The ‘Greenhouse Effect’: children's perceptions of causes, consequences and cures

Abstract Environmental problems, especially those of world‐wide dimension such as the increase in global warming by an exacerbation of the ‘greenhouse effect’ caused by atmospheric pollution, are becoming increasingly significant. Education about such issues is therefore becoming increasingly important. Although educational strategies and resources are best designed based on an appreciation of children's preconceptions, little is known about children's ideas in this area. We have undertaken a questionnaire and interview study of the ideas of secondary school children aged 11 to 16 about the causes, consequences and possible cures of global warming. The results show that some scientifically more acceptable ideas, such as the notion that an increase in the ‘greenhouse effect’ will cause changes in weather patterns, are already present in younger pupils. Other ideas, generally held by the science community, take time to become established over the period of secondary schooling; an appreciation of the mechanism of global warming by the retention of solar energy is an example. Some misconceptions, for example the idea that an increase in global warming will increase the rate of cardiac disease, show a low incidence in pupils of all ages, whilst others, such as the idea of a link between the global nuclear arsenal and global warming, decrease in older pupils. Alarmingly, some misconceptions remain at high levels even in the oldest pupils. The idea that the use of lead‐free petrol will reduce global warming is an example. The results also reveal underlying themes in children's thinking. Confusion between ozone layer depletion and global warming is one such theme. We suggest that a general problem is that children are aware of a range of environmentally ‘friendly’ and ‘unfriendly’ actions, and cognizant of a range of environmental problems, but that they do not link particular causes with particular consequences. Rather, children appear to think in a general way that all environmentally ‘friendly’ actions help all problems. We suggest that an understanding of major environmental problems is important because their solutions will require far‐reaching changes in society, and that such education should begin early, before misconceptions become embedded in alternative conceptual frameworks and attitudes based on these frameworks become entrenched.