Introduction

The causes of environmental degradation often lie in people’s awareness and attitudes, and in the lack of a sense of responsibility for its condition (Gąsecki, 2018). The intensifying environmental crisis points to the need to create a deeper environmental awareness among adults responsible for the environmental attitude of future generations (Louv, 2020). Appropriately designed environmental workshops to activate adultscanrespondtothisneed. Suchenvironmental workshops are a set of interdisciplinary activities whose aim is precisely to shape environmental awareness and develop attitudes geared towards ecology and the protection of the socio-natural environment (Pawłowicz-Sosnowska, Sobczuk, 2021).

The concept of environmental awareness isambiguousandcharacterisedin a multidimensional manner, as is the term consciousness in the literature on the subject. In addition to the numerous definitions of the term, there are also various proposals for classifying its components (Drosinou, 2023). The term environmental awareness is used in two meanings.

In a broader sense, it is understood as an integral part of the wider social consciousness, i.e. the totality of recognised ideas, values (Staszewska 2022; Olbrycht, 2002), attitudes and opinions about the socio-natural environment as a place where humans live and develop (the society), common to certain social groups defining the way of thinking of a given society, institutionalised and established in historically shaped forms of collective life, as well as constituting a set of individual beliefs of individuals (Gąsecki, 2005). In a narrower – and more practical – sense,

environmental awareness is the state of people’s knowledge, views and perceptions about the role of the environment in human life, its anthropogenic burden, degree of exploitation, threat and protection, including the state of knowledge about ways and instruments to control its use and protection (Sowa 2018; Gąsecki, 2005).

Some researchers define environmental awareness as the layer of social consciousness in which the conditions and possibilities to embrace human values related to the natural world are identified (Gola, 2022). A similar position was taken by J. Wódz who explained environmental awareness as a generality of social views, opinions and evaluations, as well as related social values and standards, patterns of behaviour linked to the relationship between humans and their natural environment (Wódz, 1990). Therefore, environmental awareness is understood as the totality of recognised ideas, views and notions, as well as assimilated principles for shaping the relationship between the society and nature. Such an understanding of environmental awareness makes it possible to study a social group’s or society’s perception of its place in nature and its relationship with the natural environment (Gąsecki, 2005).

It follows from the above that a distinction can be made between the social and individual dimensions of environmental awareness. In terms of its social significance, it is a reflection of the relationship between nature and society in the form of recognised ideas, values and opinions about the natural environment shared by certain groups during a historical period. The individual dimension consists of an individual’s knowledge, views and ideas about the natural environment and how to shape and protect it. Environmental awareness is modelled by a value system, tradition, knowledge and information communicated by the media; it also results from one’s individual experience and independent thinking process (Gąsecki, 2005).

Both meanings of environmental awareness have the real dimension, i.e. the dimension that actually exists in the society, and the postulatory dimension, as an exemplary, ideal dimension - one that is desirable in society. The former dimension of environmental awareness is analysed by sociologists and psychologists in particular while the latter is the subject of analysis by philosophers and educationalists (Gąsecki, 2005).

In addition, social phenomena can be analysed from a subjective perspective, i.e. how they appear in the human mind, and from the objective perspective, i.e. what they are in reality. Environmental awareness is a subjective concept (e.g. environmental psychology, which emphasises the significant influence of the environment on human behaviour, as well as on people’s mental and physical condition) (Eliasz, 2003) because it operates in two basic spheres. The first is the descriptive-technical sphere (ecological knowledge and imagination), while the second is the axiological-normative sphere (encompassing a system of moral values and norms concerning the mutual relations between society and nature and between man and the environment) (Gąsecki, 2005). This sphere of environmental awareness emphasizes specific ecological values that cannot be implemented in a degraded natural environment. Hence, many researchers link the concept of consciousness with ecological ethics or ecological conscience (treated as a new form of humanism) (Papuziński, 2006).

