Relationship Between Environmental Knowledge and Environmental Attitude of High School Students

Abstract

High school students' environmental knowledge and attitudes were assessed from a questionnaire administered before and after exposure to a 10-day environmental science course. Results indicated significant differences in both knowledge gain and attitudes of students after exposure. Students' environmental knowledge scores increased by 22% after they completed the environmental science course. In addition, students' environmental attitudes became more environmentally favorable. A statistically significant correlation was found between pretest knowledge scores and pretest attitude scores and between posttest knowledge scores and posttest attitude scores. In both cases, students having higher knowledge scores had more favorable environmental attitudes compared with students with lower knowledge scores.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

J. M. Zajicek

Jennifer C. Bradley is with the Environmental Horticulture Department at the University of Florida, Gainesville; T. M. Waliczek is with the Department of Agriculture at Illinois State University in Normal; and J. M, Zajicek is with the Horticultural Sciences Department at Texas A&M University in College Station.