Primary Students’ Visions Regarding Environmental Factors Influencing Biodiversity in Specific Environments

The purpose of this chapter is to study which environmental factors are considered by primary school students to explain the biodiversity of particular environments. The study is part of the Patis Biodivers project, which aims to understand and promote biodiversity in schoolyards through authentic inquiry-based science education. Data were collected through a set of focus groups conducted with 49 primary school students (8–12-year-olds) from three schools in an urban area. The results showed how vegetation was considered a key factor to enhance biodiversity and, for this reason, primary students mainly mentioned forests and jungles as the places with the greatest biodiversity. Abiotic factors – temperature and humidity in particular – were taken into account above all to explain the lack of biodiversity in deserts or polar zones. Human beings were usually described as a limiting factor causing the loss of biodiversity.