Studying What Influences the Effects of Environmental Education on Visitors of Fuzhou National Park in China—The Mediating Role of Place Attachment
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Study Design
2.1. Literature Reviews and Hypothesis
2.1.1. Effects of Environmental Education
2.1.2. Place Identity and Place Dependence
2.1.3. Landscape Perception
2.1.4. Environmental Interpretation
2.2. Site Selection
2.3. Statistical Analysis Methods
2.4. Questionnaire Design and Collection
2.5. Demographic Characteristics
3. Results
3.1. Reliability Test
3.2. Model Fit
3.3. Path Analysis
3.3.1. Place Attachment and Environmental Education Effect
3.3.2. Landscape Perception, Environment Interpretation, and Place Attachment
3.3.3. Landscape Perception, Environment Interpretation, and Environmental Education Effect
3.4. Mediation Effects
4. Discussion and Conclusions
4.1. Relationship between Place Attachment and Environmental Education Effect
4.2. Relationship between Landscape Perception, Environmental Interpretation, and Place Attachment
4.3. Landscape Perception, Environment Interpretation, and Environmental Education Effect
4.4. The Mediating Role of Place Attachment
4.5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Appendix A
Latent Variable | Reference | Observed Variable | Item |
---|---|---|---|
Landscape Perception (A) | Tampakis et al. [27]; Gong et al. [28]; Deng et al. [29]. | Value of human landscape (A1) | Here you can feel the high value of human landscape |
Value of scientific research and education (A2) | Here you can feel the high value of scientific research and education | ||
Value of the natural environment (A3) | Here you can feel the high value of the natural environment | ||
Value of recreation and tourism (A4) | Here you can feel the high value of recreation and tourism | ||
Environmental Interpretation (B) | German et al. [33]. | Responsiveness (B1) | The park interpretive facilities are contagious and instructive |
Assurance (B2) | Park interpretive facilities are set up to be safe, visible, and easily accessible | ||
Reliability (B3) | The park interpretive media can fully and clearly convey the relevant content of the scenic spot | ||
Tangibility (B4) | The type and appearance of the park interpretation facilities are distinctive | ||
humanity (B5) | Interpretation facilities in the park can meet the needs of different groups of tourists | ||
Place Identity (C) | Williams et al. [17]. | Self-Identity (C1) | The experience of visiting this park can deepen my understanding of myself |
Enjoying Identity (C2) | I enjoyed my visit to this park | ||
Meaning Identity (C3) | This park has a special meaning to me | ||
Environmental Identity (C4) | I agree with the environment of this park | ||
Place Dependence (D) | Williams et al. [17]. | Experience Dependent (D1) | The experience of visiting this park is unmatched by other parks |
Activity Dependent (D2) | The leisure activities in this park are more satisfying | ||
Recreation Dependent (D3) | The recreational of this park is unmatched by other parks | ||
Relaxation Dependent (D4) | This park is the best place to relax | ||
Effects of Environmental Education (F) | Nicole et al. [14]; Zheng et al. [15]. | Skills (F1) | I gained conservation skills by visiting parks |
Ethics (F2) | I can gain a deeper understanding of the mutually beneficial relationship between people and nature in this park | ||
Knowledge (F3) | I grew my knowledge about the environment in the park | ||
Awareness (F4) | I increased environmental awareness in the park | ||
Behavior (F5) | I will protect the environment through practical actions in the park |
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Demographics | Type | % | Demographics | Type | % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gender | Male | 48.1 | Career | government official | 4.2 |
Female | 51.9 | Service workers | 14.8 | ||
Age | Under 18 | 8.3 | Casual workers | 14.4 | |
18–25 | 29.6 | Company Staff | 14.4 | ||
26–35 | 13.1 | Students | 36.7 | ||
36–45 | 14.8 | Freelancer | 15.6 | ||
46–55 | 16.3 | Monthly income | Under RMB 3000 | 39.8 | |
