6-7yea old) child en's ideas in a Spanish school abou se e al opics: was e, biodeg adabili y, ecycling, wa e pollu ion and wa e sa ing. To ob ain his in o ma ion, complemen a y ins umen s we e used, al hough he e he ob ained esul s o he i s ins umen a e epo ed. The esul s led o iden i ying he child en's main esponses on he opic as well as es ablishing some di e ences be ween he wo educa ional s ages. I was possible o es ablish p og essi e le els o ca ego ies o some o he ideas s udied. Some eaching sugges ions a e made: i is ine ec i e o ocus on wha ypes o ma e ials a e deposi ed in each ype o ubbish con aine when hey canno ye di e en ia e be ween he ypes o ma e ials and hei p ope ies. Ins ead, a simpli ied app oach should be de eloped pe haps by way o s o ies. A p oposal could be de eloped on he biodeg adabili y o ma e ials as a isually dis inguishable p ope y, wi h some hands-on ac i i ies. We would also sugges p o iding speci ic examples as speci ic ypes o con amina ion, such as wa e pollu ion, on he li ing condi ions o speci ic o ms o li e. Keywo ds: en i onmen al educa ion, educa ion o sus ainabili y, child en´s ideas, p eschool, p ima y school. 1. In oduc ion and Backg ound 1.1. Educa ion o Sus ainabili y (E S) and En i onmen al Educa ion (EE) The p o ec ion o na u e is becoming one o he mos impo an issues o he con empo a y wo ld. As many o he undamen al alues o omo ow’s socie y a e o med in ea ly childhood, educa ion a his le el has a majo ole o play in achie ing sus ainable de elopmen (Si aj-Bla ch o d, 2009). Educa ion o sus ainabili y (E S) appea s o o e come he limi ed app oach o En i onmen al Educa ion (EE) owa ds one wi h a sense o social ans o ma ion (Colom, 2000), e en in p eschool educa ion (Chan, Choy & Lee, 2009; Kah iman-Öz ü k, Olgan, & Güle , 2012).Many au ho s ag ee wi h his new EE pe spec i e, which os e s ac ion o social change (Sau é, 2010). In his espec Some ille and Williams (2015) ca ied ou a e iew o esea ch in E S in ea ly childhood. Di e en au ho s e e o E S as pa o he solu ion o p ese ing na u al esou ces and aking ca e o he plane (Kuma , 2004;Saylan & Blums ein, 2011; Willem, 2006). As an example, Dame ell, Howe, and Milne -Gulland (2013)jus i y he need o E S by no ing child en's high le els o consump ion (gadge s wi h pollu ing ba e ies, hei ea ing habi s, ene gy use, u ban noise, was e gene a ion, u ban decay, e c.) and he in luence hey ha e on hei pa en s' beha iou . Jou nal o Educa ion and Human De elopmen , Vol. 6(1), Ma ch 2017 104 Indeed, EE (as pa o E S) should be a p io i y in i sel , a he han schools simply aking ad an age o i s c oss- cu ing na u e o make syllabuses appea mo e in e es ing and cu ing edge by p o iding hem wi h a mode n and p og essi e gloss. A posi i e example is Peacock (2006) who ocuses on ecological li e acy and he c oss-cu ing na u e o he disciplines in ol ed o allow o he eaching o p ac ical alues and a i udes. The au ho no only shows us wha is he necessa y con en in he p ima y educa ion cu iculum ela ed o ecology, bu also gi es di e en examples o how o achie e e hical, social, scien i ic, and en i onmen al concep ions and implica ions. In acco dance wi h his, and speci ically in Spain, we ha e o e lec upon how necessa y i is o imp o e EE in schools. Edwa ds, Gil, Vilches, and P aia (2004),Spanish au ho s who s udied pa o he educa ional communi y (327 ac i e eache s, 521 p ospec i e eache s, and 138 ex books), ound ha educa ion makes e y ew e e ences o nume ous hemes ela ed o global en i onmen al issues – sus ainable de elopmen ; hey he e o e ecommend speci ic eache educa ion ac ions o o e come a educ ionis ision o he global p oblem. 