Lebanese Secondary School Students' Environmental Knowledge and Attitudes

Abstract

This study aimed to (a) assess Lebanese secondary school students' environmental knowledge and attitudes, and (b) explore the relationship between participants' knowledge and attitudes, biographical and academic variables, and commitment to environmental friendly behavior. Participants were 660 grade 10 and grade 11 students. They were administered a questionnaire to assess their environmental knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, affect, and intentions, and commitment to environmental friendly behaviors. Results showed that participants had favorable attitudes toward the environment but lacked in their environmental knowledge. Environmental knowledge was significantly related to parental education level, and to participants' environmental attitude, beliefs, affect, and behavioral commitments. These correlations, however, were low ( r =.17 to .33) indicating a definite but rather small relationship between these variables. By comparison, participants' scores on the behavior subscale were significantly and substantially correlated with their environmental affect ( r =.45) and intentions ( r =.46) suggesting that environmental intentions and affect might serve as good predictors of commitment to environmental friendly behavior.