Assessing Children’s Connectedness to Nature: A Mixed Method Study

Abstract

This study aims to assess children’s connectedness to nature (CTN) using a mixed-method study. This study used a sequential mixed-method approach that involved 760 children age 10-11 years old from 20 schools that include both urban and rural schools in Kedah and Pulau Pinang, Malaysia. Questionnaires were used in the quantitative part (n=760), followed by focus group discussion and drawing in the qualitative part (n=72). Findings showed that there are eight potential constructs can be used to measure and assess children’s CTN. The directions for future research are also discussed.    Keywords: children; nature; connectedness to nature; mixed method.   eISSN: 2398-4287© 2020. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open-access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.   DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v5i14.2282