Investigation into Environmental Awareness of Grade School Students in Bayındır, Izmir

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1 Investigation into Environmental Awareness of Grade School Students in Bayındır, Izmir Handan ÇAKAR 1*, Aslı GÜNEŞ 1, Nurdan ERDOĞAN 2 1 Ege University Bayındır Vocational Training School Landscape and Ornamental Plants Program, Bayındır, Izmir, Turkey 2 Ege University Centre for Environmental Studies, 35100, Bornova-Izmir/TURKEY * Corresponding author. handan.cakar@ege.edu.tr ABSTRACT: The effectiveness of environmental protection programs is closely related to levels of public awareness. It was thought that training at younger ages plays an important role in raising the public s awareness of the environment. In order to test this assumption, the investigation aimed to determine environmental awareness of grade school students in the town of Bayındır in Izmir. This region is rapidly developing both socio-economically and socio-culturally, and several environmental problems have been observed, such as the overuse of pesticides, reduction in the level of the water table and dumping of industrial waste into rivers and lakes. Personal attitudes towards environmental problems were investigated by means of a questionnaire. This question form was completed by 480 children on May 10 th 2010, during their normal classroom hour so they would not be distracted by freetime activities. As a result of the investigation, the level of environmental awareness was measured as for grade students in Bayındır, Izmir. KEYWORDS: Environmental Awareness, Environmental Behavior, Environmental Education, Grade School Group Students, Inquiry, Likert Scale INTRODUCTION Human beings have caused environmental damage that may well reach irreversible levels for many centuries to come, due to their ability to manipulate materials and living creatures according to their needs. Fulfilling their needs for natural resources with a seemingly unconscious disregard for consumption has caused concerns for environmental issues to increase at a rate parallel to the growth of population. Such environmental problems that can affect people globally include climate change and drought, threats to wildlife, and ultimately to humanity itself. After dramatic increase in environmental problems public especially in developed countries started to pay systematic attention to the interaction between man and the environment, the causes of environmental 32

2 problems, or potential solutions [1]. The evolving impact of human beings on the environment has often been expressed in terms of a simple equation; I=P A T Where I represents the amount of human impact on the environment. P is the number of people, A is the influence or demand on resources per person, and T is a technological factor (the power that human beings can exert through technological change) [2]. This equation shows that the attitudes, knowledge, behaviors, and concerns that individuals have about the environment are directly and indirectly affect decisions concerning our natural resources and how they are used and sustained. For example, [3] stated that individual environmental perspectives are associated with support for species preservation. Also, [4] found in their study conducted with participation of farmers that as risk taking possibilities of farmers increase they get less sensitive to environment. People causing the most environmental problems must be brought to a certain level of awareness of their responsibilities to help get rid of these problems. World educators and environmental specialists have repeatedly pointed out that a solution to environmental crisis will require an understanding of the environment which should be deeply rooted in the education system at all levels of school education [5][6]. The aim of environmental education is defined in the Tbilisi Conference as to succeed in making individuals and communities understand the complex nature of the natural and the built environment resulting from the interaction of their biological, physical, social, economic and cultural aspects, and acquire the knowledge, values, attitudes and practical skills to participate in a responsible and effective way in anticipating and solving environmental problems, and management of the quality of the environment [7]. Starting environmental training especially at an early early age and then later supporting practical behavior are important for bringing up today s children as tomorrow s adults with environmental awareness. Interests and attitudes gained during pre-school and grade school will bring about the desired results in the future [8]. Children receive their earliest training from their parents, at home, and then from their teachers at school. If parents cannot teach them early environmental awareness skills, then they can only reach the required level of consciousness by effective training at school. Therefore such education and training is crucial. As a result, children trained with this approach will tend to be more sensitive about environmental issues. Looking at our education system in terms of the early foundations of environmental awareness in children, we can see that environmental training and education is not as effective as it should be. Even training children in various activities concerning the environment does not bring them to the requisite level of consciousness. It appears that basic conceptual faults were identified among them [9]. In [10] s research into environmental awareness and children s sensitivity to the issues, the aim was to determine environmental attitudes and knowledge in 6 th, 7 th, and 8 th grade school students. The sample group consisted of 1118 children from 6 th, 7 th, and 8 th grades in the town of Bursa. In this study, the Environment Knowledge Test and Environment Attitude Scale were employed as data collection means. 33

