Interpreting the landscape that surrounds us is somewhat personal. However, it is necessary to explore the interpretation made by future teachers so that we can reflect on their observations. This study collected data from five academic years of undergraduates in Early Childhood Education (N = 421), who were asked to fill out a questionnaire with…

Species literacy is an important aspect of biodiversity education. This study assesses the ability of secondary students (12/13 years old; n = 944) to list wild animals and plants and aims to determine whether this is linked with their interest in nature, their preferences towards animals and plants and different groups therein, the school type…

This article will discuss social, environmental, and ecological justice in education for sustainable development (ESD) and Education for Sustainable Development Goals (ESDG). The concept of sustainable development and, by extension, the ESD, places heavy emphasis on the economic and social aspects of sustainability. However, the ESD falls short of…

Plant awareness disparity (PAD), formerly known as plant blindness, refers to the fact of overlooking or failing to perceive plants, perhaps due to poor 'species literacy'. Despite numerous efforts made by scientists and educators over the years, PAD is still present in students at all educational levels. An assessment was carried out on 259…

Problems associated with the environment loom large over the future well-being of young generations. A previous issue of PISA in Focus (PISA in Focus 87) shows that in 2015 many 15-year-old students believed that the future -- their future -- was going to be worse, environmentally, than the present. In particular, only a minority of students…

This study analysed the characteristics that children in the initial stages of schooling attribute to living beings. Interviews were conducted with 138 children aged 3-7 years in a school in the Spanish city of A Coruña, Galicia. Aspects found in pen-and-paper activities dealing with living beings, provided by the teachers (158 in total) at this…

Previous studies have pointed out the importance of empathy in improving attitudes toward stigmatized groups and toward the environment. In the present article, it is argued that environmental behaviors and attitudes can be improved using empathic perspective-taking for inducing empathy. Based on Batson's Model of Altruism, it was predicted that…