Research in the behavioral and social sciences is overwhelmingly informed by globally non-representative societies, with an over-representation of white participants. Many studies even fail to report participants’ ethnicities. The results often reflect a white Western-World bias which can reinforce narrow views of such social concerns as mental health, well-being, appropriate behavior, the human/nature connection, and even nature itself.

While the studies in this section of the Digest show mixed results, some of the studies support the idea that children’s relationships with nature may differ across cultures and ethnicities. Any universal claims about the psychological and/or behavioral aspects of such relationships may, therefore, be misleading. The benefits of nature engagement may differ not only by populations but by individual characteristics, as well. Such differences call for attention to heterogeneity within groups.

Gender and temperament can influence how and to what extent children experience the happiness benefit associated with exposure to nature

Information provided by 410 Chinese children (age 7-12) and their parents showed that boys’, but not girls’, exposure to nature was significantly linked with happiness. Levels of effortful control (a central component of temperament) influenced this association. For boys with lower levels of effortful control, lower levels of nature exposure were associated with lower levels of happiness. Higher levels of nature exposure for these same boys, however, were associated with higher levels of happiness.
Cui & Yang, 2021. Association between connection to nature and children’s happiness in China: Children’s negative affectivity and gender as moderators.
Access Study

Positive effects of green space on well-being differ by ethnicity

More than 2,000 mothers living in a multicultural, deprived, urban area of the United Kingdom completed a mental well-being assessment of their four-year-old children. A subset also reported on their use of and satisfaction with neighborhood green space. Results showed a significant association between availability of quality green space and behavioral difficulties among South Asian children but not among white British children. This research highlights the importance of identifying subgroups for whom interventions to promote green space availability and use might be most effective.
McEachan et al., 2018. Availability, use of, and satisfaction with green space, and children’s mental wellbeing at age 4 years in a multicultural, deprived, urban area: Results from the Born in Bradford cohort study.
Access Study

The relationship between greenness and birth weight may differ by ethnicity

Data regarding over 10,000 births in the United Kingdom between 2007-2010 showed that increased greenness around a mother’s home at the time she gives birth is associated with increased birth weight. When the data was analyzed by ethnicity, however, the association was true for white British participants but not for those of Pakistani origin.
Dadvand et al., 2014. Inequality, green spaces, and pregnant women: Roles of ethnicity and individual and neighbourhood socioeconomic status.
Access Study

Time in nature may have a larger influence on urban children’s connectedness to nature than cultural background

Over 1,400 fourth graders with different cultural backgrounds in Germany completed a survey addressing their connectedness to nature, their frequency of visits to a forest, and their parents’ country of origin. Results showed that residential area (rural/urban) and cultural background had no effect on their connectedness to nature. Time spent in forests, however, was positively linked to how the students saw themselves as being connected to nature.
Frankel, Sellmann-Risse & Basten, 2019. Fourth graders’ connectedness to nature – Does cultural background matter?
Access Study

Children’s relationship with nature may differ based on where they live

This study used children’s drawings and follow-up interviews to investigate how children from two dramatically different backgrounds perceive and value nature. One group belonged to an Indigenous society in Brazil and lived in a rich biodiverse environment. The other group lived in a highly urbanized section of New York City. Children living in biodiverse environments showed a more positive and integrated view of the human-nature relationship than children living in urbanized settings.
Profice, 2018. Nature as a living presence: Drawings by Tupinamba’ and New York children.
Access Study

Nature connectedness can be vastly different for Indigenous and Western children

Results of a survey completed by 294 children living in highly contaminated Bedouin villages in Israel’s Negev desert indicate that they found a high level of enjoyment in nature, but less so for direct, physical experiences in their immediate environment. The children’s awareness of pollution in their environment played a role in their negative experiences and attitudes towards nature as did consequences of harsh weather conditions.
Sedawi, Assaraf & Reiss, 2020. Indigenous children’s connectedness to nature: The potential influence of culture, gender and exposure to a contaminated environment.
Access Study

Almost all of the data collection tools and strategies used in social science studies were developed in, and are conceptually specific to, the Western-World. While some tools were validated for languages other than English, many still reflect a Western-World bias. Use of “Western” tools and strategies may yield misleading results when working with non-Western populations. Studies in this section of the Digest address this concern and offer some ideas about the use of more culturally appropriate tools and strategies.

Implicit bias may influence assessment results of SEL in a multicultural group of students

This study examined social-emotional learning (SEL) growth across a multicultural group of students who participated in a multi-day outdoor education program in the U.S. Instructors’ ratings of students’ SEL in the group engagement subcategory showed white students making significantly greater gains than students of color. These differences may reflect instructor bias in making judgements about what is considered “appropriate” group engagement behavior.
Germinaro & Jones, 2021. Diversity in outdoor education: Discrepancies in SEL across a school overnight program.
Access Study

A “two-eyed seeing” approach provides insights into how Indigenous youth construct their relationships with urban nature

