Examining the Relationship between Connectedness to Nature, Environmental Education, and Environmental Identity among University Students

This paper explores the connection between connectedness to nature, environmental education, and environmental identity among university students in Ekiti State, Nigeria, in an attempt to understand how emotional attachment to nature and exposure to environmental education are relevant to the formation of an environmental identity. The research design was a quantitative correlational research design using a sample size of 400 undergraduate students in Federal University, Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), Bamidele Olumilua University of Education, Science and Technology (BOUESTI), and Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD). Structured questionnaires were used to collect data to measure connectedness with nature, exposure to environmental education, and environmental identity. The results indicated that 58 percent of the respondents ranked in the high end of connectedness to nature (scores 30-40), and that connectedness to nature was strongly correlated (r = 0.62, p <.001) with environmental identity. Environmental education emerged to be a key determinant of environmental identity as it accounted for a variance of 20% (beta = 0.45, p <.001). Mediation analysis indicated that connectedness to nature has an indirect relationship with environmental identity through environmental education. Based on these findings, the study concludes that both emotional and cognitive attachment to nature are important in the development of a strong environmental identity. The research suggests that higher education institutions should include experiential learning and environmental education in curricula to increase the level of student environmental engagement and identity development and thereby lead to sustainable behavior and environmental stewardship. The value of the study is that it can be used to inform educational policy and curriculum design to take a more holistic approach to sustainability  education that can help instill a sense of holistic, life-long environmental responsibility among university students in Nigeria and other such settings.