Update Interview

Qualtitative Evaluation: Group Discussion

Methodology

Four pupils - two girls and two boys - were chosen randomly from the class and were seen before and after the project. The group discussed the six questions, with each pupil taking it in turns to begin answering the questions, and responding in the same order. The questioner presented the questions and intervened only when it was necessary to clarify a child’s response.

Group discussion, 23/10/02

	G1	G2	B1	B2
1) What does ‘living in a way that does not damage the environment’, mean to you?	If it’s round corner(where you want to go) don’t go in car - walk.	Recycling - don’t burn wooden things.	Stop people doing graffiti.	Get cars that don’t have bad smoke - get electric.Stop burning things, like bonfires.
2) Why do we need to care for the local environment?	When have bonfires – could kill animals.	For your health - everything burning and smoking.	If we leave rubbish out will attract foxes and stuff.	If people damage environment all animals will dies and stuff.If live by pond - if throw rubbish in, fish will die.
3) Why do we need to care for the global environment?	If people chuck stuff in sea, poor people can’t eat fish.	If want to help people in Africa - if rubbish all over can’t get to them and they’d die.	If chuck rubbish in sea - animal in sea will die.	If people pollute air - atmosphere gets damaged and people start riots, effects everyone.
4) What is renewable energy?	Don’t know.	Don’t know.	No idea.	Don’t know.
5) What actions couldyou do that help and protect the environment?	More people walking – try to encourage other people to do these things.	Recycling. Try to clean up streets and roads.	Ride a bike.	Stop people driving in petrol cars.Make it illegal to drive cars with petrol.
6) What are you doing now that would help and protect the environment?	Walk most of the time - enjoying doing it.	Try to walk more.	Ride bike more than walking - just enjoy.	Don’t go in cars a lot.Usually walk or bike.

Group discussion 23/10/02

	G1	G2	B1	B2
1) What does ‘living in a way that does not damage the environment’, mean to you?	Using scooters,roller blades.	walk more often compared to using cars and buses…anything that is not petrol. Electric is ok, if not used as much.	Stop vandals - [make] environment more healthy (cos no spray paint).	Use bikes more [than] cars.Electric is ok.
2) Why do we need to care for the local environment?	Fumes would get into the air.	If didn’t do anything - all the dirt [in] air [would make] people die.	If we let it alone [we would have] all pollution.	Means round here and houses. If don’t care, get up in morning, be really sad about stuff around you.
3) Why do we need to care for the global environment?	If it were all polluted everyone would die.	People would die [if] pollute all the world.	Atmosphere would go - sun would kill us. Meteorites would get in.	If we didn’t have atmosphere - stuff would get through - people dying from sun and stuff.
4) What is renewable energy?	Paper to recycle.	Reusing things. Save cans [to] make something bigger.	Is it recycling....	Recycling and using things again. Not using as much electricity.
5) What actions could you do that help and protect the environment?	Don’t drop litter - put it in pocket.	Walk more and you’ll get more exercise. In the future better technology…car [run] on water.	Pick up litter and stuff. Put up posters. Walk rather than car (unless it ‘s a right long way).	Could use your gas less - it pollutes the atmosphere.
6) What are you doing now that would help and protect the environment?	Prefer to walk - less dangerous (had a crash).	Walk more then when you came last time. Take more showers than bathes.	Walking more and pick up litter at school. Have baths - can reuse them.	Don’t use a s much electricity and water. Shower rather than bath. If it’s dark don’t turn light on.

Discussion

Each question will be looked at in turn:

1) What does ‘living in a way that does not damage the environment’ mean to you?
Similar emphasis was placed before and after the project on the use of the car and alternatives to this (be it walk, roller blade and so forth). There was more detail in the discussion after the project from G2 and B1.

2) Why do we need to care for the local environment?
Very similar responses were given before and after the project, although B2 seemingly showed a development in the understanding of the ‘local environment’ , for example, by commenting ‘if don’t care….be really sad about stuff around you’.

3) Why do we need to care for the global environment?
There was a general move from the issue of litter and rubbish and ‘development’, to concerns for the atmosphere. For example, B1 goes from a concern about ‘chucking rubbish in the sea’ to ‘atmosphere would go - the sun would kill us’.

4) What is ‘renewable energy’ ?>BR> A shift from not knowing how to answer this question to responses which were not entirely accurate. ‘Reusing’ and ‘recycling’ are in a broad sense part of renewable energy, but these concepts were not linked specifically to the issue of energy.

5) What actions could you do that help and protect the environment?
Similar themes cross over from both discussions - walking, litter, trying to promote awareness. Again, however, there were more detailed responses from G2 and B1.

6) What are you doing now that would help and protect the environment?
All gave more in depth responses in the discussion after the project. Certain areas arose again such as ‘walking more’ and in addition to these the personal consumption of water had become an issue (see B1 and B2).

Limitations

Children could not help but be influenced by one another’s responses. This happened most obviously when a child did not know how to respond to the question.
Children were aware of the ‘evaluation process’ (see, for example, G2 response, question six, 23/10/02) and this to some extent may have influenced results.
The sample group is small and extrapolation of results can not be made - rather it can provide a ‘snapshot’ of children’s attitudes.

Conclusion

It can be seen that children overall gave more detailed responses after the completion of the project then before. Assessing to what extent this shows that children have developed in understanding and awareness is not straight forward. In some cases, for example, the content of these responses was repetition and addition to previous responses (e.g. Q6, B1 and B2) - this would appear to show a development in understanding. In other cases there was a change in content of responses. For example, question 3 seemingly shows that the children had a greater understanding of what ‘global environment’ meant after the project and in turn gave more appropriate responses.

The area which can most obviously be improved is understanding on the specific issue of renewable energy. Perhaps the most positive result is the increase in the actual actions the children are doing to help the environment as a result of the project.
The ‘snapshot’ that this sample group provides seemingly shows overall a positive shift in children’s attitudes and understanding about the environment as a result of the project. However, because of the limitations stated these results need to be viewed alongside the quantitative results.