1.2. En i onmen al Educa ion in he ea ly educa ional s ages E S as a ocus a he p eschool le el ha e been a gued pe suasi ely in he li e a u e o a leas a decade (Da is, 2009, 2015; Ellio & Da is, 2009; Ellio , 2014; Hägglund & P amling, 2009). Va ious esea ch g oups h oughou he wo ld ha e been s udying in his ield. Ma ínez, Ulland Azna (2014)p o ide a b ie ecompila ion. Educa ion o sus ainabili y should begin in a child's ea ly yea s(Da is, 2009; Taylo , Quinn, & Eames, 2015). In his ega d, a he end o he wen ie h cen u y, Espine (1995) insis ed ha EE in he i s s ages o educa ion ‘goes beyond science educa ion, as i no only aims o an unde s anding o he en i onmen , bu also in ol es an emo ional and beha iou al commi men o i ’ (p. 59). This au ho e en wa ns o he dange s o acqui ing en i onmen ally iendly habi s wi hou e lec ing on and unde s anding he need o hose ac ions. F ei e (2013) ag ees wi h his iew, highligh ing he causal ela ionship be ween people's ‘ecological sensi i i y’ and hei con ac wi h na u e in ea ly childhood. Mackey (2012) shows how impo an i is o espec he igh o he child o gain knowledge abou social and en i onmen al issues, in o de o be in ol ed in con e sa ions and possible solu ions, wi h hei ideas and con ibu ions holding pa icula alue. The e is an impo an body o li e a u e on expe iences and p ojec s a he i s le els o educa ion. In his sense, in Spain, he as majo i y o schools le hei pupils in e ac wi h na u al ma e ials om hei en i onmen – logs, ocks, s icks, pine cones, and e en sc ap o ecycled ma e ials – wi h he i m in en ion o p omo ing alues such as espec o he en i onmen (Flecha, 2013).Li e a u e (e.g., Ál a ez e al., 2004) shows expe iences a p eschool and p ima y educa ion le els (e.g., school en i onmen al p oposals o pa icipa e in he collec ion and so ing o was e). He e, no only scien i ic knowledge o he su ounding wo ld is p omo ed, bu also unde s anding how o ac o p ese e i . The aim is also o encou age in e naliza ion o conse a ionis a i udes, and an awa eness and app ecia ion o he easons behind conse a ion. In sum, his p ojec s esses he acquisi ion o alues as he basis o EE. F ei e (2013) shows how Denma k, Ge many, and Sco land a e ans o ming hei educa ional sys ems wi h he objec i e o eaching he en i e cu iculum a he di e en educa ional s ages (p eschool, p ima y, and seconda y) in ‘g een spaces’. Da is (2005) showed us he posi i e esul s o educa ing o sus ainabili y o e yea s spen in an Aus alian kinde ga en. Da is (2015) and Ellio (2014) gi e a amewo k o ea ly lea ning o sus ainabili y. Sneddon and Pe i (2016) p o ide ma e ials o help embed sus ainabili y as images o he ecological oo p in and he social handp in , sus ainabili y ac ions o educing ou ecological oo p in wo kshee , sus ainabili y ac ions o inc easing ou social handp in wo kshee and calenda o da es ela ed o sus ainabili y. Ä lemalm-Hagsé (2013) illus a es how E S can be ea ed in one Swedish p eschool by dialogues as places o communica ion, pa icipa ion and sha ed meaning-making. In he Uni ed S a es, Williams (2010) p oposes educa ion based on local en i onmen al p ojec s, in which pupils conduc eam-based inqui y – collec ing, syn hesizing, and analysing in o ma ion o hen pu he knowledge hey ha e acqui ed in o p ac ice. Speci ically, in p eschool, by way o explo ing hei communi y, pupils can be in oduced o such concep s as he di e en ypes o plan s and animals ha inhabi he Ea h, he componen s o ou plane (ea h, ai , and wa e ), he iden i ica ion o he Ea h's esou ces ha we use in e e yday li e, and he idea o conse ing hese esou ces in o de o li e. Wha do Spanish 5-7 yea -olds say abou some En i onmen al issues? ................. 