56–65 | 10.2 | RMB 3000–6000 | 23.5 | ||
Over 66 | 7.7 | RMB 6000–9000 | 19.8 | ||
education level | Below high school | 57.1 | RMB 9000–12,000 | 12.3 | |
Specialty | 11.9 | Over RMB 12,000 | 4.6 | ||
Undergraduate | 7.7 | Number of visits | Less than 2 times | 46.0 | |
Master’s Degree | 22.5 | 3–5 times | 32.1 | ||
Doctoral degree or higher | 0.8 | 6 times or more | 21.9 |
Scale | Observed Variables | Estimate | AVE | CR | Cronbach’s α |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
>0.5 | >0.4 | >0.6 | >0.7 | ||
Landscape Perception (A) | Value of human landscape (A1) | 0.681 | 0.449 | 0.765 | 0.768 |
Value of scientific research and education (A2) | 0.696 | ||||
Value of the natural environment (A3) | 0.643 | ||||
Value of recreation and tourism (A4) | 0.659 | ||||
Environmental Interpretation (B) | Responsiveness (B1) | 0.727 | 0.551 | 0.860 | 0.859 |
Assurance (B2) | 0.774 | ||||
Reliability (B3) | 0.748 | ||||
Tangibility (B4) | 0.733 | ||||
humanity (B5) | 0.727 | ||||
Place Identity (C) | Self-Identity (C1) | 0.710 | 0.516 | 0.810 | 0.811 |
Enjoying Identity (C2) | 0.700 | ||||
Meaning Identity (C3) | 0.699 | ||||
Environmental Identity (C4) | 0.763 | ||||
Place Dependence (D) | Experience Dependent (D1) | 0.745 | 0.570 | 0.841 | 0.840 |
Activity Dependent (D2) | 0.793 | ||||
Recreation Dependent (D3) | 0.730 | ||||
Relaxation Dependent (D4) | 0.751 | ||||
Effects of Environmental Education (F) | Skills (F1) | 0.826 | 0.715 | 0.926 | 0.926 |
Ethics (F2) | 0.850 | ||||
Knowledge (F3) | 0.854 | ||||
Awareness (F4) | 0.829 | ||||
Behavior (F5) | 0.868 |
Path | Standardization Factor β | Standard Error | t | p | Results | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H1:C→F | 0.548 | 0.060 | 8.329 | *** | Significant positive effect | Supported |
H2:D→F | 0.230 | 0.044 | 4.246 | *** | Significant positive effect | Supported |
H3:A→C | 0.386 | 0.060 | 5.669 | *** | Significant positive effect | Supported |
H4:A→D | 0.350 | 0.063 | 5.400 | *** | Significant positive effect | Supported |
H5:A→F | 0.048 | 0.042 | 0.917 | 0.359 | Not Supported | |
H6:B→C | 0.444 | 0.072 | 6.586 | *** | Significant positive effect | Supported |
H7:B→D | 0.474 | 0.079 | 7.182 | *** | Significant positive effect | Supported |
H8:B→F | 0.186 | 0.054 | 3.357 | *** | Significant positive effect | Supported |
Project | Effect Type | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Indirect Effects | Direct Effect | Indirect Effects | ||||
Path | AC→F | A→D→F | B→F | B→C→F | B→D→F | |
Intermediary Type | Complete intermediary | — | Part of the intermediary | |||
Effect Value | 0.212 | 0.081 | 0.186 | 0.243 | 0.109 | |
Standard Error | 0.066 | 0.033 | 0.058 | 0.060 | 0.042 | |
Bias-corrected 95% CI | Lower | 0.109 | 0.034 | 0.060 | 0.139 | 0.039 |
Upper | 0.373 | 0.170 | 0.288 | 0.381 | 0.209 | |
P | 0.001 | 0.001 | 0.003 | 0.000 | 0.001 | |
Percentile 95% CI | Lower | 0.105 | 0.028 | 0.067 | 0.121 | 0.034 |
Upper | 0.370 | 0.158 | 0.291 | 0.359 | 0.200 | |
P | 0.001 | 0.002 | 0.002 | 0.001 | 0.001 |
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Yu, J.; Xu, W.; Zou, Y.; Yang, H.; Ding, Z. Studying What Influences the Effects of Environmental Education on Visitors of Fuzhou National Park in China—The Mediating Role of Place Attachment. Forests 2022, 13, 1735. https://doi.org/10.3390/f13101735
Yu J, Xu W, Zou Y, Yang H, Ding Z. Studying What Influences the Effects of Environmental Education on Visitors of Fuzhou National Park in China—The Mediating Role of Place Attachment. Forests. 2022; 13(10):1735. https://doi.org/10.3390/f13101735
Chicago/Turabian StyleYu, Jiao, Weizhen Xu, Yongchen Zou, Honghui Yang, and Zheng Ding. 2022. "Studying What Influences the Effects of Environmental Education on Visitors of Fuzhou National Park in China—The Mediating Role of Place Attachment" Forests 13, no. 10: 1735. https://doi.org/10.3390/f13101735
APA StyleYu, J., Xu, W., Zou, Y., Yang, H., & Ding, Z. (2022). Studying What Influences the Effects of Environmental Education on Visitors of Fuzhou National Park in China—The Mediating Role of Place Attachment. Forests, 13(10), 1735. https://doi.org/10.3390/f13101735