第1段

Adults and children are frequently confronted with statements about the alarming rate of loss of tropical rainforests. For example, one graphic illustration to which children might readily relate is the estimate that rainforests are being destroyed at a rate equivalent to one thousand football fields every forty minutes – about the duration of a normal classroom period. In the face of the frequent and often vivid media coverage, it is likely that children will have formed ideas about rainforests -what and where they are, why they are important, what endangers them – independent of any formal tuition. It is also possible that some of these ideas will be mistaken.

第1段：成年人和孩子们经常面临有关热带雨林损失速度惊人的说法。例如，一个图形化的例子是，每40分钟就会以相当于一千个足球场的速度毁灭一片雨林，大约是一个正常课堂时长的时间。在频繁而生动的媒体报道面前，孩子们可能已经对雨林有了自己的想法 - 什么是雨林，它们在哪里，为什么它们重要，什么威胁它们 - 这些想法与任何正式教育无关。也有可能其中一些想法是错误的。

第2段

Many studies have shown that children harbour misconceptions about ‘pure’, curriculum science. These misconceptions do not remain isolated but become incorporated into a multifaceted, but organised, conceptual framework, making it and the component ideas, some of which are erroneous, more robust but also accessible to modification. These ideas may be developed by children absorbing ideas through the popular media. Sometimes this information may be erroneous. It seems schools may not be providing an opportunity for children to re-express their ideas and so have them tested and refined by teachers and their peers.

第2段：许多研究表明，孩子们对于“纯粹”的课程科学存在误解。这些误解并不孤立存在，而是被纳入一个多方位但有组织的概念框架中，使得整个框架及其构成部分的一些理念更加坚固但也更易于修改。这些观念可能是由孩子们通过大众媒体吸收到的。有时候这些信息可能是错误的。学校似乎未能为孩子们提供重新表达他们的想法的机会，以便让教师和同伴对其进行测试和完善。

第3段

Despite the extensive coverage in the popular media of the destruction of rainforests, little formal information is available about children’s ideas in this area. The aim of the present study is to start to provide such information, to help teachers design their educational strategies to build upon correct ideas and to displace misconceptions and to plan programmes in environmental studies in their schools.

第3段：尽管大众媒体广泛报道了雨林的破坏，但在这个领域孩子们的想法几乎没有正式的信息可供参考。本研究旨在开始提供这方面的信息，以帮助教师设计他们的教育策略，建立在正确的观念基础上，消除误解，并计划他们学校的环境研究项目。

第4段

The study surveys children’s scientific knowledge and attitudes to rainforests. Secondary school children were asked to complete a questionnaire containing five open-form questions. The most frequent responses to the first question were descriptions which are self-evident from the term ‘rainforest’. Some children described them as damp, wet or hot. The second question concerned the geographical location of rainforests. The commonest responses were continents or countries: Africa (given by 43%of children), South America (30%), Brazil (25%). Some children also gave more general locations, such as being near the Equator.

第4段：该研究调查了学生对雨林的科学知识和态度。要求中学生完成一个包含五个开放性问题的问卷调查。对第一个问题的最常见回答是从“雨林”一词可以自然得出的描述。一些孩子把它们描述为潮湿、湿润或炎热。第二个问题涉及雨林的地理位置。最常见的回答是大陆或国家：非洲（43%的孩子给出），南美洲（30%），巴西（25%）。一些孩子还给出了更一般的位置，比如靠近赤道。

第5段

Responses to question three concerned the importance of rainforests. The dominant idea, raised by 64% of the pupils, was that rainforests provide animals with habitats. Fewer students responded that rainforests provide plant habitats, and even fewer mentioned the indigenous populations of rainforests. More girls (70%) than boys (60%) raised the idea of rainforest as animal habitats.

