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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Environ. Sci.
Sec. Environmental Citizen Science
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2024.1491780

Enhancing pro-environmental behavior through nature-contact environmental education: An empirical analysis based on randomized controlled experiment design

Provisionally accepted
Yupan Zhao Yupan Zhao 1,2*Xuanchang Liu Xuanchang Liu 1Xiao Han Xiao Han 3
  • 1 Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China
  • 2 Northwest A & F University, Yangling, China
  • 3 University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Environmental education is vital for promoting pro-environmental behavior, and nature-contact environmental education has progressively emerged as an important form of environmental education. Therefore, exploring the effects and mechanisms of nature-contact environmental education is crucial to enhancing pro-environmental behavior. This manuscript focuses on the Qinling ecological environmental education course at a Chinese university, which exemplifies a form of nature-contact environmental education. The research employs the randomized controlled experimental design as the research methodology. A total of 112 students who participated in the course served as the study sample, with the aim of investigating whether nature-contact environmental education can effectively improve students' pro-environmental behavior. Additionally, the study also explores the underlying mechanisms driving this effect. The findings indicate that nature-contact environmental education significantly contributes to improving students' pro-environmental behavior. Furthermore, environmental attitudes and environmental responsibility are identified as key mediators in the relationship between nature-contact environmental education and pro-environmental behavior. These conclusions provide valuable insights for both theoretical research and practical applications of environmental education and pro-environmental behavior.

    Keywords: No. 13, Fayuan Road, Harbin, China, Environmental Education, pro-environmental behavior, environmental attitudes, Environmental responsibility, randomized controlled experimental design, Empirical analysis

    Received: 05 Sep 2024; Accepted: 19 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Zhao, Liu and Han. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Yupan Zhao, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.