105 Conce ning he pedagogical app oach, i may be inapp op ia e o deal wi h na u e h ough solely echnological media and ala mis discou ses (F ei e, 2013). Espine (1995) p oposes ‘ he en i onmen al s o y’ as an impo an esou ce, especially in he i s s ages, as i ‘allows child en o imagine mo e dis an o abs ac si ua ions ela ed o he p oblems o mode n socie y, wi hou he need o a basis on di ec expe ience’ (p. 60).Fo mos child en, in e es in and lo e o na u e is ins inc i e (Villa oel, 2013). Sabo (2010) belie es ha ea ly childhood educa ion should s a wi h hei na u al in e es in plan s and animals. To qua i and Ne ns (2013) claim ha na u e en i onmen s a e sui able places o engage child en o high quali y lea ning expe iences. Ga ido (2007) s esses he impo ance o he pupil o app ecia e he ac ha li ing hings espond o and eel he changes in hei en i onmen , since his will de elop a i udes o conse a ion and espec . As a means o s imula ing child en's conce n o hei close en i onmen , a ious au ho s p opose he s udy o li ing beings, in pa icula , o pe s and li es ock (Tiana, 2009). Howe e , as hese animals a e housed o held in cap i i y by human, i is di icul o show how hey ela e o o he li ing beings wi hin an ecosys em, and he dis u bance o ha sys em caused by human (Espine , 1995). To unde s and hese in e ac ions, we belie e i is necessa y o go beyond p esen ing child en wi h na u al esou ces in isola ion, ou side o hei na u al sys ems, bu o ins ead iew hese sys ems om wi hin allowing child en o see he mul iple ela ionships among he membe s whe e hey make sense. 1.3. S udies o Child en’s Ideas in En i onmen al Educa ion In o de o s a planning any in e en ion, eache s need o esea ch child en’s p e ious concep ions o en i onmen al issues, because hey b ing hei own ideas which hey ha e been o ming since an ea ly age (D i e , 1985, Osbo ne & F eybe g, 1985). In ac , o lea ning, s uden s should know, discuss and e lec on hei own ideas. Knowledge is buil on he ounda ion o he s uden 's mind as new expe iences and in o ma ion in e ac wi h hei misconcep ions. Acco ding o Cube o, Cube o, San ama ía, Saa ed a, and Yosse (2007), we need o know ou s uden s’ p econcep ions and wo ld iews be o e s a ing a lea ning- eaching p ocess wi h hem. Then i is possible o cons uc a sha ed meaning and educa o s a e able o adjus hei in e en ion in g ea e dep h. As men ioned abo e, he li e a u e includes se e al examples o EE- ela ed ac i i ies in p eschool class ooms. P ojec s a e shown, ela ed o en i onmen al p o ec ion (EscuelaI n an ilOs Campos, 2001), looking a e a ma ke -ga den and a m animals (Heike, 2013), ecycling (Ca asco, 2011), games ela ed o na u e (Hueso, Camina, & Monzón, 2013), and so on. In e e y case, EE should be connec ed wi h he child en´s en i onmen al concep ions, in o de o imp o e his ype o educa ion (Rod íguez, Kohen, &Del al, 2015). Reid and Sco (2013) show ha i cons i u es a whole ield o esea ch wi hin EE. Di e en au ho s ha e s udied wha p eschool s uden s hink abou he en i onmen and en i onmen al p oblems (Palme & Sugga e, 2004; Palme , Sugga e & Bajd, 1999; Saçkes, Fle a es, & T undle, 2010). In Table 1 we show a ious wo ldwide s udies ela ed o ea ly-s age pupils' ideas abou en i onmen al issues. We ha e selec ed hem as a wide sample o cu en li e a u e on he opic. To he bes o ou knowledge, he e has been no in es iga ion compa ing p eschool child en and child en in he i s yea o p ima y school. Jou nal o Educa ion and Human De elopmen , Vol. 6(1), Ma ch 2017 106 Table 1 Selec ion o S udies o Pupils' P econcep ions abou Issues Rela ed o En i onmen al Educa ion Educa ion le el Au ho s Yea s olda Place P econcep ions abou P ima y educa ion Li ledyke (2004) 6-12 UK En i onmen al cogni i e and mo al de elopmen . P e-school and p ima y educa ion Ba man, S ein, McNai & Ba man (2006) ~ 5–13 USA Plan g ow h (sun) Flee (2007) 5 – 8 Aus alia Clouds and he wa e cycle Ga id o (2007) 4 - 7 Spain Li ing beings Villa oel (2013) 4–7 Spain En i onmen al alues and hei ela ionship o concep ions o li ing beings Bu ns, Chi & He zog (2008) 3–7 USA S udy o a meadow: plan s, animals, i e, and wa e Palme , Sugga e & Bajd (1999) 4-10 UK Reasons o and he e ec s o en i onmen al change in wo dis an en i onmen s ( ain o es s and pola