3 Assessment of the research results in general show that the grade school students were not up to standard in terms of both environmental knowledge and environmental attitude. The students insufficient environmental awareness, environmental morality, and superficial love of nature and ecology were stated as being primary reasons. In addition, the following points were made: inadequate curricula, inadequate environmental content of classes and text books for the purpose of environmental education; insufficient training and education techniques at school; and application of theoretical education instead of practical education. In the majority of research into environmental awareness in children, it is evident that the education system was insufficient to deal with these subjects. Besides lack of class content, education based on theory instead of practice has been the main problem. In addition, in this study we would emphasize the dire need for a continuous education process structured for the different age groups in grade schools in order to gain and fully accept environmental awareness. The purpose of this study is to both determine the current levels of awareness in grade school students from Bayındır, Izmir towards environmental problems, and to suggest solutions for developing and increasing this awareness. MATERIAL AND METHOD In this study, we aimed to find out about the environmental awareness of grade school students with the premise that there is a significant relationship between education-training and the environment [11]. The investigation is based on the hypothesis that There is a considerable lack of continuous environmental awareness training in grade schools at different age levels. Furthermore, the research is also important because it shows some of the effects of current educational practice at grade schools on the participants development of environmental awareness. This investigation was carried out on 480 participants randomly chosen from the 1 st, 2 nd, 3 rd, 4 th, 5 th, 6 th, 7 th and 8 th grade classrooms in 6 different grade schools (Fatih, İsmet İnönü, Hacı İsmail Akdağ, Kazım Dirik, Atatürk, 4 Eylül) during the school year in Bayındır. The reason for selecting different schools was to reach the largest amount of students in this town. The purpose of implementing the inquiry in all levels at grade schools was to show the difference in environmental awareness according to age groups. Data was also taken more or less equally from boys and girls in order to determine effect of the gender factor. The research was carried out by means of a questionnaire; the questions were prepared as closed-end. The questionnaire was given on May 2010, the last month of the educational year by which time first grade students had now learnt reading and writing. The questionnaires were given during classroom hours so that participants could express their thoughts without being affected by external factors. The main materials of the investigation were the students in the study area, questionnaires used to determine the individuals environmental awareness, and studies in the subject. In the assessment of the questionnaires, Microsoft Excel and SPSS software were used. The research method was applied in six stages: 34

4 Determination of sample size and inquiry regions, Deciding on method of inquiry, Preparation of questionnaire form, Preliminary testing of the form and amendment, Implementation of the questionnaire, Evaluation of answers to assess levels of environmental awareness. Determination of the Sample Size In descriptive investigations [12], at least 10% of the sample should be taken to determine the sample size. Therefore, based on a total of 2096 students at the aforementioned 6 schools, the sample size was 210. However, since the investigation was to be carried out in six different schools, it was decided to apply the inquiry to a random selection of 10 students from each classroom of each school. Thus, the number of students included became 480. The schools located in the research area were Fatih, İsmet İnönü, Hacı İsmail Akdağ, Kazım Dirik, Atatürk and 4 Eylül Grade Schools. Deciding on Method of Inquiry A questionnaire was used instead of standard forms [13]. It was decided to give the questionnaires during regular lesson hours in the classroom in order to let the participants express their thoughts without being affected by external factors. Preparation of the Questionnaire Form The questionnaire consisted of 15 questions to determine children s attitudes to environmental awareness. The questions were on the following subjects: separation of waste materials according to type, responsible use of natural resources, following media information on environmental issues, taking part in reforestation activities, sensitivity towards wildlife, love of nature, and attitudes towards people who damage the environment. 35

