title: Biodiversitätsbildung am Beispiel des Ökosystems Wald : Eine empirische Studie zum Erwerb biodiversitätsbezogenen Wissens unter dem Einfluss von Umwelteinstellungen und Faszination
Creators: name: Schneiderhan-Opel, Jennifer
Publisher: name: University of Bayreuth
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: Biodiversitätsbildung, Citizen Science, Biodiversität, Ökosystem Wald, Faszination, Wissenserwerb, Umwelteinstellungen, BNE, Umweltbildung
subject: 370
subject: 500
subject: 570

description: Biodiversity is threatened worldwide by anthropogenic influences. To counteract the continuing loss of biodiversity is one of the greatest global challenges of our time. The protection of biological diversity requires not only action at the political level but also the active and responsible participation of citizens. Making environmentally relevant decisions as well as acting ecologically and sustainably depends on scientific literacy. The acquisition of scientific knowledge is determined by various factors, such as individual conceptions, motivation, and interest. Educational measures are considered to be a particularly suitable means to promote civic involvement, as they can impart environmental knowledge and can provide incentives to develop positive attitudes as well as courses of responsible action. Existing literature on individual conceptions about biodiversity is primarily focused on the general public, while only a few studies so far have assessed students' perceptions. In view of possible changes in awareness due to the increasing popularity of the topic and political education initiatives, such as the UN Decade of Biological Diversity (2011-2020) or the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, the present study first examined the status quo in a sample of 275 10th graders of Bavarian secondary schools. For this purpose, students' conceptions of the biodiversity concept and the appreciation of biological diversity were analyzed using a qualitative approach (study A). Conceptions about the biodiversity concept showed a familiar picture: most of the participants equated biodiversity with species diversity, while genetic diversity and ecosystem diversity were neglected. Nevertheless, the students showed a generally appreciative attitude towards biodiversity. The benefits of biological diversity were viewed equally from both an anthropocentric and an ecocentric perspective, whereas the conservation of biodiversity was predominantly justified from an ecocentric point of view. In study B, a curriculum compliant learning module on the protection and use of biodiversity was developed. With the overall goal of promoting relevant knowledge and creating awareness for the conservation of biodiversity, the topic was explored based on the example of the forest ecosystem. Following a student-centered and self-determined learning approach, the module was planned and implemented by means of a learning circle with four learning stations. An important component of the lesson was the integration of a citizen science project, for which the students collected DNA barcoding samples in native forests. The study participants were thus involved in an authentic scientific process and made a direct contribution to Bavarian biodiversity monitoring within the scope of the project Barcoding Fauna Bavarica. Studies C and D focused on the empirical evaluation of the learning module. Previous knowledge, short-term knowledge acquisition directly after participation in the module, and knowledge retention after six weeks were measured using a pre-, post- and follow-up test. In addition, environmental attitudes were measured at one test time and fascination for biology was recorded at all test times. For external control, another group of students filled in the questionnaires without participating in the module. With regard to environmentally relevant knowledge, all students showed successful knowledge acquisition, both in the short and long term (study C). Furthermore, knowledge was related to the environmental values of the participants. At all test times, knowledge correlated positively with notions of nature preservation but negatively with notions of nature utilization. In a sub-module directly related to the Citizen Science activity, an unexpected result was found: half of the students achieved higher knowledge scores in the post-test test than in the follow-up test. In addition, these students scored significantly higher on the attitude appreciation of nature than the rest of the sample. Furthermore, knowledge acquisition was clearly related to fascination for biology (study D). All students learned in relation to their prior knowledge, but students with higher fascination scores profited most since they retained what they had learned over the long term and achieved the highest overall increase in knowledge.