lands) Ande son, Ellis & Jones (2014) 3-7 USA Plan s uc u e and unc ion P e-school educa ion S ommen (1995) 5 – 6 USA Fo es ecosys em Ch is idou & Ha ziniki a (2006) 4-6 G eece Plan g ow h and ain o ma ion Tunnicli e, Ga , Agius, &Pizzu o (2008) 4-6 Mal a Animals E gazaki & And io ou (2010) 4–5 G eece Consequences o human in e en ion Palme & Sugga e, 2004 4-6 England, Slo enia and G eece opical o es s and de o es a ion, and pola lands and he impac o global wa ming Allen (2015) 3 - 5 UK Animals classi ica ion No e. aPupils´ yea s old 1.4. Goals o his S udy This pape aims o p o ide some con ibu ion owa ds ea ly childhood educa ion o sus ainabili y being gi en s a us as a legi ima e ield o esea ch endea ou (Da is, 2009). Acco ding o Maland akis and Cha zakis (2014), we ha e placed mo e emphasis on explo ing child en´s p e-ins uc ional ideas abou en i onmen al issues. This pape is ocused on some o he en i onmen al issues ha we ha e in es iga ed in a mo e ex ensi e enqui y. The main objec i e o his wo k is o asce ain he ideas o p eschool and p ima y school pupils abou speci ic en i onmen al issues: was e, biodeg adabili y, ecycling, wa e pollu ion and wa e sa ing. As can be obse ed in Table 1, he e ha e been ew s udies o his o e all ype, and hose ha exis a e only o olde pupils. The line we ollowed was ha se ou by Edwa ds e al. (2004), adap ing i o he ea lies educa ional s ages. In o de o in es iga e he esponses o child en abou speci ic en i onmen al issues ci ed abo e, we had o design an inqui y s a egy ha in ol ed he ollowing speci ic objec i es. (a) To design and alida e ins umen s o de ec child en´s ideas on en i onmen al issues; (b) To asce ain wha ideas he child en ha e on he opics; (c) To compa e p eschool pupils' concep ions wi h hose o p ima y-educa ion pupils. Wha do Spanish 5-7 yea -olds say abou some En i onmen al issues? ................. 107 2. Me hods 2.1. Pa icipan s The pa icipan s we e 43 child en o a con enience sample, o med in o wo g oups: wen y-one 5- and 6-yea - olds in hei inal yea o p eschool educa ion; and wen y- wo 6- and 7- yea -olds in hei i s yea o p ima y educa ion. S uden s had had no p io lessons a hei school abou hese en i onmen al issues (was e, biodeg adabili y, ecycling, wa e pollu ion and wa e sa ing) when we in e iewed hem. Bo h g oups belonged o he same school (in Se ille, Spain), in a middle-class socio-economic se ing, whe e mos o he pa en s ha e a uni e si y educa ion. 2.2. Phases o he Resea ch We employed basic quali a i e esea ch me hods o ob ain a de ailed unde s anding o p eschool and i s -yea child en´s ideas abou he en i onmen (Me iam, 2009). Kah iman-Öz ü k e al. (2012) also employed hese so s o me hods o bo h da a collec ion and he da a analysis p ocedu es. The me hodology is s uc u ed and can be summa ized in he below plan (Table 2). Table 2. Ou line o he Phases o he Resea ch Phase I. In he ex ensi e s udy, he s a ing poin was he design o he i s e sion o he ins umen s used o he da a collec ion. Fo pu poses o iangula ion, wo ins umen s we e de eloped o de ec p econcep ions: one was a ques ion o ma in e iew (QFI); and he o he a ‘comple e he s o y’ o ma in e iew (CSFI). The me hodological app oach used was aken om he ecommenda ions made by Cube o (1997) and C eswell (2007). Only he esul s o he CSFI a e epo ed in his pape . Phase II. The nex phase o he p ocess was he alida ion o he designed ins umen s. Once he i s e sions o he ins umen s had been p epa ed, hey we e es ed in pilo ials. To his end, 6 child en in he inal yea o p eschool educa ion (5- and 6-yea -olds) we e in e iewed indi idually. They we e pupils om he same school and educa ional le el, bu om a di e en class o ha om which he inal de ini i e da a was o be acqui ed. We ied ou bo h pilo ials in he lowe educa ional le el, assuming language comp ehension and exp ession we e simila o be e in he highe educa