Kids and cars: Environmental attitudes in children

What is it about?

This article aims to supplement scarce research on the children's attitudes to cars and the environment. Assuming that attitudes to cars develop in childhood, this article draws upon the writing assignments and interviews exploring the upper-elementary school children's attitudes to cars. The study was conducted in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, between January and December 2010. Briefly examining existing research on children's environmental attitudes in general, and in relation to cars in particular, the author argues that in-depth qualitative research is essential to the understanding of the factors that explain present attitudes and perhaps predicting the behavior of the future users of the means of transportation. In conclusion, the author makes a recommendation for the development of a curriculum addressing the development of children's awareness of sustainable transportation.

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Why is it important?

► Children 's awareness of the environmental implications of car driving. ► Children's experiences associated with cars. ► Addressing the future generations' transportation behavior. ► Qualitative research is essential for predicting behavior of future drivers. ► Recommendation for the development of curriculum on sustainable transportation.