第5段：对第三个问题的回答涉及到雨林的重要性。占64%的学生提出的主要观念是雨林为动物提供栖息地。更少的学生回答雨林为植物提供栖息地，甚至更少的学生提到了雨林的原住民。在提出雨林作为动物栖息地的观念中，女孩（70%）比男孩（60%）更多。

第6段

Similarly, but at a lower level, more girls (13%) than boys (5%) said that rainforests provided human habitats. These observations are generally consistent with our previous studies of pupils’ views about the use and conservation of rainforests, in which girls were shown to be more sympathetic to animals and expressed views which seem to place an intrinsic value on non-human animal life.

第6段：同样，尽管较少，比例上女孩（13%）比男孩（5%）更多地表示雨林为人类提供栖息地。这些观察结果与我们以前关于学生对雨林利用和保护观点的研究相一致，在这些研究中发现女孩对动物更有同情心，并表达了似乎将非人类动物生命赋予内在价值的观点。

第7段

The fourth question concerned the causes of the destruction of rainforests. Perhaps encouragingly, more than half of the pupils (59%) identified that it is human activities which are destroying rainforests, some personalising the responsibility by the use of terms such as ‘we are’. About 18% of the pupils referred specifically to logging activity.

第7段：第四个问题涉及雨林破坏的原因。也许令人鼓舞的是，超过一半的学生（59%）指出破坏雨林的是人类活动，其中一些通过使用“我们”等词语个人化责任。大约18%的学生具体提到了伐木活动。

第8段

One misconception, expressed by some 10% of the pupils, was that acid rain is responsible for rainforest destruction; a similar proportion said that pollution is destroying rainforests. Here, children are confusing rainforest destruction with damage to the forests of Western Europe by these factors. While two fifths of the students provided the information that the rainforests provide oxygen, in some cases this response also embraced the misconception that rainforest destruction would reduce atmospheric oxygen, making the atmosphere incompatible with human life on Earth.

第8段：其中一种误解，由10%的学生表达，是酸雨导致了雨林的破坏；类似比例的学生说污染正在破坏雨林。在这里，孩子们将雨林的破坏与这些因素对西欧森林的损害混淆了。尽管五分之二的学生提供了雨林提供氧气的信息，但在某些情况下，这种回答也包含了一个误解，即雨林的破坏会降低大气中的氧气含量，使得大气与人类生活不兼容。

第9段

In answer to the final question about the importance of rainforest conservation, the majority of children simply said that we need rainforests to survive. Only a few of the pupils (6%) mentioned that rainforest destruction may contribute to global warming. This is surprising considering the high level of media coverage on this issue. Some children expressed the idea that the conservation of rainforests is not important.

第9段：对于最后一个关于雨林保护重要性的问题的回答，大多数孩子只是说我们需要雨林来生存。只有很少部分的学生（6%）提到雨林破坏可能导致全球变暖。考虑到这个问题在媒体上的高度关注，这是令人惊讶的。一些孩子表达了雨林保护并不重要的观念。

第10段

The results of this study suggest that certain ideas predominate in the thinking of children about rainforests. Pupils’ responses indicate some misconceptions in basic scientific knowledge of rainforests’ ecosystems such as their ideas about rainforests as habitats for animals, plants and humans and the relationship between climatic change and destruction of rainforests.

第10段：该研究的结果表明，在孩子们对于雨林的思考中，存在一些主导观念。学生的回答表明他们在基本的科学知识方面存在一些误解，比如他们对于雨林作为动物、植物和人类栖息地的观念，以及气候变化与雨林破坏之间的关系。

第11段

Pupils did not volunteer ideas that suggested that they appreciated the complexity of causes of rainforest destruction. In other words, they gave no indication of an appreciation of either the range of ways in which rainforests are important or the complex social, economic and political factors which drive the activities which are destroying the rainforests. One encouragement is that the results of similar studies about other environmental issues suggest that older children seem to acquire the ability to appreciate, value and evaluate conflicting views. Environmental education offers an arena in which these skills can be developed, which is essential for these children as future decision-makers.