ional le el (child en a e one yea olde ). These in e iews we e held by wo o he esea che s. The esul s o hese es s we e analysed by wo independen esea che s. They hen compa ed hei e alua ions (in e - a e analysis) and his led o se e al changes being made o he con en o he ques ions and he o m in which hey we e pu o he child en. Wi h espec o changes in he o m o using he ins umen s, i was ound ha he child en el sel -conscious and ha hey we e imid i hey we e in e iewed indi idually, so i was decided ha he de ini i e da a would be ob ained by in e iewing hem in g oups o h ee. A i s , we belie ed ha beginning he con e sa ion wi h he s o y (CSFI) would elax he a mosphe e and acili a e dialogue. Howe e , in p ac ice, hey ound QFI easie , wi h he child en elaxing and ha ing un as hey el mo e con iden . I was no necessa y o use isual clues in cases such as hose o he ‘seed’ and he ‘an s’. These could be e oked wi h he con idence ha hey unde s ood he meaning o hese wo ds pe ec ly. Phase Sub - phase Fac s I Design o he i s e sion o he da a collec ion ins umen s A In e iew wi h he usual o ma o ques ions (QFI) B In e iew wi h o ma adap ed o young child en: "comple e he s o y" (CSFI) II Valida ion o bo h ins umen s Fi s Apply pilo ials o (A) and (B) o indi idual child en Second Analysis o esul s Thi d Amendmen o (A) and (B) o gi e hei inal e sions III Applica ion o he inal e sions o (A) and (B) o child en in g oups o h ee IV Recompila ion o he new da a, and analysis o he inal esul s V Conclusions Jou nal o Educa ion and Human De elopmen , Vol. 6(1), Ma ch 2017 108 On he o he hand, and wi h espec o changes in he con en o he ins umen s, we should dis inguish be ween he wo ypes o ins umen s. Conce ning he QFI, i was no ed ha some imes i was necessa y o ask o a cla i ying explana ion. Fo example: ‘I we cu down all he ees on he plane we’d be sad’. ‘Why?’ ‘We would eel ha way because i wouldn’ be as p e y’. The pilo es s showed he impo ance o adap ing some e ms o he pupils' le el o unde s anding, eplacing hem wi h mo e e e yday exp essions (like ‘cu ing down ees’ ins ead o ‘de o es a ion’). In a simila ein, we ound ha he ph ase ‘sa ing wa e ’ mean no hing o hem, because hey only connec he e m ‘sa e’ wi h money. Wi h espec o he CSFI, we ound i was ad isable o p esen his ins umen in an app op ia e manne . One o he esea che s old he child en ha she had ound a s o y, bu ha i was incomple e – some pages we e missing. She asked hem o help us inish i , so ha i could be old o o he child en. In pa icula , hey we e asked: ‘Can you all help us o inish i and make i nice?’ We dele ed edundan ques ions ha only leng hened he in e iew, and which only duplica ed he in o ma ion ob ained (e.g., ‘Who dumps he ubbish he e?’ and ‘Whe e does he ubbish come om?’), selec ing a mo e comp ehensible ques ion o he pupils (e.g., ‘Who dumped i he e?’). In ce ain cases, i was ob ious ha we would ha e o ask mo e di ec ques ions in o de o ob ain he equi ed in o ma ion because he ange o answe s we we e ecei ing was so b oad ha no eal in o ma ion was ob ained. Fo ins ance, we changed ‘F om wha he e was, wha did ou iends like he leas and why?’ o ‘Among he ubbish he e, wha las ed longes in he wa e and wha las ed he leas ?’ o ‘Is i be e o ha e some ubbish o none a all?’ o ‘Why we e ou iends sad abou so much ubbish?’ and ‘Why didn' hey like i ?’ As wi h he case o QFI, o be able o unde s and he answe s we had o insis on hei gi ing an explana ion. Fo example, when hey we e selec ing he colou o he ecycling bin o pu he di e en household was e in o ( he was e shown o hem by he esea che s), mos o he ime he child en showed a lack o knowledge abou i : ‘The colou o he was e mus be he same as he con aine ’, o ‘I I' e al eady used wo bi s o was e and wo bins, he hi d one has o go in o he con aine ha has no was e.’ I was he e o e essen ial o ask hem why hey selec ed one con aine and no ano he o each bi o was e. Wi h he ques ion: ‘Whe e does he wa e in he clouds come om?’, we no iced ha hey did no always know ha he e is wa e o ‘s eam’ in clouds. Also, ce ain ques ions we e emo ed as hey i ed he child en unnecessa ily since hey we e oo demanding o he child en’s educa ional le els (e.g., ‘Is he wa e ha alls always clean?’). Phase III. The nex and c ucial s ep was he applica ion o he inal ins umen s. The sequence ollowed was o i s ly apply he QFI and hen he CSFI, conduc ed by he same wo esea che s ha pe o med he pilo ins umen s. The du a ion o bo h sessions o he 3-childg oups was abou 15 minu es (5 o QFI and app oxima ely 10 o CSFI). We selec ed g oup in e iews acco ding o Li ledyke (2004), whose ou child g oup in e iews p o ided a g ea e sense o secu i y han indi idual in e iews. When he e we e some disc epancies be ween he child en in a g oup in e iewed a he same ime, he in e iewe no ed down each indi idual esponse. We made ha decision e en hough we we e awa e o he obs acles p esen ed by conduc ing in e iews wi h such young child en. Du ing he CSFI in e iews, he cha ac e s in he s o y we e p esen ed o he pupils pe soni ied as so oys, since hey ha e been used success ully by o he au ho s (Radle , 2009; Sa quis & Sa quis, 2005). Concu ing wi h Li ledyke (2004) in UK, we ac ed as non-judgmen al ac i e lis ene s, since ou ques ions we e designed o simply d aw ou and cla i y iews. We encoun e ed he same limi a ions (lack o con idence in speaking ou , shyness, lack o a en ion, language limi a ions, e c.). The in e iews we e all digi ally eco ded and ansc ibed. Phase IV. Finally, we ca ied ou he da a analysis. A quali a i e analysis o he da a was pe o med by open esponse ca ego iza ion, sui able school science esponses1.To ensu e he eliabili y o he design o he ca ego y sys em and he subsequen alloca ion o esponses o each ca ego y, we ollowed an in e - a e s a egy o analysis (Padilla, 2002). In pa icula , a e hei independen analysis (C eswell, 2007), he esea che s eached an almos unanimous ag eemen on all he codes (99% in e -code eliabili y) and hey me o o m a consensus on bo h es ablishing he de ini i e ca ego ies and how o alloca e he unce ain esponses. 1Sui able school science means ‘ igh ’ science sui ed o his child en le el o knowledge. Wha do Spanish 5-7 yea -olds say abou some En i onmen al issues? ................. 109 3. Resul s 3.1. De ini i e Ve sions o he Ins umen o he Diagnosis o S uden Ideas We p esen one o he de ini i e ins umen s, CSFI (Table 3), since we conside i has mo e in o ma ion wi hou being oo ex ensi e. Fo each ques ion we show no only he o mula ion o he ques ion, bu also wha we wan o ind ou wi h i and he specialised li e a u e we ha e used o each i s o mula ion. CSFI has 10 ques ions. As men ioned abo e, hey a e ela ed o was e, biodeg adabili y, ecycling, wa e pollu ion and wa e sa ing. Table 3. The Design o he “Comple e he S o y” Fo ma In e iew (CSFI) Ques ion numbe Fo mula ion o he ques ion Wha we wan o de e mine Based on 1 Abou he ga bage, who dumped i he e? (a) Whe he hey a e awa e ha humans a e esponsible o mos was e, and ha he was e comes om human ac i i y. Roman (2008) 2 Wha was in he ga bage? And o he ga bage ha was he e, wha las ed longes in he wa e and wha leas ? Why? (a) Wh e he hey know ha he e is some was e ha changes and deg ades, and o he was e ha does no . Chamo o (2009) 3 Why we e ou iends sad wi h so much ga bage? Why didn' hey like i ? (a) Whe he hey know he eason why was e poses a p oblem (i.e., i hey ha e some no ion conce ning wa e and soil pollu ion, he c ea ion o oci o in ec ion, bad smells, e c.) Ga ido (2007); Gu ié ez, Agui e, & A ambu u (1998) 4 Do you know wha ecycling is? (a) Whe he hey ha e any no ion abou " ecycling", abou he ideas o eco e ing used ma e ials which hen unde go a p ocess so ha hey can be eused. Ca asco (2011); Li