5 Preliminary Testing of the Form and Amendment First, the prepared questionnaire form was developed with experts in inquiry and environmental protection. The questions were intended for children aged 7-14 and so it was necessary to formulate appropriate questions for this age group with the help of experienced psychologists. The pre-questionnaires were implemented by means of an individual interview method on 40 students at Şehit Teğmen Murat Arslantürk Grade School. This school (in Bornova, Izmir) is similar to the ones in Bayındır both socio-economically and socio-culturally.the final questionnaire format was prepared after considering the results of working with this test group. Implementation of the Inquiry The inquiry was implemented randomly on Grade School students in Bayındır during their regular classroom hours. Evaluation of answers to assess levels of environmental awareness The questionnaire comprised fifteen questions which investigated student behaviour with regard to environmental awareness. The scale used in the determination of environmental behavior was prepared using the Likert technique. The Likert scale measures attitudes most easily and directly compared to other methods [14]. Because of its one-dimensional structure, it provides the measurement of all articles of the same behavior [15]. Thus, this type of scale enables us to determine the subjects opinions and their level of agreement with the specified proposition [14]. According to this technique, the scale can be arranged as a three or five proposition structure. Accordingly, students were expected to express their opinions about the propositions based on the three-point Likert scale as in 1=no, 2=sometimes, 3=yes. For all 15 propositions about environmental awareness, 0 is determined as the lowest and 100 as the highest score. When the scores are added up, the result gives the level of awareness. The higher the score, the higher the student s environmental awareness. The total scores for the schools were determined according to the average scores of their students. The schools level of awareness was determined by scaling the Environmental Awareness Score as; Very High = between , Above Average = between 70 84, Average = between 50 69, Below Average = between and Very Low = between

6 By taking [16] as a reference, definitions of school levels of environmental awareness are determined below: Very high : Schools that have the highest awareness. Above Average : Schools with above average level of awareness. Average : Schools with partial awareness of environment and nature protection; Below Average : Schools with below average levels of awareness; and Very Low : Schools that have the lowest awareness. In the statistical analysis of the study, t-test was applied to determine the effect of gender; Oneway ANOVA analysis and Bonferroni test were applied to determine the effect of the school and age; and Chi- Square test was applied for determination on the question basis [15][17][18]. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The inquiry was assessed under five headings: (1) Assessment of preliminary questionnaire: which subjects are most relevant to a lack of environmental awareness; (2) Assessment according to schools: how do changes in school management affect attitudes towards environmental issues; (3) Assessment of grade: How does sensitivity towards the environment change with age; (4) Assessment according to gender differences: the gender factor in sensitivity towards the environment. (5) General assessment: the education system itself, since it is the same in all 6 schools. Assessment of Questionnaire: In the preliminary evaluation of the questionnaire, it was thought that students who answered No had misunderstood the behavior mentioned in the proposition. While the answer Yes was seen as a positive attitude, it was concluded that the behavior in the question was practised regularly. The answer Sometimes was taken as an average attitude and assessed in the positive attitude category since it showed that students have a certain awareness and behave correctly from time to time, but sometimes do not. Therefore, in the enquiry into behavior which was not applied, only students who answered No 37

