Knowledge and Attitudes Regarding Sea Turtles in Elementary Students on Zakynthos, Greece

Dimopoulos, Dimitrios; Pantis, John D.

doi:10.1080/00958960309603491

Cited by 32 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…On the contrary, the students demonstrated an extremely low level of environmental knowledge. Researchers have reported similar findings of limited environmental knowledge paralleling positive environmental attitudes in studies of elementary school children (Dimopoulos & Pantis, 2003), secondary school students (Hausebeck, Milbrath, & Enright, 1992;Kuhlemeier, Bergh, & Lagerweij, 1999), college and university students (Shean & Shei, 1995), and teachers (Aini, Fakhru'l-Razi, Laily, & Jariah, 2003). One explanation for the gap between knowledge and attitudes may be normative influences, or, expressed attitudes reflecting not true values but the influence of social desirability (La Trobe & Acott, 2000;Newhouse, 1991;Schindler, 1999).…”

Section: Environmental Attitudes and Knowledge Of Beginning Studentsmentioning

confidence: 79%

Environmental Literacy in Teacher Training: Attitudes, Knowledge, and Environmental Behavior of Beginning Students

Pe'er

Goldman

Yavetz

2007

The Journal of Environmental Education

252

133

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The authors report the environmental attitudes and knowledge of 765 1st-year students in 3 teacher-training colleges in Israel and examine the relationship between these variables and background factors and their relationship to environmental behavior. Although the students' environmental knowledge was limited, their overall attitudes toward the environment were positive. The authors found a positive relationship between the environmental knowledge and environmental attitudes of the students and the level of their mothers' education. Students majoring in fields related to the environment were more knowledgeable and had more environment-oriented attitudes in comparison with other students. The authors discuss the relationship between knowledge, attitudes, and behavior and the influence of background factors on the students' environmental literacy.

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Section: Environmental Attitudes and Knowledge Of Beginning Studentsmentioning

confidence: 79%

Environmental Literacy in Teacher Training: Attitudes, Knowledge, and Environmental Behavior of Beginning Students

Pe'er

Goldman

Yavetz

2007

The Journal of Environmental Education

252

133

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“…The evaluation instrument consisted of a questionnaire that we designed for the purpose of the study (Dimopoulos & Pantis, 2003). Questionnaires are particularly well suited to measuring knowledge, understanding, and thinking skills (Bennett, 1984).…”

Section: Evaluation Instrumentmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Cognitive and Attitudinal Effects of a Conservation Educational Module on Elementary School Students

Dimopoulos

Paraskevopoulos

Pantis

2008

The Journal of Environmental Education

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The ability of the National Marine Park of Zakynthos (NMPZ) in Greece to protect an important sea turtle rookery will ultimately depend on the level of local support and involvement that it receives. Therefore, it is essential for environmental educators to generate among local inhabitants, starting at early ages, positive attitudes concerning the NMPZ. The authors designed a conservation educational module, with 15 activities, to affect knowledge and attitudes of elementary school students. The authors used a quasi-experimental design for summative evaluation with a pretest-posttest control and experimental group to measure the effects on 4 dependent variables: (a) knowledge, (b) understanding and concern, (c) locus of control, and (d) verbal commitment. The survey instrument comprised 32 items that the authors divided into 4 subscales that measured the dependent variables. In total, 332 elementary school students-162 girls and 170 boys, 11-13 years of age-from 21 classes and 15 schools participated. The results indicated a significant effect on knowledge (low pretest scores), but not on attitudes (high pretest scores). However, posttest correlations in the experimental group indicated that as knowledge level increased, students' (a) locus of control and (b) understanding and concern for the sea turtle issue became more defensible. The study thus provides a model for environmental educators to design conservation education modules to foster positive attitudes in managing endangered species in protected areas.

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“…People's attitudes are shaped by many factors, including demographic factors (e.g., age, gender, nationality, education), internal factors (e.g., beliefs, perceptions, individual values), and external factors (e.g., institutional, economic, tradition, culture) [14]. For example, it is recognized that a high degree of knowledge and understanding about the environment can lead to positive attitudes toward it [15]. Thus, having a good understanding of people's attitudes toward the different components of their environment, and of the factors that shape such attitudes, becomes a necessary step in integrative context-specific conservation programs in human-dominated landscapes [16][17][18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Attitudes and Knowledge of Shade-Coffee Farmers Towards Vertebrates and Their Ecological Functions

López-del-Toro

Andresen

Barraza

et al. 2009

Tropical Conservation Science

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The purpose of this study was to assess farmers' attitudes, as well as perceptions and knowledge that shape those attitudes, toward the ecological role of vertebrates inhabiting shaded-coffee farms. We also aimed to determine whether differences existed among two groups of farmers: one that had attended environmental education workshops, and one that had not. We conducted 36 oral interviews of farmers in the region of Cuetzalan, Mexico. All farmers were members of an important regional cooperative, Tosepan Titataniske. In general, farmers' attitudes towards birds were positive. Snakes were perceived as useful but dangerous animals. Attitudes towards nonflying mammals were mostly indifferent. Bats were poorly understood and badly perceived. Seed dispersal was perceived as an important ecological function performed by animals. Pollination was also perceived as important, but to a lesser degree. Knowledge about ecological functions was high for seed dispersal, and low for pollination. We found a positive correlation between attendance of educational workshops and the presence of "environmentally-friendly" attitudes, perceptions, and knowledge. However, a cause-effect relationship could not be clearly established. We suggest that environmental education programs include the objective of increasing the knowledge of people about the ecological functions played by different groups of animals that live in agroecosystems. Particular efforts should be directed toward improving the way in which certain non-charismatic groups of animals, such as bats, are perceived.Key Words: Agroecosystem, animal conservation, ecosystem services, environmental education, perceptions. ResumenEl propósito de este estudio fue evaluar las actitudes de agricultores, así como las percepciones y los conocimientos que moldean dichas actitudes, hacia el papel ecológico que juegan los vertebrados en los cafetales de sombra. Asimismo se quiso determinar si existían diferencias entre dos grupos de agricultores: uno que había asistido a talleres de educación ambiental, y otro que no. Realizamos 36 entrevistas orales a agricultores en la región de Cuetzalan, México. Los agricultores eran miembros de una cooperativa regional: Tosepan Titataniske. Las actitudes hacia las aves fueron muy positivas. Las serpientes fueron percibidas como animales útiles, pero peligrosos. Las actitudes hacia los mamíferos no voladores fueron mayormente indiferentes. Los murciélagos fueron poco conocidos y mal percibidos. La dispersión de semillas fue percibida como una función importante realizada por los animales. La polinización también fue percibida como importante, pero en menor escala. El conocimiento sobre las funciones ecológicas fue alto para la dispersión de semillas y bajo para la polinización. Encontramos una correlación positiva entre la asistencia a los talleres educativos y la presencia de actitudes, percepciones y conocimientos "ambientalmente amigables". Sin embargo, no se pudo establecer claramente una relación de causa-efecto. Sugerimos que los progr...

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Knowledge and Attitudes Regarding Sea Turtles in Elementary Students on Zakynthos, Greece

Cited by 32 publications

References 49 publications

Environmental Literacy in Teacher Training: Attitudes, Knowledge, and Environmental Behavior of Beginning Students

Environmental Literacy in Teacher Training: Attitudes, Knowledge, and Environmental Behavior of Beginning Students

The Cognitive and Attitudinal Effects of a Conservation Educational Module on Elementary School Students

Attitudes and Knowledge of Shade-Coffee Farmers Towards Vertebrates and Their Ecological Functions

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