ledyke (2004) 5 Can you also each Flop he colou s o he con aine s in you ci y? Le 's ell him wha each one is o ! (We use eal examples). (a) Whe he hey know he di e en ypes o con aine s: blue, g een, yellow, and g ey (o da k g een). (b) Whe he hey know he hings which you deposi in each o hem – blue o pape ; yellow o plas ic, ins, and e a-b ik ype ca ons; g een o glass; da k g een o g ey o o ganic was e. Cas ellano (2013) 6 Could you explain o he bunny and he li le og wha we mean by he wa e being pollu ed? (a) Whe he hey ha e any no ion abou "wa e pollu ion" ( aking as e e en he idea o he "ac ion and e ec o in oducing ma e ials o o ms o ene gy o condi ions in o wa e ha , di ec ly o indi ec ly, in ol e a ha m ul al e a ion o i s quali y in ela ion o i s subsequen uses o i s ecological unc ion"). A oza ena e al. (2012); Pé ez, Galache, & Camacho (1996) 7 Wha could hey do o make hei iend Flop happy? (a) Whe he hey a e awa e o he possibili y o cleaning up pollu ed i e s, ma ine spills, e c., and o some way o doing i – mechanical cleansing, emo ing ga bage, emo ing oil spills, wa e ea men (physical, chemical, and mic obiological), sedimen a ion, il a ion, chlo ina ion, ozone, UV ays, bio emedia ion…. Walke , K eme , and Schlu e (2007) 8 Ideas on how o use less wa e – can you hink o any? (a ) Whe he hey know abou di e en ways o sa ing wa e , like b ushing hei ee h wi h he ap u ned o , ha ing a showe ins ead o a ba h, u ning o he ap, use a was e-pape baske ins ead o he oile o h ow pape away, making he maximum use o he capaci y o he washing-machine o dishwashe , e c. A oza ena e al. (2012) Jou nal o Educa ion and Human De elopmen , Vol. 6(1), Ma ch 2017 110 3.2. The Pupils' Concep ions abou En i onmen al Issues, and he Ca ego iza ion o he Responses In his sec ion, we shall p esen he child en's ideas on speci ic opics: was e, biodeg adabili y, ecycling, wa e pollu ion and wa e sa ing. We ha e o cla i y ha s uden s had had no p io lessons a hei school abou his en i onmen al ma e when we in e iewed hem. The esponses we e g ouped in o ca ego ies ha p og essi ely app oach school science ha is app op ia e o hese ages, which a e mean by le els in lea ning p og essions (Ro h, 2014). In a simila way, Wilson and Be en hal (2005) de ine lea ning p og essions (LPs) as ‘desc ip ions o he successi ely mo e sophis ica ed ways o hinking abou an idea ha ollow one a e he o he as s uden s lea n’ (p.48). Hess (2010) has iden i ied con en -speci ic lea ning p og essions in he i s educa ional s ages, as ha e Engelha d and Sulli an (2011). Acco ding o Suzuki, Yamaguchi, and Hokayem (2015), hese models begin wi h he p io knowledge lea ne s al eady ha e. The pe cen ages o he esponses gi en o each ques ion by pa icipan s om he las yea o p eschool educa ion (21 child en) and he i s yea o p ima y educa ion (22 child en) will be gi en as en ies in Figu es 1-4.The pe cen ages a e ounded o o he nea es uni . Thus, he e may be cases in which hey add up o 99% o 101%. In hese igu es we only show he ca ego ies wi h he majo i y o he s uden esponses. We will now p esen he di e en sec ions ha analyse he esponses, and compa e he p eschool child en´s ideas wi h hose o he p ima y educa ion child en. In hese compa isons, i should be aken in o accoun ha , in gene al, a highe pe cen age o p ima y educa ion pupils did no p o ide answe s o some ques ions and he e o e he e was a highe o e all esponse a e om he p eschool pupils. We can only hink o wo aspec s ha can explain his ac . Fi s ly, i may simply be due o oscilla ions o he small samples used in ou inqui y. Secondly, i has been epo ed ha p eschool child en a e mo e uncons ained han p ima y child en, who eel inhibi ed o answe on opics hey ha e no mas e ed (Del al, 2002). Gene a o s o was e (Ques ion 1).The child en a e awa e o he ole o humans as he main gene a o s o was e (62% PSE, 41% PE). In he same way, Li