Assessment of the Level of Knowledge of Climate Change of Undergraduate Science and Agriculture Students

Nabeel Mohammad Gazzaz,Bassam A Aldeseet

doi:10.5430/wje.v11n5p41

Abstract

Introduction of climate change (CC) courses in universities is critical for helping future generations and leaders in recognizing the global challenges of CC and finding ways for adapting with it. People's knowledge of CC can influence success of any planned CC mitigation and adaptation programs and activities. Thereupon, it is vital for environmental planners and researchers to conduct regular assessments of this knowledge to determine need for curriculum reform, if any. This study was conducted to assess the level of CC knowledge of undergraduate physical science and agricultural science students in Jarash University, Jordan. The study used specifically-designed Climate Change Knowledge Test (CCKT) as the data collection tool. Population of the study was undergraduate science and agriculture students enrolled in the Faculty of Agriculture and Science. The study sample consisted of 285 students, comprising 103 science students and 182 agriculture students. The results indicate that the sample students have high levels of knowledge of the nature, causes, and effects of CC. However, on the average, a higher number of the sample students posses knowledge of effects of CC (n = 223, % = 79.3%) than its nature (209, 73.5%) and causes (190, 66.9%). Additionally, it was found that the female students have higher levels of overall CC knowledge than their male peers and that the agriculture students possess higher levels of CC knowledge than their science peers. These results emphasize the need for curriculum review and reform to ensure equipping the university graduates with comprehensive knowledge of CC.

Highlights

1.1 Definition of Climate ChangeClimate is commonly described as the average weather, where weather is state of the atmosphere at a specific point of time (Frigg, Thompson, & Wernd, 2015)
Owing to that the undergraduate university students are the future leaders of their countries and since the young adults usually have longer life span and are, more vulnerable than others to the long-term effects of climate change (CC), their knowledge of this topic is of substantial interest
The findings suggest that the physical science and agricultural science students in the Faculty of Agriculture and Science (FAS) do, in general, possess high knowledge of the CC issues addressed by this study, but still need an improved education to effectively participate in future education and knowledge dissemination efforts and CC response initiatives

Summary

Introduction

1.1 Definition of Climate ChangeClimate is commonly described as the average weather, where weather is state of the atmosphere at a specific point of time (Frigg, Thompson, & Wernd, 2015). The National Academies (2008) defined climate as "the long-term average of weather conditions, such as temperature, cloudiness, and precipitation" and clarified that "trends in these conditions for decades or longer are a primary measure of climate change." Hulme et al (2009) defined climate as measurement of the average and the variability of appropriate quantities of specific variables (e.g., precipitation, wind direction, wind speed, and temperature) over a certain period of time In this context, the traditional period for averaging of the weather variables is 30 years (Hulme et al, 2009; Koutsoyiannis, 2021). The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) defined Climate Change as "a change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability

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