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Although citizenship’s literacy in biodiversity is a promising way of confronting its loss, the unawareness about this topic is generalised particularly regarding plants. The latter phenomenon, named Plant Blindness (PB), not only refers to the inability to notice and identify the surrounding plants, but also to the lack of knowledge about the basics of plant biology and to the subsequent ignorance of the value of plants. Hence, the aim of this research has been to assess whether secondary students experience PB and to analyse if this phenomenon can be interrelated with their conceptualisation and attitudes towards biodiversity. For this purpose, 63 secondary students took a mixed closed- and open-ended questionnaire on different aspects of biodiversity and plant biology. The results revealed that, despite conceptualisation of biodiversity and plant literacy increased during secondary education, most students presented PB ‘symptoms’. Moreover, some of the dimensions studied were interrelated, such as comprehension of biodiversity and different aspects of plant knowledge. Therefore, these results indicate that PB has multiple branches which are not only related to plant topics sensu stricto, but also include biodiversity; which can provide novel insights into the appropriate approach to the plant blindness issue from an educational perspective.
Oier Pedrera; Unai Ortega; Aritz Ruiz-González; José Ramón Díez Díez; Oihana Barrutia. Branches of plant blindness and their relationship with biodiversity conceptualisation among secondary students. Journal of Biological Education 2021, 1 -27.
AMA StyleOier Pedrera, Unai Ortega, Aritz Ruiz-González, José Ramón Díez Díez, Oihana Barrutia. Branches of plant blindness and their relationship with biodiversity conceptualisation among secondary students. Journal of Biological Education. 2021; ():1-27.
Chicago/Turabian StyleOier Pedrera; Unai Ortega; Aritz Ruiz-González; José Ramón Díez Díez; Oihana Barrutia. 2021. "Branches of plant blindness and their relationship with biodiversity conceptualisation among secondary students." Journal of Biological Education , no. : 1-27.
The serious and growing impacts of invasive alien species (IAS) on the planet make it necessary to include this issue with greater determination in educational programs, with the aim of generating citizens capable of dealing with this environmental problem in a sustainable way. Likewise, the management of IAS represents a clear socio-scientific issue (SSI), which gives greater interest to its inclusion in school. At this point, future teachers play a key role, so that their knowledge, perceptions and attitudes on the subject must be evaluated. In order to deal with this objective, a questionnaire was filled out by 400 students of the degrees in early childhood education and primary education of the Universities of La Rioja (UR) and the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Spain. Our results show that pre-service teachers do not perceive impacts of different types generated by IAS, and they show a clear lack of knowledge about transmission vectors. Likewise, they do not support various control measures, especially slaughter of invasive vertebrates, related to affective dimensions. These results highlight the need to work toward an appropriate integration of this issue at different educational levels, training students and educators, fostering favorable attitudes toward a sustainable management of IAS.
Rubén Ladrera; Beatriz Robredo; Unai Ortega-Lasuen; José Díez; Aritz Ruiz-González. Unprepared to Deal with Invasion: Pre-Service Teachers’ Perception, Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Invasive Species. Sustainability 2020, 12, 10543 .
AMA StyleRubén Ladrera, Beatriz Robredo, Unai Ortega-Lasuen, José Díez, Aritz Ruiz-González. Unprepared to Deal with Invasion: Pre-Service Teachers’ Perception, Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Invasive Species. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (24):10543.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRubén Ladrera; Beatriz Robredo; Unai Ortega-Lasuen; José Díez; Aritz Ruiz-González. 2020. "Unprepared to Deal with Invasion: Pre-Service Teachers’ Perception, Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Invasive Species." Sustainability 12, no. 24: 10543.
The overall purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge that students have about the ecosystem concept of rivers and their sustainable management. A survey of nine questions gathered responses from 3447 students at three different Spanish education levels (Primary, Secondary, and bachelor’s degree in Primary Education) and six different geographic territories in the Iberian Peninsula. Respondents showed a limited understanding of rivers, much simpler than the ecosystem concept, which was related to proposals of unsustainable management of these ecosystems. Although the results were analogous among territories, undergraduate students had a more complex concept of rivers as well as more sustainable ideas regarding their management compared with Primary and Secondary Education students. This study demonstrates the lack of knowledge transfer between science and students regarding river ecosystems. Current educational programs should be adapted to address, even at early stages of education, the sustainability challenges around river ecosystems.
Rubén Ladrera; Pablo Rodríguez-Lozano; Iraima Verkaik; Narcís Prat; José Díez. What Do Students Know about Rivers and Their Management? Analysis by Educational Stages and Territories. Sustainability 2020, 12, 8719 .
AMA StyleRubén Ladrera, Pablo Rodríguez-Lozano, Iraima Verkaik, Narcís Prat, José Díez. What Do Students Know about Rivers and Their Management? Analysis by Educational Stages and Territories. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (20):8719.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRubén Ladrera; Pablo Rodríguez-Lozano; Iraima Verkaik; Narcís Prat; José Díez. 2020. "What Do Students Know about Rivers and Their Management? Analysis by Educational Stages and Territories." Sustainability 12, no. 20: 8719.
Plant nutrition is a complex subject at any educational level therefore, identification of student’s ideas regarding this scientific concept is important in order to define the best instructional learning method. In this study, we conduct a cross-age comparison of the conceptual understanding of compulsory students and prospective elementary teachers about plant nutrition based on their drawings and explanations. It is observed that students’ plant drawings are more accurate with age, including more plant structures involved in plant nutrition, while the presence of anthropocentric ideas in their responses decreases accordingly. However, the results show that, although knowledge about plant nutrition is acquired progressively with age through compulsory education, students do not completely understand plant nutrition-related processes, and more worryingly, this knowledge does not significantly improve from secondary to university levels. Moreover, even though the oldest students use more scientific terms in their explanations, they also nurture conceptual errors. This is cause for concern in the case of pre-service teachers, since they can transmit these misconceptions to their future elementary students. The current study reveals that plant nutrition (including photosynthesis) remains a difficult subject even at different educational stages, and that proper training imparted to elementary teachers can be crucial for a better understanding of this issue from early school years.
