Effects of Self-Construction of Materials on the Ecological Awareness of Physical Education Primary School Students

Abstract

Physical Education (PE) has unique features to expand the students’ sustainability awareness. Being active in natural environments has been described as an opportunity to contribute on this matter. However, there is lack of related research. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a didactic proposal for PE based on the self-construction of materials on the ecological awareness of primary school students. A total of 111 students participated in this quasi-experimental study that lasted 4 weeks (eight sessions). The Mann-Whitney U test was applied for comparisons between groups, experimental and control, (SELF vs. CON) on two factors (PRE and POST). No significant differences were observed in any of them (p ≤ 0.05). On the other hand, to compare the data from the pre and post questionnaires within the same group (PRE vs. POST), the Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used. No significant differences in any of the groups were observed (p ≤ 0.05). Although SELF improved on some scores such as reusing things after picking up litter from yards, the differences were not significant. This could be explained by the brevity of the intervention. These results could contribute to increasing research on the integration of sustainability in PE.