RESEARCH PAPER
Like Father, Like Son? On the Relationship between Parents’ and Children’s Familiarity with Species and Sources of Knowledge about Plants and Animals
 
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Pädagogische Hochschule Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, GERMANY
 
 
Publication date: 2018-06-14
 
 
EURASIA J. Math., Sci Tech. Ed 2018;14(10):em1581
 
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
This study investigates whether parents consider themselves vital in transmitting species knowledge to their children, whether children’s familiarity with species is actually related to that of their parents, and whether socio-demographic variables influence this relationship. Data were collected with the help of a picture test and a questionnaire. Overall, 402 parent-child-pairs participated in the study. Parents regarded themselves as main transmitters of species knowledge to their 5-11 year old children, but considered school education and outdoor experiences also important. While parents identified 29% of the plants and 35% of the animals presented to them, their children identified only 17% of the plants and 22% of the animals. Parents’ and children’s familiarity with species was positively related. However, the relationship was stronger for plants than for animals. Children’s familiarity with species was also positively related to age, interest in nature and, in case of plants, rurality of their places of living.
 
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