According to K. Gąsecki, environmental awareness ‘is not given to man “once and for all” but can rather be modified in the education process’ (Gąsecki 2005). According to P. Tobera, the formation of environmental awareness is ‘a process of reaching, from recognised values to perceived values, from passive awareness to awareness of actions’ (Tobera 1987). The same scientist draws attention to three levels of environmental awareness: cognitive, instrumental-cultural and the level of implementation of adopted values. In turn, D. Cichy defined environmental awareness slightly differently. In his opinion, it is not an area of social awareness focused on the relationship and conditions of human life in a natural environment. The author divides it into knowledge, motivation (forming human attitudes), responsibility for the state of the environment and the consequences of non-compliance with ecological laws (Cichy, 2003). According to K. Gąsecki, environmental awareness manifests as an environmental culture of action geared towards the protection of the environment. The key role in the formation of environmental culture is played by the system of evaluations and values existing within the axiological-normative sphere of environmental awareness (Gąsecki, 2005).

H. Skolimowski believes that the basic reasons for the environmental crisis can be found in people’s awareness, their attitudes and the lack of a sense of responsibility for the condition of the environment. The main problem is ‘…the poisoned mind, which leads to a specific blindness, to a distortion of values, to alienation, to over- consumption that destroys the environment’ (Skolimowski, 1990). The author presents new environmental awareness, different from the hitherto prevailing technical awareness. He believes that such awareness is:

Technical consciousness, in turn, has correspondingly opposite characteristics because it is atomistic, quantitative, secularist, objective, mechanistic and alienating (Skolimowski, 1990).

The analysis of environmental awareness made by W. N. Nowikow is also worth noting. He distinguishes three components of its structure:

W. Sychut and T. J. Chmielewski have also un- dertaken a valuable characterisation of environ- mental awareness. According to them, environ- mental awareness demonstrates man’s attitude to nature ‘expressed in the awareness of its value as an asset and the desire to protect it…’ (Sychut, Chmielewski, 1990). They believed that its struc- ture consists of the following components:

According to B. Poskrobko, the functioning of environmental awareness is subject to the same laws as the functioning of social awareness. Therefore, in general terms, one can distinguish environmental awareness that is colloquial, ideological or scientific.

B. Poskrobko believes that environmental awareness is modelled in daily life, i.e. in business activities, in the education process or in the intergenerational transmission, etc. According to the author, this is a complex social process, usually linked to the condition of the natural environment and the resulting quality of life. It consists of six consecutive levels of environmental awareness:

In addition, the process of developing environmental awareness usually takes place in three stages (periods) according to B. Poskrobko:

The above analysis shows that environmental awareness is defined in a number of ways while few researchers have addressed the issue of its internal structure.

K.Gąseckihasmadeanattemptto characterize environmental awareness and present its structure from a holistic perspective. The author believed that it manifests itself in the thinking and experience of individuals as well as in the patterns of understanding, experiencing and valuing the biosphere in society. The determination of environmental awareness should be based on ‘ecological knowledge and sensitivity, respect for the value of nature and steps taken to maintain the balance between nature and human development’ (Gąsecki, 2005). Therefore, K.Gąsecki assumed that the following elements comprise the structure of environmental awareness of an individual and the

entire community:

More than a dozen significant ‘ecological- sociological’ studies have been carried out in Poland since the late 1980s, yet none of them have been completely representative and have fully explained the problem at hand. The biggest obstacle was the formulation of a comprehensive definition of ‘environmental awareness’ and the development of a scientific methodology to study the concept (Tuszyńska, 2014; Gąsecki, 2018).

Based on an analysis of the literature on the subject, it can be concluded that the attempts made to characterise environmental awareness are not exhaustive. We can also observe the lack of an exhaustive definition of the concept. Therefore, there is still a need for accurate analyses and empirical diagnoses of environmental awareness and the identification of its determinants.

Research material and methods

With the intensifying environmental crisis, the search for effective forms of shaping environmental awareness and related appropriate pro-environmental attitudes continues unabated. The present pedagogical research is part of this type of exploration in the area of adult education (Rubacha, 2016).

Therefore, the purpose of the research is to explore the impact of engaging environmental workshops on the environmental awareness of parents of pre-school children and the related attitudes towards the socio-natural environment. The workshops were conducted in four kindergartens in Biała Podlaska in September 2023.

The main research problem was contained in the following question: what is the role of engaging environmental workshops for parents of pre- school children? The main research problem thus posed implies the following specific problems:

The assumption was that environmental workshops would activate parents when it comes to pro-environmental activities, including pro-environmental activities towards their own children.

