This research study had the purpose of promoting favorable attitudes toward the environment in adolescents through debates of dilemmas with ecological content. The dilemmas were elaborated with basis on Kohlberg's theory of moral judgment and on Blatt and Kohlberg's group discussion technique. Sixteen students from the first year of high-school from a public school in Porto Alegre (Brazil), participated in the research study. These students were administred a ten-item questionnaire about attitudes regarding ecology, as pre-test and post-test. The participants responses were rated in a zero to two points scale, indicating the degree of maturity of attitudes regarding the environment. The degree of participation in the discussions was also analyzed. The analysis of data reveals that the technique worked only for those students considered high in participation in the discussions.
Ecology; environment; dilemmas' discussion; attitudes promotion