Oihana Barrutia; José Ramón Díez. 7 to 13-year-old students’ conceptual understanding of plant nutrition: should we be concerned about elementary teachers’ instruction? Journal of Biological Education 2019, 55, 196 -216.
AMA StyleOihana Barrutia, José Ramón Díez. 7 to 13-year-old students’ conceptual understanding of plant nutrition: should we be concerned about elementary teachers’ instruction? Journal of Biological Education. 2019; 55 (2):196-216.
Chicago/Turabian StyleOihana Barrutia; José Ramón Díez. 2019. "7 to 13-year-old students’ conceptual understanding of plant nutrition: should we be concerned about elementary teachers’ instruction?" Journal of Biological Education 55, no. 2: 196-216.
Gipuzkoa (Basque Country, North Spain) is an industrial region where investments in sanitation and wastewater treatment have improved water quality and partially recovered river biological communities. However, further technological improvements are unlikely. Our objective was to assess whether in-stream self-purification may contribute to improvement of the trophic state of rivers. We propose an integrative approach to assessing river water quality, which diagnoses problems, identifies likely causes and prescribes solutions. We first analysed the loads of nutrients transported by Gipuzkoa rivers and compared them with the potential nutrient uptake rates (estimated from published empirical regressions). In reaches where both of them were within one order of magnitude, we considered that the self-purification capacity of river channels may influence nutrient concentrations. Then, we selected some river reaches where no other water quality problems beyond nutrient concentrations occurred and ran the expert system STREAMES 1.0 to diagnose the problems and detect their causes. The studied reaches differed in their problems and in their potential solutions. We empirically determined nutrient retention in two streams by means of mass balances and slug nutrient additions. We detected large differences in retention capacity between reaches and siltation as one of the main problems affecting the self-purification capacity of the study streams. Finally, we used STREAMES 1.0 to identify potential solutions to specific river sections. The results obtained so far point towards an important potential of in-stream bioreactive capacity to reduce nutrient loads and to specific restoration activities that may improve the functionality and trophic status of the streams in Gipuzkoa.
Maddi Altuna; Eugènia Martí; Francesc Sabater; José Ramón Díez; Joan Lluís Riera; Félix Izco; Arturo Elosegi. Incorporating In-Stream Nutrient Uptake into River Management: Gipuzkoa Rivers (Basque Country, North Spain) as a Case Study. Sustainability 2019, 11, 2692 .
AMA StyleMaddi Altuna, Eugènia Martí, Francesc Sabater, José Ramón Díez, Joan Lluís Riera, Félix Izco, Arturo Elosegi. Incorporating In-Stream Nutrient Uptake into River Management: Gipuzkoa Rivers (Basque Country, North Spain) as a Case Study. Sustainability. 2019; 11 (9):2692.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMaddi Altuna; Eugènia Martí; Francesc Sabater; José Ramón Díez; Joan Lluís Riera; Félix Izco; Arturo Elosegi. 2019. "Incorporating In-Stream Nutrient Uptake into River Management: Gipuzkoa Rivers (Basque Country, North Spain) as a Case Study." Sustainability 11, no. 9: 2692.
This paper examines the beliefs and environmental attitudes of university individuals towards bottled and tap water use and examines tap and bottled water availability and sales volumes at the University of the Basque Country. The research employed a mixed methods approach including (i) an exploratory survey to document environmental beliefs and behaviors towards bottled and tap water; (ii) written questionnaires addressed to faculty administrators to inquire about accessibility to tap water and, (iii) personal interviews with restaurant managers to inquire about sales volumes of bottled water. Respondents to our survey predominately drink tap water and no health or taste issues associated with its consumption are perceived among respondents reporting to drink two or fewer bottles per week. These results imply that in our context, there are positive perceptions towards tap water and pro-environmental behavior regarding water consumption. However, respondents also claimed to use reused plastic water bottles as the most common tap water container. Moreover, there was widespread presence of bottled water sales at university premises, confirming the ubiquity of this commodity worldwide. Collectively, both survey and sales volume analyses suggest that a greater shift in sustainable behavior is needed in our community. Regarding measures and policies to promote tap water accessibility, considerable differences were found within and between campuses. These findings should help to inform university managers and support sustainability goals where bottled water consumption could be minimized or even eliminated.
José Ramón Díez; Iñaki Antigüedad; Elena Agirre; Arantza Rico. Perceptions and Consumption of Bottled Water at the University of the Basque Country: Showcasing Tap Water as the Real Alternative towards a Water-Sustainable University. Sustainability 2018, 10, 3431 .
AMA StyleJosé Ramón Díez, Iñaki Antigüedad, Elena Agirre, Arantza Rico. Perceptions and Consumption of Bottled Water at the University of the Basque Country: Showcasing Tap Water as the Real Alternative towards a Water-Sustainable University. Sustainability. 2018; 10 (10):3431.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJosé Ramón Díez; Iñaki Antigüedad; Elena Agirre; Arantza Rico. 2018. "Perceptions and Consumption of Bottled Water at the University of the Basque Country: Showcasing Tap Water as the Real Alternative towards a Water-Sustainable University." Sustainability 10, no. 10: 3431.