Knowledge of ozone depletion and climate change: An empirical research from Russian pre-service teachers

Abstract

Pre-service teachers’ (PTs) knowledge about climate change issues is essential to a greater willingness to act on environmental problems. However, existing studies have not addressed knowledge of ozone layer depletion (OLD) and climate change among Russian PTs. To address this gap in the literature, this study examined Russian PTs’ knowledge of OLD and climate change. The results showed that most participants correctly had scientific knowledge about OLD and climate change. However, the results also showed that participants had misunderstood and inaccurate knowledge about the relationship between acid rain and the ozone layer, the role of carbon dioxide in ozone depletion, the impact of acid on the greenhouse effect (GE), and the impact of the GE on ultraviolet radiation, skin cancer risk, and radioactive waste. Furthermore, the findings revealed no significant differences in gender and major areas in knowledge of OLD and climate change. The results also showed that the media and the Internet were the primary sources of participants and significant differences between major and non-major science participants’ knowledge sources.