Parents’ Daily Household Activities on Child Litter Awareness: An Action Research Case

Tsebo Kgoto Matsekoleng

doi:10.29333/ejmste/9343

Full Text (PDF)

Tsebo Kgoto Matsekoleng ¹ ^*

More Detail

¹ University of South Africa, SOUTH AFRICA^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

This study emanates from behaviorism theory and cooperative paradigm, which evaluates the effects of parents’ daily household activities regarding littering on children through participatory action research approach. Litter is a socio-cultural environmental issue that degrade environment. Additionally, pre-packed foods and other disposable items contribute to littering as people discard covering items on the ground after consumption. Three children from three families were case studied at home. Semi-structured interviews, pictures, questionnaire and participant observation were used to collect data. Coding process was used to analyse data. The results of the study show that parents’ daily household activities has minimal effect on children’s awareness of littering. The researcher recommends further studies to explore the impact of parents’ daily household activities on children’s understanding of environmental issues.

Keywords

behaviourism theory
environmental education
household activities
littering
progressive environmental action research activities

License

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Original Article

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, Volume 16, Issue 12, December 2020, Article No: em1924

https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/9343

Publication date: 28 Dec 2020

Article Views: 1930

Article Downloads: 1704

Open Access References How to cite this article

References

Abeliotis, K., Goussia-Rizou, M., Sdrali, D., & Vassiloudis, I. (2010). How parents report their environmental attitudes: a case study from Greece. Environment Development and Sustainability, 12(3), 329-339. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-009-9197-0
Adam, H., & Barratt-Pugh C. (2020). The challenge of monoculturalism: What books are educators sharing with children and what messages do they send? The Australian Educational Researcher, 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-019-00375-7
Andersen, P. J. (2016). Children as intergenerational environmental change agents: Using a negotiated protocol to foster environmentally responsible behaviour in the family home (Unpublished DEd thesis). University of Wollongong, New South Wales. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2017.1392487
Bacanli, H. (2016). Behaviourist approach. In C. Akdeniz, H. Bacanli, E. Baysen, M. Çakmak, N. Çeliköz, N. Doğruer, & H. I. Yalin (Eds.), Learning and Teaching: Theories, Approaches and Models (pp. 19-30). Ankara, Turkiye: Cozum.
Bezuidenhout, R., & Cronje, F. (2014). Qualitative data analysis. In F. Plooy-Cilliers, C. Davis & R. Bezuidenhout (Eds.), Research matters (7^th ed., pp. 228-251). Cape Town: Juta and Company Ltd.
Collado, S., Evans, G. W., & Sorrel, M. A. (2017). The role of parents and best friends in children’s pro-environmentalism: Differences according to age and gender. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 54, 27-37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2017.09.007
du Plooy-Cilliers, F. (2014). The research proposal. In F. Plooy-Cilliers, C. Davis & R. Bezuidenhout (Eds.), Research matters (7^th ed., pp. 282-293). Cape Town: Juta and Company Ltd.
Gough, N. (2016). Australian outdoor (and) environmental education research: senses of ‘place’ in two constituencies. Journal of Outdoor and Environmental Education, 19(2), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03400990
Grønhøj, A., & Thøgersen, J. (2012). Action speaks louder than words: The effect of personal attitudes and family norms on adolescents’ pro-environmental behaviour. Journal of Economic Psychology, 33, 292-302. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2011.10.001
Grønhøj, A., & Thøgersen, J. (2017). Why young people do things for the environment: The role of parenting for adolescents’ motivation to engage in pro-environmental behaviour. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 54, 11-19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2017.09.005
Kamara, A. J. (2006). Household participation in domestic waste disposal and recycling in the Tshwane Metropolitan Area: An environmental education perspective (Unpublished MEd Dissertation). University of South Africa, Pretoria.
Kirana, C. (2018). Communication between mothers and children about environmental issues (a study about the role of mothers to educate their children on keeping a clean environment). In E3S Web of Conferences (Vol. 74, 08012). EDP Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/20187408012
Koonin, M. (2014). Validity and reliability. In F. Plooy-Cilliers, C. Davis & R. Beziudenhout (Eds.), Research matters (7^th ed., pp. 252-261). Cape Town: Juta and Company Ltd.
Le Grange, L. (2009). Participation and participatory action research in environmental education processes: For what are people empowered? Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 25, 3-14. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0814062600000367
Loubser, C. P., Swanepoel, C. H., & Chacko, C. P. C. (2001). Concept formulation for environmental literacy. South African Journal of Education, 21(4), 317-323.
Mapotse, T. A., & Mashiloane, T. K. (2017). Nurturing Learners’ Awareness of Littering through Environmental Campaigns: An Action Research Approach. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 13(10), 6909-6921. https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmste/76658
