An understanding of environmental concepts and issues among grade 10-12 students from urban and rural schools

Abstract

Several researchers have noted that the knowledge and awareness of students with regard to environmental concepts and issues are at a low level. The assumption is that pupils from urban schools are more knowledgeable about environmental concepts and issues than those from rural schools. The major aim of this study is to assess the knowledge and understanding of Grade 10-12 students about selected environmental concepts and issues such as population, ozone layer, green house effect, and acid rain. Another aim of this study is to find out whether there is any difference between the knowledge and awareness of Grade 10-12 students to environmental issues with regard to the location of their schools. This study was conducted at four secondary schools. The study involved the use of questionnaire, observation of the school settings and discussions with some students. It was found that students' knowledge and awareness of environmental issues are limited and that students from schools in urban areas had better scores than students from schools in rural areas. The results indicate that the majority of students have low levels of environmental knowledge.