Twenty-eight urban Indigenous youth (age 15-25) from Canada served as co-researchers in a study using a “two-eyed seeing” approach combining Indigenous Methodologies and Western Grounded Theory. Data from four rounds of “conversational storytelling interviews” indicated that, for the participating youth, “the land and the natural elements that move within it do not stop at city borders.” For them, land and nature are lived places making important contributions to their wellness and cultural identity.
Hatala et al., 2019. Reimagining miyo-wicehtowin: Human-nature relations, land-making, and wellness among indigenous youth in a Canadian urban context.
Access Study

A cultural adaptation model can be useful in developing questionnaires for specific populations

Researchers, working with 58 Bedouin fifth graders, developed a nature connectedness tool that combines Western categories with elements of the local culture of Indigenous Bedouin people living in Israel’s Negev Desert. The cultural adaptation model used in tool development reflects the ways Bedouin and Western children draw different meanings from nature. This research highlights the possibility that tools and studies developed for children in one place may not be applicable to children elsewhere.
Sedawi, Assaraf & Reiss, 2021. Challenges in measuring “connectedness to nature” among indigenous children: Lessons from the Negev Bedouin.
Access Study

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) emphasizes children’s right to have their views heard in matters impacting them. Studies in this section of the Digest reflect an understanding of this right and recognize ways in which the social and physical environment impact children in very profound ways.

Some of the studies in this section are also consistent with a more recent UN statement – the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – which includes a commitment to develop democratic mechanisms that allow children to be involved in policy and decision-making about the communities in which they live. Children’s ability to exercise their right to be meaningfully involved in matters pertaining to them and to act as agents of change in their communities is documented in related research.

Child-sensitive climate change adaptations are needed to support the coping mechanisms of Filipino children

Forty-five Filipino children (age 9-15) participated in focus group discussions about climate change and its personal impact. Four primary areas of impact included: health, education, safety and welfare, and play and recreation. Children from poor families reported more negative impacts than other children. This study calls attention to the need for climate change adaptation at the household, community and city levels and highlights the importance of including children’s voices in climate change discussions.
Berse, 2017. Climate change from the lens of Malolos children: Perception, impact, and adaptation.
Access Study

Climate change education can become an entirely new field of educational experience and inquiry when it is inclusive of and led by young people

A government-sponsored climate change education research project in Australia gave children and youth a platform for sharing views about the climate change debate and their associated education. Their responses call for a change in not only the content, but also the process, of climate change education. Including the contributions of young people in the development of climate change education may help replace the anthropocentric and scientific modes of education currently in place.
Cutter-Mackenzie & Rousell, 2018. Education for what? Shaping the field of climate change education with children and young people as co-researchers.
Access Study

Engaging young children as co-researchers recognizes their agency and right to be involved in matters of relevance to them

Thirty-one preschool children in the U.S. played active roles as researchers in all aspects of a project focusing on how they experienced different elements in a forest setting. This research report discusses the advantages, challenges, and opportunities of four interactive data collection and analysis methods used for this study. Overall results show that even young children can be meaningfully involved as co-researchers of an investigative project.
Green, 2017. Four methods for engaging young children as environmental education researchers.
Access Study

Children’s involvement in place-based investigations highlights environmental and child-focused concerns

The active participation of children from three primary schools in the U.K. helped to shape the direction of a research project involving place-based investigations in areas near their schools. Findings uncovered a “land-use conflict” between children and adults, with children experiencing spatial exclusion from certain areas. Findings also revealed creative ways in which children attempted to reappropriate those places from which they found themselves excluded.
Irvine et al., 2016. Exclusion and reappropriation: Experiences of contemporary enclosure among children in three East Anglian schools.
Access Study

The active participation of children, parents and teachers can make an important contribution to improving the quality of preschool outdoor environments

Over 1,000 children from seven different preschools in the Basque Country (Spain) took photos, drew pictures, and talked about what they would like to have in the outdoor playspace of their school. More than 50 parents and 90 teachers reviewed and provided feedback on the children’s ideas. Pre-post ratings based on a quality-assessment scale showed statistically significant improvements to the quality of the outdoor environments of the participating schools.
Muela et al., 2019. Improving the quality of preschool outdoor environments: Getting children involved.
Access Study

Empathy-based stories can be effective in collecting children’s perspectives about urban green spaces across different cultural-geographic contexts

Researchers used the “method of empathy-based stories” (MEBS) to help children express their preferences, expectations, values, and mental images regarding urban green spaces. Over 700 children, age 8-10, from urban areas in China and Germany participated. Children’s responses led to the identification of four categories: “Open spaces,” “Physical elements,” “Activities,” and “Feelings.” Results indicate that MEBS can be an effective way to collect rich and specific information from children as to what they prefer and find meaningful in urban landscape features.
Shu et al., 2022. Needs and expectations of German and Chinese children for livable urban green spaces revealed by the method of empathy-based stories.
Access Study

The participation of children and youth can strengthen the possibilities for socially sustainable neighborhoods

Researchers used participatory methods in a study involving two groups of Iranian children – an older group (age 11-15) and a younger group (age 7-10), each of about 100 children. The children were asked to share their perspectives about the neighborhood school. Findings showed differences and similarities between the two groups and highlighted the importance of considering children’s ideas in the making of a socially sustainable neighborhood.
Ziaesaeidi & Cushing 2019. The social sustainability of neighbourhood-schools: A qualitative study with Iranian children and youth about their neighbourhood perceptions.
Access Study