Modelling environmental literacy with environmental knowledge, values and (reported) behaviour

Abstract

Environmental literacy integrates the variables cognitive knowledge, environmental values and ecological behaviour. We used three factors in our study: the first includes item-sets monitoring system-, action-related and effectiveness knowledge; the second examined the “Two Major Environmental Value model (2-MEV)“; and the third analysed General Ecological Behaviour (GEB) via an established behaviour scale. All participants were Greek sixth graders (N = 223, M = 11.7, SD ± 1.3, 49.8 % = males). Results of the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) indicated a linear relationship between environmental knowledge and values (ξ = 0.69, p > .001), values and (reported) behaviour (ξ = 0.80, p > .001), as well as between environmental knowledge and (reported) behaviour (ξ = 0.37, p = .001). We primarily used the theoretical environmental literacy model to holistically evaluate environmental education instead of applying isolated sales.