Cognitive component of attitude to energy saving in older preschool children and primary school children

The article presents the results of a study of the cognitive component of attitudes towards energy saving among older preschoolers and younger schoolchildren. The relevance of the study is due to the unworthy attention of the education system to the issue of developing an environmental, energy-saving attitude in children, given the obvious need to form a modern person focused on rational, energy-saving behavior. The article presents the results of an empirical study based on the author's methodology to study the content of the cognitive component of attitudes towards energy saving, and describes the types of motives for energy saving in children aged 5–10 years. The levels of formation of cognitive attitudes towards energy saving are identified and described. Children have an average level of formation of the cognitive component of the attitude to energy saving. Ideas about energy saving are unclear, vague. From senior preschool to junior school age, positive dynamics in the development of the cognitive component is observed. The dominant motive for energy saving is the motive of avoiding discomfort. With age, the content of ideas about energy saving is clarified and the energy saving motive itself begins to clearly stand out. With age, motives of personal benefit give way to motives of social significance. The formation of the cognitive component of the attitude to energy saving is influenced by the attitudes of adults, as well as the content of education. Mastering school subjects that cover environmental issues, as well as developing new forms of thinking in younger students, contributes to the development of a cognitive attitude towards energy conservation.