The Development of An Ecological Consciousness in Childhood

This thesis examines the factors that influence the development of an ecological consciousness in children and seeks to answer two overarching questions, including (1) how can an ecological consciousness be developed in children, and (2) can the influences that lead to the development of an ecological consciousness be embedded within a new learning structure for environmental education?";This study developed from the belief that environmental education must shift its structure in order to succeed in initiating long-term changes in human behavior towards the environment. Environmental education's structure will require a movement away from teaching facts and concepts about the environment and moving towards fostering, mentoring and guiding interrelationship to the natural world through the development of an ecological consciousness.;A phenomenological study was conducted on the lives of six environmentalists and naturalists. This thesis study attempts to uncover the factors and influences that lead to the development of an ecological consciousness in these individuals and utilize those findings to inform a new structure for environmental education that fosters the development of an ecological consciousness.;Keywords: environmental education; ecological consciousness; stages of development; ecological education.