Ecological Intelligence at the Heart of Ecoliteracy: A Conceptual Framework and Scale Development Study

Abstract

Ecological intelligence, a subdimension of ecoliteracy, encourages sustainable living by rethinking purchasing behaviors and understanding their environmental impacts. This paper develops the Ecological Intelligence Scale (EIS) to measure this concept, integrating insights from economics, psychology, sociology, neuroscience, and education. It highlights the role of ecological intelligence in fostering communities that share knowledge, take responsibility, and promote conscious consumption. The study was conducted with prospective teachers at a state university in eastern Turkey. Through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, a 24-item scale with four factors – collective consciousness, sustainable consumption, environmental activism, and empathy – was developed and validated. The EIS is a reliable tool, with Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of 0.898 and 0.917, to assess ecological intelligence. This paper fills a gap in the literature by offering a concrete, multidisciplinary approach to understanding and measuring ecological intelligence, thereby providing a valuable resource for educators.