Can outdoor activities and inquiry sessions change the travel behavior of children and their caregivers? Empirical research in public preschools in São Paulo (Brazil)

Abstract This manuscript seeks to evaluate changes in the travel behavior of young children (5–6 y/o.) and their caregivers following the implementation of a 4-month program in public preschools in Sao Paulo (Brazil) with a high prevalence of low-income immigrants. The program was developed around two intervention types: i) weekly inquiry sessions about urban mobility through the Philosophy with Children approach and ii) bimonthly outdoor walking activities in the surroundings of schools. In this way, it was possible to observe positive changes in the perceptions of children's statements and in the social norms of their caregivers about transportation, as well as significant modal shifts as reported by caregivers towards sustainable mobility, which were evaluated using difference-in-differences and time-series analyses. Besides the identification of changes in the behavior of adult caregivers through child-centered intervention types, this empirical research enabled unraveling the effect of the proposed measures according to the child's gender, nationality, and level of social vulnerability, including the significant modal shifts towards walking and cycling identified among caregivers of boys and out of car and motorcycle among those of native children, which were significant both in post and follow-up measures. In addition to contributions to the evaluation of school-based interventions with data from developing countries, the discussions presented in this paper intend to provide insights into the role of early childhood and perceptions in behavioral changes towards sustainable transport.