Drinking water is a scarce resource and the problems associated with its poor management and conservation are generating significant imbalances in the well-being of society, human health, and the environment. This research paper aims to determine the level of environmental awareness of primary school students in Spain (n = 95) of the management, use, and sustainable care of water, before and after applying a training program that allows working on the contents of water, from the different dimensions and shortcomings of environmental awareness identified in the paper. The study was undertaken from a mixed Research and Development approach (R&D), with an exploratory sequential design [QUAL(quan) → QUAL(quan)], in which, initially, a qualitative content analysis of the students’ drawings was carried out, to subsequently apply a number of complementary quantitative analyses. The qualitative phase involved the elaboration of a mixed category (deductive-inductive) system that allowed for the organization and interpretation of the information obtained. The results of this work reveal low levels of knowledge about the integral water cycle. Primary school students also show a low degree of responsibility towards water issues. The conclusions of this study point to the need to address content related to water care and conservation in the educational curriculum from a multidimensional and interdisciplinary approach, in order to understand the origin and impact of water problems.

Water care and aquatic ecosystems play a fundamental role in the health and sustainable development of our society. From this perspective, education and water culture are key elements for increasing environmental awareness of the socio-environmental problems and risks associated with the sustainable use and management of water resources. The aim of this study is ascertain the level of environmental awareness that primary school students have about the management and uses of water. A mixed sequential exploratory design is proposed, which is developed in two research phases. An initial phase of qualitative data collection and analysis; and a subsequent complementary phase of quantitative data gathering and analysis. The results of this research show the low levels of environmental awareness on the part of students regarding the uses, management and socio-environmental problems related to water. In addition, they tend to conceive of water uses from a direct and proximate perspective, based on food, health and hygiene. The conclusions of this study suggest the need to approach the contents of water from a broader perspective, considering the causes and consequences of the problems arising from poor water use and management