Blog 13 February 2023

IVN National NQ test for school children

Our partner IVN, institute for Nature Education, is committed to connecting all children to nature with their national programme ‘Nature-rich Schools’. As part of this program, IVN is organizing a nation-wide campaign to test the Nature Intelligence of Dutch school children. For this campaign, we created a new version of the NQ self-test suitable for schoolchildren aged 11/12 in group 8 in the Dutch school system. This adapted version was tested among 144 children at a pilot school.

Pilot test

Children at the pilot school filled in a nicely illustrated booklet with child-friendly questions about their nature connection. The booklet also contained questions about nature in and around the school. Teachers’ evaluations showed that children generally liked doing the test and that it made them think more about their relationship with nature. Teachers also gave useful suggestions for improving the test.

Dreaming and doing

The IVN NQ-child test (available in Dutch only) comprises two broad domains of nature-based competencies. The first domain, called ‘dreaming’, includes emotional and spiritual competencies related to connecting to nature with one’s heart and soul. The second domain, which we called ‘doing’ refers to cognitive and action competencies related to connecting to nature with one’s mind and body. Based on these two dimensions and competencies, four types of children with different NQ profiles can be  distinguished:

Sign up!

Are you a teacher of group 8 in The Netherlands? You can now sign up for the test at www.ivn.nl/aanbod/de-natuurrijke-school/hoe-natuurintelligent-is-jouw-groep-8/. You can choose between the paper-and-pencil version of the test (while supplies last) or a digital version. As a teacher, you will also be asked to do the adult version of the NQ test yourself, so we can see whether teachers’ relationship with nature influences children’s nature intelligence.  Results will be presented during the IVN nature week in June 2023.