7 were followed up and assessed. The inquiry questions for this study and the rates of students answering No are shown in Table 1. Assessment of preliminary questionnaire; Concerning separation of waste, almost half the students (40.8%) stated that they did not have a positive attitude. This was because there was no adequate training about recycling and students had not been informed about it. In question 2 When you draw a picture, out of school hours, do you use both sides of the paper?, the No answers were (38.3%). In art classes at school, the teachers instruction to use only one side of the paper forms a habit among students. Thus, they continue this habit when drawing outside the classroom. Therefore it can be seen from the tables that paper wasting has one of the higher rates. Separating used batteries from other waste (25.2%) reveals that there has not been sufficient training on this matter. The rate of No answers (23.3%) given to question 4 Do you join re-forestation activities? can be seen as rather high, especially when one considers that Bayındır is one of the important plant producers in Turkey.This indicates that training on this point should be more effective in the future. Turning off a T.V. from the push-button instead of the remote control provides energy saving, and therefore less environmental pollution. However, the rate of No answers (20.2%), show that environmental training is needed here. According to the study, 18.1% of children prefer to play at home. This is thought to be rather high considering these areas are developed socio-culturally and socio-economically. Children who avoid playgrounds could possibly experience problems in socializing and thus could be young individuals who are insensitive to environmental problems. Question 7 about watching programs on environmental problems received No answers at a rate of 17.3%. The reason for this could have been the inadequate number of environmental T.V. programs aimed at children, or that the programs were not made attractive enough for children. Children showed good responses to Question 8, 9, 10, 12 and 13 about people who harm the environment and about sensitivity to wildlife (4.0% - 6.3% respectively). Question 11 Do you value your toys and use them for a long period of time? received a low rate of No answers, (5.4%). This rate should be much higher in these regions which are more developed socioculturally and socio-economically. Moderation in product consumption should be taught to students as part of their environmental training, and it should not be forgotten that as these consumer goods are thrown away, so environmental pollution increases. It was observed that children were most aware of water saving (0.6%) and saving electricity (1.5%). 38

8 Assessment According to Schools; The environmental awareness scores according to schools are shown in Table 2. All of the schools reached a level of Above average. İnönü Grade School was seen to be the most successful school in environmental awareness with a score.the close ranking results also show that school managements generally presented similar attitudes in terms of environmental awareness. According to grade classes Environmental awareness scores were determined according to grades as shown in Table 3 and Figure 1. Apart from 8 th grades, all the other grades levels were Above average, with 8 th grade s level as Average with a score of Until 3 rd grade, students environmental awareness scores increased continuously; after 4 th grade, their scores started to drop, and in the final year, 8 th grade, the scores were even lower than those of 1 st grade. When we considered environmental awareness from this point of view, 8 th graders were lower than the average school by scoring only Average (67.28 points) as opposed to the schools rate of Above average (75.51 points). The results confirmed the basic assumption There is a conspicuous lack of appropriate activities to develop environmental awareness in Grade Schools at each level. To explain the continuous decrease in environmental awareness after 3 rd grade, it was assumed that environmental awareness-raising activities had not been arranged according to age groups, or were simply not being effectively used in the education system. Thus it was understood that environmental training is needed and should be organized according to the age groups of students. According to gender; When the results were considered according to gender, it was observed that although girls had a higher score (76.68 points), there was no significant difference from the boys score (74.39 points) (Table 4). General Assessment; For each proposition 0 is the lowest, and 100 is the highest score. Since there was no student observed in the 0 30 point range, the evaluation range was from These levels are shown in Table 5. The level of environmental awareness in students at Bayındır s Grade Schools was determined as Above average with a score of The level of environmental awareness in Grade Schools in our research area was Above average ; 39

