Environmental Literacy and Practice of Environmental Sustainability among Secondary School Students in Busia District, Eastern Uganda

Wandera Eustance; Andama Edward; Atibuni Dennis Zami; Ujeyo Margaret Stella Suubi

doi:10.37284/eajes.5.2.644

Wandera Eustance Busitema University
Andama Edward, PhD Busitema University
Atibuni Dennis Zami, PhD Busitema University
Ujeyo Margaret Stella Suubi Busitema University

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37284/eajes.5.2.644

Keywords: Environmental Education, Environmental Literacy, Environmental Practice, Sustainable Development

Share Article:

Abstract

Environmental education is vital to promote knowledge, skills, attitudes, and practices to solve environmental problems, in the long run building a sustainable environment for current and future generations. This study aimed at determining the influence of Environmental Literacy (EL) on the practice of Environmental Sustainability (ES) among secondary school students in Busia District in Eastern Uganda. Using parallel convergent mixed methods and cross-sectional survey designs, 466 participants including 409 randomly selected students in 12 secondary schools filled the Environmental Literacy Survey (ELS) tool and questionnaire on the practice of ES. Forty-eight students from 6 randomly selected schools in 6 groups participated in focus group discussion (FGD), and 9 teachers of Geography, Agriculture, and Biology from 3 schools participated in an FGD. The results indicate that the students had a functional level of EL (M = 115.72, SD = 18.27), and a moderate level of practice of ES (M = 38.83, SD = 8.39). There was a significant relationship between EL and ES (r = .446, p < .01) which suggested that the secondary school curriculum yielded a functional EL. The level of EL was higher than the level of practice of ES. We recommend that the teaching profession should address the gap in attitude and practice by balancing the learning experiences in the school curriculum on the environmental knowledge, attitudes towards the environment as well as behaviour and practice of environmental sustainability.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Ali, A. R., Endut, A., & Embong, R. (2017). Investigating the environmental awareness level of secondary school students: Effects of race, school type, and location. Journal of Science and Technology, 9(4).

Carleton-Hug, A., & Hug, J. W. (2010). Challenges and opportunities for evaluating environmental education programs. Evaluation and program planning, 33(2), 159-164.

Erdoğan, M., Kostova, Z., & Marcinkowski, T. (2009). Components of environmental literacy in the elementary science education curriculum in Bulgaria and Turkey. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 5(1), 15-26.

Fah, L. Y., & Sirisena, A. (2014). Relationships between the knowledge, attitudes, and behavior dimensions of environmental literacy: A structural equation modeling approach using smart pls. Jurnal Pemikir Pendidikan, 5.

Jickling, B., & Wals, A. E. (2008). Globalization and environmental education: Looking beyond sustainable development. Journal of curriculum studies, 40(1), 1-21.

Jordan’s, M. (2013). Jordan.

Larson, L. R., Green, G. T., & Castleberry, S. B. (2011). Construction and validation of an instrument to measure environmental orientations in a diverse group of children. Environment and Behavior, 43(1), 72-89.

MWE. (2016). State of Uganda's Forestry 2016. Ministry of Water and Environment Kampala. Kampala: GoU.

NEMA (2012). Baseline survey of awareness of eductaion for sustinable development in learning institutions in Kenya. Report No.5. NEMA Kenya. Nairobi Kenya.

Nature Uganda (2012). ACT and LEARN- A guide to supplimentary teaching and learning through Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). First Edition.

Newing, H., Eagle, C., Puri, R., & Watson, C. (2011). Researching conservation: a social science perspective. Abingdon. Routledge, doi, 10, 9780203846452.

Ramdas, M., & Mohamed, B. (2014). Impacts of tourism on environmental attributes, environmental literacy and willingness to pay: A conceptual and theoretical review. Procedia-Social and behavioral sciences, 144, 378-391.

Rosenberg, E. 2009. Teacher Education Workbook for Environment and Sustainability Education. Rhodes University Environment Education and Sustinabiltiy Unit, Grahamstown, Distributed through Share-Net Howwick.

Saphina, N. (2017). Privatization in education and discrimination: Its impact on the right to education in Uganda. ESR Review: Economic and Social Rights in South Africa, 18(1), 10-12.

Sohn, L. B. (1973). Stockholm Declaration on the human environment, the. Harv. Int'l. LJ, 14, 423.

Spínola, H. (2015). Environmental literacy comparison between students taught in Eco-schools and ordinary schools in the Madeira Island region of Portugal. Science Education International, 26, 392-413.

Sunderland W.J. (2000). The conservation handbook. research, management and policy. Blackwell Sceince.

Tosun, E. K., & Campus, A. O. S. (2016). Environmental literacy levels of the classroom teachers in Turkey: A research towards the classroom teachers serving in Bursa. The Online Journal of New Horizons in Education-July, 6(3).

Vandenbosch, T. (2006). Post-primary agricultural education and training in sub-Saharan Africa: Adapting supply to changing demand. Unpublished manuscript, World Agroforestry Centre, Nairobi, Kenya.

Wardani, R., Karyanto, P., & Ramli, M. (2018). Analysis of high school students’ environmental literacy. Paper presented at the Journal of Physics: Conference Series.