Fostering Positive Attitudes Toward the Environment in Primary School Students Amidst Ecological Issues

Abstract

This study aims to identify effective factors that contribute to the development of positive environmental attitudes among primary school students and to propose recommendations for the integration of innovative technologies in ecological education. A mixed-methods approach was employed, including pedagogical analysis, interviews, surveys, expert assessments, comparative analysis, modeling, and pedagogical experiments involving 250 students from grades 1–4 across several regions in Uzbekistan. The results revealed that prior to the intervention, students exhibited limited ecological knowledge and low practical engagement. After the implementation of targeted ecological education strategies, significant improvements were observed: 49.4% of students reached a high level of ecological awareness, while those at a low level dropped to 13.8–35%. The findings underscore the effectiveness of structured environmental education and innovative methods in enhancing students’ moral development, ecological consciousness, and sense of responsibility. It is concluded that fostering environmental attitudes requires culturally contextualized, age-appropriate, and practically oriented interventions. These results provide a foundation for developing broader educational policies that integrate environmental ethics and sustainability in primary education curricula.