ABSTRACT:The present study reports on secondary school teacher's environmental attitude in India and Iran.One thousand and four teachers were selected through the stratified random sampling technique from 103 secondary schools of Mysore city (India) and Tehran city (Iran). Subjects consisted of 505 male and 499 females. They were assessed using the Taj Environmental Attitude Scale (TEAS) developed by Hasseen Taj (2001). Results revealed that there are significant differences between Indian and Iranian teachers in their level of environmental attitude. Also there are significant differences between them in environmental attitude across and within two groups with regard to their gender. Also in overall, type of school management (Government and private) is not a factor, which can affect teachers environmental attitude.
Purpose
Teachers can be regarded as key figures in climate change education (CCE). Therefore, the purpose of this study is assessment of Iranian lower secondary teachers? level of knowledge, attitudes and practices toward CCE in a less-touched-upon context.
Design/methodology/approach
The present study used a cross-sectional survey design, which used a specially designed questionnaire administered in ten high schools (five boys’ and five girls’ lower secondary schools). A sample of 108 lower secondary school teachers was selected through a multistage stratified random sampling technique. The gender structure of the sample was 48.1 per cent male and 51.9 per cent female subjects. To determine the status of teachers’ knowledge, attitudes and practices, the obtained quantitative data were classified into three categories on a scale of 100 per cent: good status (more than 75 per cent), moderate status (50-75 per cent) and weak status (less than 50 per cent).
Findings
The findings revealed that the involved teachers were equipped with an appropriate knowledge, i.e. 22.2 per cent good and 52.8 per cent moderate levels of knowledge. Furthermore, the subjects’ level of attitude was moderate (44.5 per cent); however, their level of practice was weak (52.8 per cent). In terms of gender, male subjects’ knowledge and attitude levels were higher than those of female subjects. However, female subjects reported higher levels of practice in comparison with male subjects. Overall, the results of this study highlighted the necessity of improving lower secondary teachers’ CCE in general and of the level of their attitudes and practices in particular.
Originality/value
The present study sheds more light on the change management and environmental education within the Iranian context. The results of this study accentuate the necessity of presenting more CCE programs for teachers. Furthermore, curriculum planners can take advantage of the obtained results to carry out curriculum reforms.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.