The empirical research was conducted among 50 parents of children attending 4 kindergartens in Biała Podlaska (34 mothers and 16 fathers). The majority of respondents were aged 25-35. The research was planned as part of the research project implemented by tutors of the Department of Pedagogy of the John Paul II Academy in Biała Podlaska.

The empirical research, conducted in September 2023, used a diagnostic survey method using the interview and questionnaire techniques. The empirical data was collected with the use of self-developed research tools: an interview questionnaire and a survey questionnaire, which included closed and open questions. All respondents experienced the same testing conditions. In developing the empirical material, a quantitative and qualitative analyses were carried out and the results obtained from own research were statistically processed. The research results obtained were subjected to the statistical analysis using the SPSS programme.

Own research results and conclusions

The inspiration for organising and conducting the environmental workshops for parents of pre- school children came from the results of research on the role of pro-environmental education in a consumer society as perceived by parents of pre- school children (Pawłowicz-Sosnowska, Sobczuk, 2021).

Prior to the proposed environmental workshops, a talk and an interview on sources of environmental knowledge and motives for protecting the socio-natural environment were introduced. After that, an environmental workshop was organised with an emphasis on evoking an emotional attitude towards nature and encouraging the sense of responsibility for the state of the socio-natural environment.

The purpose of the environmental workshop for parents of pre-school children was to:

Following the inclusive and activating workshop, a discussion and an interview were initiated, which revealed the need for joint environmental action. After that, there was some time allowed for self-reflection and individual completion of a questionnaire on ecological information and motives for protecting the socio- natural environment.

Based on the quantitative analysis of the data obtained using the survey technique and the qualitative analysis of the data obtained using the interview technique after the completion of the environmental workshop with parents of pre-school children, it is possible to conclude that their understanding of environmental issues was deepened. As shown in Table 1, the majority of parents correctly adopted environmental knowledge provided during the environmental workshops (60%).

The respondents’ sources of environmental knowledge were analysed after that. According to the respondents, television (63%) and the Internet (41%) dominate in the promotion of environmental knowledge. The fewest respondents selected educational institutions as a source of environmental knowledge (18%).

Basic causes of the environmental crisis according to the respondents included consumerism (40%) and errors in the industrial and economic activities influencing the environment (34%). Fewer respondents link the environmental crisis to a crisis of human morality (20%) – see Table 3.

The results presented in Table 4 demonstrate that the motives for protecting the environment are based primarily on respect for the life of all living beings (37%), the respect for human life and health (34%) and the respect for nature (20%).

According to the parents, preschool children’s environmental awareness is strongly influenced by walks (36%) and environmental campaigns (34%) beyond kindergarten education. Details are presented in Table 5.

Based on the data obtained after the environmental workshops, most parents see the need for joint environmental activities with their children (89%). 9% of the respondents did not mention these issues (Table 6).

Regarding the three specific research questions posed:

It was confirmed that, thanks to the partici- pation in environmental workshops, parents of pre-school children:

The respondents acquired the ability to notice and respond to the values and needs of the environment we live in and declared that they would willingly share it with their children. The analysis of the obtained own research results made possible the positive verification of the research hypothesis: the need to organise regular workshops to activate parents in terms of pro-environmental influence on their children. The significant role of environmental workshops taking into account the three areas of the concept of environmental awareness adopted in the research (knowledge, environmental sensitivity, pro-environmental action) has been demonstrated. Their clear impact on the formation of realistic attitudes and behaviours towards the socio-natural environment in parents of pre-school children has been observed. It can be said that the impacts of the workshop in these three separate areas of environmental awareness have contributed to the initiation of noticeable changes in the concept and even the way of being of the respondents in the world of nature, i.e. ‘the adoption of new ways of relating to the world, as a result of which the chances of self-organisation in the ecological order of life increase’ (Niezgoda, 2019; Michałowski, 1998).

In the context of the analysis of the obtained results of pedagogical research, it was found that outlined aim of this study of the impact of activating environmental workshops on the environmental awareness of parents of pre-school children and the related attitudes towards the socio-natural environment was not exhausted.

Therefore, it is worthwhile to initiate further workshops of this kind for parents of pre-school children on a regular basis and to undertake further in-depth research in this area.