Maria GOULA
Environmental Education Centre of Makrinitsa, Greece airamgl@yahoo.grChristos Ap. LADIAS
Panteion University, Department of Economic and Regional Development, Athens, Greece, caladias@otenet.grOlga GIOTI-PAPADAKI
Panteion University, Department of Economic and Regional Development, Athens, Greece, opapadak5@gmail.comNikolaos HASANAGAS
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Forest Administration, Forest Office of Pertouli, Greece n.hasanagas@gmail.comAbstract
Aim of this research is to analyze the role of the urban or rural origin of students in their environment-related attitudes. Standardized questionnaires were completed by 315 students of environment-related departments (Forestry, Farming Enterprise Management, Crop Production and Landscape Architecture), originating from various villages, towns and cities of Greece. The research was conducted from 2007 to 2013. Spearman test (bivariate correlation) was used and in-depth interviews were conducted. The following results have derived: The environmental profiles (more anthropocentric or eco-centric) as well as the susceptibility to hunting do not depend on the origin. The organized involvement in environment-related issues (participation in associations) is more restricted in rural-originated interviewees. They latter also present a greater tendency to abuse animals than the urban-originated students. Interviewees of both urban and rural origin appear to be similarly receptive (or critical) to the institutional necessity of the Ministry of Environment. Urban interviewees are more familiar with certain environmental policy concepts (e.g. “environmental education”, “biodiversity problem”) while rural-originated students are less receptive (or more deconstructive) to these. The perception of naturalness appears to be quite independent of the origin. The attractiveness of certain environmental elements is differentiated between urban- and rural-originated students, depending on either the feeling of familiarity or on the need of escaping from anxiety or monotony. The way of familiarization with the notion of “forest” does not markedly differ between rural- and urban-originated interviewees (the urban-originated ones are more influenced by comics). Rural-originated students tend to consider their study as a practical training while urban students as a science, mainly focusing on physico-biological subjects. Issues such as the propagandistic instrumentalization of the notion of “environmental problem”, the deconstructive or defensive discourse toward “environmental issues”, perception of landscape, in-situ experience, and universal aesthetic values in relation to origin are discussed.
Keywords: environmental attitudes, family-related and region-related origin, environmental education
JEL classification: Q5, R2
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