Longitudinal study of the development of ecological mobility in primary school: trajectories of changes in knowledge, attitudes, and behavior during the first educational cycle

Abstract

The article presents the results of a four-year longitudinal study of the development of ecological mobility among primary school students. Its aim was to describe the trajectories of change in three interrelated components – knowledge, attitudes, and behavioral practices – during the first educational cycle, and to identify the conditions under which cognitive and affective shifts are transformed into real changes in transport behavior. The study was implemented in a panel design with four annual waves (2019–2023) on a sample of 428 students from 12 schools in an industrial metropolis. It used a standardized knowledge test (max. 25), a 12-item Likert scale of attitudes, and one-week transport diaries. Statistical processing included Repeated Measures ANOVA and Pearson’s correlation analysis with a significance threshold of p 0.05. The results show a linear and statistically significant increase in the cognitive component: the mean knowledge score rose from 8,34 in grade 1 to 21,46 in grade 4 (+157,3%; F(3,1281)=432.18; p 0.001) with a simultaneous decrease in standard deviation (3.12→1.97), indicating a leveling of cognitive achievements. Attitudes show moderate growth (3.89→4.31 out of 5), while the knowledge→attitudes correlation increases from r=0.19 to r=0.62, indicating a transition toward cognitively grounded value orientations by the end of primary school. At the same time, the behavioral component is characterized by weak and uneven dynamics: the share of trips by private car decreased by only 4,5 percentage points (41,3%→36,8%), the share of public transport increased by 10.3 p.p. (15,6%→25,9%), pedestrian routes declined by 7.1 p.p., and bicycle/scooter use remained consistently low. The attitudes→behavior correlation remained statistically insignificant (r 0.15) at all stages. The discussion interprets the revealed asynchrony as a manifestation of the dominant role of external determinants (family logistics, distance and infrastructural safety, weather conditions) that neutralize school effects at the stage of converting knowing and approving into doing. The conclusion substantiates the need to move from narrowly pedagogical interventions to multi-level programs combining educational modules, parent engagement, and municipal measures to improve pedestrian and cycling environments around schools to overcome the gap between knowledge, attitudes, and behavior and achieve sustainable changes in mobility practices among young schoolchildren.