Effects of a training programme aimed at improving the pro-environmental competency of school children (Efectos de un programa de entrenamiento en competencias proambientales dirigido a niños escolarizados)

• Published in: Psyecology Vol. 12; no. 1; pp. 1 - 23
• Main Authors: Ramirez-Ordoñez, María-Jesús, Herrera-Mendoza, Ketty-Milena, Orozco-Acosta, Erick
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England Routledge 01.02.2021; SAGE Publications
• Subjects: children; competencia proambiental; efectos; effects; environment; intervention programme; medio ambiente; niños; pro-environmental competency; programa de intervención; effects; environment; intervention programme; children; efectos; medio ambiente; competencia proambiental; niños; programa de intervención; pro-environmental competency
• ISSN: 2171-1976; 1989-9386
• DOI: 10.1080/21711976.2020.1851876

Bearing in mind the need to understand and analyse the psychological processes involved in pro-environmental behaviour, in order to mitigate the negative effects of the current global ecological crisis, the aim of the research presented here is to analyse the effects of a pro-environmental competency (PEC) training programme on Colombian children. To this end, a quasi-experimental design was applied to a non-probabilistic sample of 102 subjects, evenly distributed between the experimental and control groups (M age  = 8.13; SD age  = 0.496; 43.1% female and 56.9% male), applying the ECOPRO-N scale and structured quantitative observation to measure pro-environmental competency. The results showed an increase in the pro-environmental competency of the experimental group with respect to the control group, specifically in the dimensions Beliefs (d = 0.75), Knowledge (d = 0.91) and Motives (d = 0.32), with the greatest effect observed in the Knowledge dimension. This verifies the effectiveness of the intervention programme in terms of fostering pro-environmental behaviours among Colombian children.