ledyke (2004) ound ha i s -yea s uden s we e eally in e es ed in was e, such as li e . They app ecia ed he need o ‘pu ubbish in he bin’ (p. 224). Anecdo ally, in his la e educa ional s age, 9% see animals as gene a ing was e o hink ha was e is gene a ed spon aneously. Biodeg adable was e (Ques ion 2).The as majo i y do no know any hing abou he di e en pe iods needed o was e deg ada ion. They can he e o e no di e en ia e be ween whe he was e is o is no dange ous o he en i onmen . Gene ally, hey do know ha he e a e di e en ypes o was e, al hough 23% o he PE pupils did no answe . This is consis en wi h he indings o Chamo o (2009), who s a es ha none o he pupils in ha s udy knew abou ‘compos ing’ o abou he di e en ypes o plas ics. Figu e 1. Majo i y ca ego ies o ques ions 1, 2 and 3 abou Was e and Biodeg adabili y Wha do Spanish 5-7 yea -olds say abou some En i onmen al issues? ................. 111 Consequences o was e accumula ion (Ques ion 3). In gene al, PSE s uden s ela e he p oblems a ising om he exis ence o excess was e on he plane wi h senso y issues (57%) o wi h people's quali y o li e (9%). Bu i is wo h no ing ha no pupil ealizes ha was e can b ing abou a change in animals' en i onmen al condi ions and, as a esul , limi hei de elopmen . I is s iking ha mos PE child en ei he do no know o do no answe (59%). Among he esponden s, 32% only no e senso y p oblems, as was also he case in PSE – his issimila o he esul ob ained by Li ledyke (2004) o i s -yea s uden s, ‘Was e, as li e , was usually seen as a p oblem because i is unsigh ly’ (p. 224). Howe e , in PE he e is now a small pe cen age (9%) who akes in o accoun he limi a ion in he g ow h and de elopmen o di e en species ha may be caused by he accumula ion o was e. This is consis en wi h he opinion o Ga ido (2007) ha he acquisi ion o his concep occu s du ing p ima y educa ion. The concep o ecycling (Ques ion 4). Mos PSE pupils (62%) do no know wha ecycling is. Only 5% a e awa e o he p ocess and i s pu pose, al hough hey s a o ha e somewha uzzy concep s such as i somehow being associa ed wi h was e (9%), o wi h selec i e was e collec ion wi hou asking hemsel es wha i is o (24%). The same as wi h PSE, mos PE pupils do no know wha ecycling is, al hough he pe cen age is lowe (54%). The e is a sligh e olu ion o he concep s wi h espec o PSE, wi h he p opo ion o pupils who a e awa e o he p ocess and i s pu pose ising o 23%. The emaining 23% hold uzzy, unclea concep s. Ou esul s ag ee wi h Li ledyke (2004), who no ed ha i s -yea s uden s knew abou ecycling ac i i ies a home, bu mos o hem did no connec he need o ecycling wi h concep s such as pollu ion and was e, ene gy use, consump ion. Kah iman-Öz ü ke al. (2012) obse ed ha only a ew (n= 9) i e- and six-yea -old child en ou o 36 conside ed ecycling o sa e na u e, while a la ge amoun o hem (n= 23) hough abou educing wa e , pape and elec ici y consump ion o he same pu pose. Figu e 2. Majo i y ca ego ies o ques ions 4 and 5 abou Recycling Was e ma e ials and hei associa ion wi h he colou o he con aine (Ques ion 5).While 76% o he PSE pupils a e awa e o he di e en colou s o he con aine s; none o hem a e su e wha ype o was e is pu in o each. Thus, 62% ge he was e ma e ials ha go in o each con aine w ong, and 14% sepa a e hem acco ding o o he cha ac e is ics, such as he label colou , size, e c. In PE he e is again a sligh concep ual b eak h ough. 14% o pupils know wha ype o was e is pu in o each con aine , al hough 41% s ill con use he ma e ial ha should go in o each con aine , and 32% con inue o sepa a e was e acco ding o a ious cha ac e is ics o he han he ype o ma e ial. Wa e pollu ion (Ques ion 6).The as majo i y o he pupils (62% PSE, 68% PE) do no know abou wa e pollu ion, and 38% PSE, 27% PE ela e i o mac oscopic di and ubbish ha migh be ound in i e s o seas. 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