Environmental Literacy Level Comparison of Undergraduates in the Conventional and ODLs Universities in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Developing positive attitudes by upgrading the environmental literacy level is very important to protect nature from anthropogenic pressures. This study evaluates existing knowledge, awareness, attitude and behavior, perceived issues, and solutions of undergraduates on major environmental issues of two national universities with different teaching methods of the Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL: open distance learning) and the University of Peradeniya (UP: conventional). A questionnaire survey (29 structured and 04 open-ended items) was adapted with 800 undergraduates of engineering, science, management, law, and arts/ social sciences disciplines. We computerized descriptive statistics, such as frequency and cross-tabulation, and mean comparison using the SPSS software. The results showed that there was no significant difference (p > 0.05) of existing environmental knowledge in undergraduates of two universities. However, there was a significant difference in undergraduates’ family income (F = 5.387, p < 0.001) and family educational background (p < 0.05) with environmental knowledge. School education played a main role in building environmental concepts for undergraduates. The environmental attitude and behavior of both student groups showed a fairly favorable status. The majority of respondents suggested that TV and radio were the most effective media for environmental awareness. Undergraduates of the OUSL and UP were more interested in “tree planting”/ “gardening” (22.7%) and “hiking (mountain climbing)” (25.7%), respectively. Both OUSL and UP groups recognized “global warming” as the major global environmental issue and air pollution as the local issue. This study highlights the importance of building environmental knowledge among undergraduates, mainly on global and local environmental issues, to improve sustainable environment management.

Differences in behavior, engagement and environmental knowledge on waste management for science and social students through the campus program

“…It also results in increased awareness of problems which enables individuals to take action to protect the environment (Bamberg and M€ oser, 2007). Furthermore, knowledge about waste management or environmental problems depends on the field of study that students have and is also added to their existing experience (Kuruppuarachchi et al, 2021). Therefore, it was concluded that the knowledge of each student has an effect on the waste management process, and the hypothesis is formulated as follows:…”

“…The research results state that science students knowledge who take compulsory science courses significantly influence students' environmental knowledge (El et al, 2019;Gokmenogle et al, 2011). Meanwhile, for social science students, environmental knowledge in the form of practical knowledge they get from daily experience in a community environment naturally encourages physical activity to protect the environment (Kuruppuarachchi et al, 2021), and the material taught is related to sociology and the environment (Porcelli and Besek, 2021). A study states that environmental knowledge is highly correlated with attitudes and responsibilities when students are involved in outdoor activities (Teksoz and Sahin, 2012).…”

“…Another study by He et al (2011) on environmental knowledge, attitudes, and behavior among students highlights that the lack of factual knowledge, lack of understanding complete knowledge of global issues, or knowledge of waste management has led to a low number of correct responses. A study revealed by Kuruppuarachchi et al (2021) states that there are differences in general environmental knowledge from various disciplines, so more attention needs to be given, especially for students with non-science disciplines. Further explanation of how the involvement, behavior, and knowledge of the environment needs to be researched will be explained in the next paragraph.…”

Environmental Education: A Correlational Study among Environmental Literacy, Disaster Knowledge, Environmental Sensitivity, and Clean-Living Behavior of Post Tsunami Disaster in Aceh Communities, Indonesia

“…Some other studies reported that the students' environmental behavior needs to be improved by working together in the community [41]. There is a positive correlation between energy-saving behavior and greenhouses, although enormous changes need to be made in human behavioral patterns based on the environment [42]. Based on the literature review, environmental cleanliness behavior, especially in the Indonesian communities, also needs to be determined.…”

Environmental Literacy Research: Global Scientometric Mapping of Five Decades

“…6 Environmental literacy refers to people's environmental knowledge, positive environmental values and attitudes, as well as the motivation and skills, and dedication needed to help solve environmental challenges 7 Increasing environmental literacy at all stages of life will result in a shift in mind-set and subsequent behaviours or actions on the part of individuals, ultimately protecting the entire globe. 8 Cognitive and affective skills, the ability to collaborate with others, the development of communication skills, the understanding of complex information, the analysis and application of such information to new situations, and the acquisition of higher-level skills to develop psychomotor capabilities are all examples of EL skills. 6 Increasing pre-service teachers' environmental literacy and competency so that when they become professional teachers, who can plan and implement active environmental accomplishments in their teaching.…”