Mashiloane, T. K., & Mapotse, T. A. (2018a). Conscientise learners with littering in environmental education by using action research activities. In T. A., Mapotse (Ed.), Cross-disciplinary approaches to action research and action learning (pp. 256-270). Hershey PA: IGI Global.
Matsekoleng, T. K. (2017). Learners' environmental awareness, effects on home and school practices towards littering: An action research case. (Unpublished MEd Dissertation). University of South Africa, Pretoria.
Matsekoleng, T. K., & Mapotse T. A. (2020). Improved attitudes towards littering through progressive action research activities in an Environmental Education context. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359866X.2020.1793906
Matsekoleng, T. K., & Mapotse, T. A. (2018b). Mitigate littering through action research activities: an action oriented knowledge-based environmental study. Rethinking Teaching and learning in the 21st century.
Matthies, E., Selge, S., & Klöckner, C. A. (2012). The role of parental behaviour for the development of behaviour specific environmental norms - The example of recycling and re-use behaviour. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 32, 277-284. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2012.04.003
McMillan, J. H., & Schumacher, S. (2010). Research in education – evidence-based inquiry (7th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education Inc.
Mech, K., & Ojah, J. A. (2016). Study on the awareness and practices of hand washing amongst mothers of under-five children in the slums of Guwahati city. Journal of Evidence Based Medicine and Healthcare, 3(24), 1075-1078. https://doi.org/10.18410/jebmh/2016/247
Miliute-Plepiene, J., & Plepys, A. (2015). Does food sorting prevents and improves sorting of household waste? A case in Sweden. Journal of Cleaner Production, 101, 182-192. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.04.013
Pascoe, G. (2014). Sampling. In F. Plooy-Cilliers, C. Davis & R. Bezuidenhout (Eds.), Research matters (7^th ed., pp. 131-146). Cape Town: Juta and Company Ltd.
Payne, P. G. (2010). Moral spaces, the struggle for an intergenerational environmental ethics and the social ecology of families: an ‘other’ form of environmental education. Environmental Education Research, 16(2), 209-231. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504620903580545
Ramukhwatho, F., du Plessis, R., & Oelofse, S. (2018). Preliminary drivers associated with household food waste generation in South Africa. Applied Environmental Education and Communication, 17(3), 254-265. https://doi.org/10.1080/1533015X.2017.1398690
Riverso, R., Amato, M., & La Barbera, F. (2017). The effect of food waste habit on future intention to reduce household food waste. Quality-Access to Success, 18, 369-375.
Schultz, D., & Schultz, S. E. (2007). History of modern psychology. The Journal of Academic Social Science Studies, 6(8), 645-664.
Scott, A., Oates, C., & Young, W. (2015). A conceptual framework of the adoption and practice of environmental actions in households. Sustainability, 7, 5793-5818. https://doi.org/10.3390/su7055793
Skinner, B. F. (1974). About behaviorism. New York: Knopf.
Southall, R. (2018). Littering in South Africa is the expression of wider selfish – and costly – culture. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/littering-in-south-africa-is-the-expression-of-wider-selfish-and-costly-culture-96186
Statistics South Africa. (2018). Environment, in-depth analysis of the General Household Survey 2002-2016. GHS Series Report Volume IX.
Strydom W. F. (2018). The social dilemma of household recycling. Proceedings of Waste Conference 2018, Emperors Palace, Johannesburg, 15-19 October 2018.
Torkos, H. (2017). Social and psychological aspects of outdoor education. Agora Psycho-Pragmatica, 1(1), 215-223.
Wasik, B. H., Senn, K., Welch, R. H., & Cooper, B. R. (1969). Behaviour modification with culturally deprived school children: two case studies. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 2(3), 181-194. https://doi.org/10.1901/jaba.1969.2-181
Watson, J. B. (1913). Psychology as the behaviourist views it. Psychological Review, 20, 158-177. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0074428
Woolfolk, A. (2010). Educational psychology (11^th Ed.). Boston: Pearson.

How to cite this article

APA

Matsekoleng, T. K. (2020). Parents’ Daily Household Activities on Child Litter Awareness: An Action Research Case. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 16(12), em1924. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/9343

Vancouver

Matsekoleng TK. Parents’ Daily Household Activities on Child Litter Awareness: An Action Research Case. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2020;16(12):em1924. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/9343

AMA

Matsekoleng TK. Parents’ Daily Household Activities on Child Litter Awareness: An Action Research Case. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2020;16(12), em1924. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/9343

Chicago

Matsekoleng, Tsebo Kgoto. "Parents’ Daily Household Activities on Child Litter Awareness: An Action Research Case". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 2020 16 no. 12 (2020): em1924. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/9343

Harvard

Matsekoleng, T. K. (2020). Parents’ Daily Household Activities on Child Litter Awareness: An Action Research Case. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 16(12), em1924. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/9343

MLA

Matsekoleng, Tsebo Kgoto "Parents’ Daily Household Activities on Child Litter Awareness: An Action Research Case". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, vol. 16, no. 12, 2020, em1924. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/9343