Dissertation Title:  Exploring and Measuring Nature Connection in Early Childhood

Student: Meghan Orman

Abstract: Humanity’s future depends on raising generations of children who feel connected to and value the natural environment and can translate that connection into sustainable attitudes and behaviors (Myers & Frumkin, 2020; Rosa et al., 2018). The cultivation of nature connection starts in early childhood when children begin to form environmental attitudes and behaviors that will last a lifetime (Green et al., 2016). Yet researchers’ understanding of early nature connection is challenged by the absence of a unified empirical framework and measures for assessing nature connection in early childhood. In the present dissertation, I conducted two studies to explore and measure nature connection in Icelandic preschool children (N=117). Iceland was chosen because of its emphasis on nature and sustainability in the national preschool curriculum. In Study 1, I explored the cognitive, affective, and sociocultural features of early nature connection through drawings and interviews with 21 Icelandic preschool children. I found that young children have working theories of nature and express varying environmental values rooted in their micro-contexts and shaped by sociocultural factors related to people, place, and activities. In Study 2, I created the Early Nature Connection Scale, a self-report scale of early nature connection for children aged 4-5 years. I tested its psychometric properties with 117 Icelandic preschool children and found it was reliable (α=.76), and evidence supported its content and construct validity. The findings of this dissertation provide an avenue for future research to explore how young children form relationships with nature, the impact of educational programs on early nature connection, and the relationship between early nature connection and later child and environmental well-being. The present dissertation contributes to the growing field of early childhood sustainability education and efforts to raise future generations who value and protect the environment.

Advisor Committee Chair: Dr. Shannon Wanless, Director of Office of Child Development and Associate Professor of Health and Human Development at University of Pittsburgh School of Education

Committee Members:  Freyja Birgisdóttir, PhD, Associate Professor of Developmental Psychology at University of Iceland School of Health Sciences; Kristín Norðdahl, PhD, Associate Professor of Biology and Science Education at University of Iceland School of Education; Tom Akiva, PhD, Associate Professor of Health and Human Development at University of Pittsburgh School of Education; and Cassie Quigley, PhD, Department Chair and Professor of Science Education and Teaching, Leading, and Learning at University of Pittsburgh School of Education