9 When we looked at the distribution of environmental awareness levels, we encountered unpredictable results. The existence of student groups of 1.7% rated as Below Average and 25% as Average, and only 23.5% as Very High, showed a need for an increase in environmental awareness levels (Fig 2). Thus it was assumed that a lack of certain environmental subjects in the education system had caused these results. CONCLUSION The research results showed that the higher the grades, the lower the environmental awareness (Fig. 1). Therefore, after the investigation ended, the study s working hypothesis that There is a significant lack in continuous enlightenment activities to increase environmental awareness in grade schools, could be clearly observed. This situation was a sign that class curricula were insufficient and that class content was not being prepared in accordance with age groups. Although, environmental awareness was seen to be not particularly low, it should have been higher considering the current climate of serious environmental issues. To increase the level of awareness in students, it was necessary to show that the environment and its problems were related to our daily life and way of thinking. Moreover, students were encouraged to believe that being an environmentalist was a humanitarian quality. Teachers can play an important role in educating their students about the environment. This is possible only when the teachers themselves have the necessary level of environmental awarenes. For this purpose, the government should introduce and enrich environmental education programmes for both in-service and pre-service teachers [5]. During the development process of students environmental awareness, formal training should be given and the results monitored in particular. Thus, developing an understanding of children s environmental attitudes and behavior becomes an essential component of providing well organized environmental education programs. Also, if we examine children and adolescents attitudes, concerns, and knowledge about the environment around them and throughout the world, we can have a better understanding of the direction we are heading in. Because today s youth is the future policy and decision maker, it is important to know what adolescents think and feel about the environment, where they learn about it, and how much they know. It is also important to learn the direct contributions they are making to sustain and support the environment. For this reason, it is vital that we examine the possible connection that adolescent environmental attitudes, knowledge, and self-efficiency have on environmental behavior [19]. As a result of early environmental training, children who are more aware would take over the role of informing their parents about the dangers of environmental damage. Hence, a better educated generation would be ready in the future and parents would also gain in awareness. Therefore, environmental training and education given in grade schools is of prime importance and must be taken seriously. Environmental training and education should not be confined to official speeches and opinions; such international developments must be considered in classes at appropriate levels according to age groups, but with an emphasis on ecology and environmental protection. 40

10 In order to increase environmental awareness it is suggested that several environmental projects should be implemented in view of the proposal that by determining the leisure pursuits and interests of children according to their ages, training the children during their recess period would help them to comprehend the subject more effectively. As a result of this investigation, Bayındır County Directorate of National Education were asked to reward the most successful school. This reward incentive was intended to increase motivation in students from other schools. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We would like to thank the following individuals and institutions below for their continuous support during our study; Alaattin AKTAŞ, District Governor, Bayındır County; Mehmet KERTİŞ, Municipality President, Bayındır County; Çetin SEVİNÇ, Bayındır County Directorate of National Education; Şahin SAKA, Manager, Bayındır Vocational High School; All school managers and teachers at the schools where the questionnaires were used; All students who participated in the inquiry study. Table 1. Inquiry Questions and Rate of Students Answering No "No" Answers Inquiry Questions Number of Students Student Rate (%) 1- When you throw rubbish away, do you separate glass bottles and newspapers for recycling? When you draw a picture, out of school hours, do you use both sides of the paper? Do you throw used batteries into recycling boxes instead of the dustbin? Do you take part in any re-forestation activities? Do you turn off the T.V. from the button on the set, instead of the remote control? Instead of playing at home, do you prefer playing in the park?

11 7- Do you watch programs about environmental problems on T.V.? If you see garbage on the ground, do you pick it up and throw it in the bin? Do you tell people off for damaging flowers in the park or gardens? Do you believe that all animals in nature should be protected? Do you value your toys and use them for a long period of time? Do you tell people off for littering? Do you tell smokers off for smoking in general? Do you turn off unnecessary lights? When brushing your teeth do you turn off the tap to prevent unnecessary water wastage? Table 2. Environmental awareness scores according to schools School Name Number Students of Environmental Awareness Score Fatih Grade School İ. İnönü Grade School H. İ. Akdağ Grade School K. Dirik Grade School Atatürk Grade School Eylül Grade School Total

12 Table 3. Environmental awareness scores according to grades. Grade Number Students of Environmental Awareness Score Total Table 4. Environmental awareness scores according to gender Gender Number of Students Environmental Awareness Score Girl Boy Total

13 International Journal of Agr. & Env. 2013[02] ISSN: Table 5. Environmental awareness level of students answering questionnaire Level of Environmental Number of Students Distribution by Rate (%) Awareness Very Low (0 29 point) Below Average (30-49 point) Average (50 69 point) Above Average (70 84 point) Very High ( point) Total ABOVE AVERAGE AVERAGE Fig. 1. Environmental awareness scores according to grades 44

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