Euskal haur eta gazteen biodibertsitate-alfabetatzea: kezka iturri bat

Abstract

Along with the climate emergency, one of the most worrying indicators of the current global crisis is biodiversity loss. To deal with it, biodiversity-related attitudes and knowledge are key. It is the children and youth of the present-day, in other words the adults of the future, who will have to make decisions on this emergency. Thus, the diagnosis of their biodiversity knowledge is necessary to design adequate educational strategies. This paper analyzes the results of different works assessing the species literacy of current Basque teenagers (11/12-16/17 years). In particular, studies exploring students' broad knowledge about species (identification and naming) have been analyzed, as this superficial knowledge is considered to be a direct predictor of in-deep knowledge. The studies suggest that future generations have little awareness of native species and that Plant Blindness is widespread among them. In addition, they show a high familiarity with charismatic animals and domesticated plants. Among animals, mammals are the best known, leaving aside the most endangered classes (such as amphibians) or most biodiverse animal groups (e.g., invertebrates). In the case of plants, due to the abundance and attractiveness of flowering plants, these are the most recalled and identified ones, whereas grasses are eluded. The results also show that the smaller or more rural the studied children’s hometown is, the more native species they identify and recall. As a result, the need for teaching/learning biodiversity in contact with nature and while conducting scientific practices arises, being teacher training key on this path.