The Impact of Ecological Civilization Theory on University Students' Pro-environmental Behavior: An Application of Knowledge-Attitude-Practice Theoretical Model.

Kuan Wang,Lu Zhang

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.681409

Abstract

In environmental education, environmental knowledge is considered to be one of the most important factors affecting university students’ pro-environmental behavior. First, in this paper, the ecological civilization theory (ECT) was understood as a new kind of environmental knowledge. Based on this, a new theoretical model for analyzing the relationships among environmental knowledge, environmental attitude, and environmental behavior was designed in this paper according to ECT and the Knowledge-Attitude-Practice (KAP) theoretical model. Second, from the perspective of students, a questionnaire was designed for students according to ECT, so as to understand the level of ECT of students. On this basis, an empirical test of the relationship between the ECT level, pro-environmental attitude level, and pro-environmental behavior level was carried out. This research shows that ECT as environmental knowledge is as important as science-oriented environmental knowledge (SEK) in environmental education. As a result, the role of environmental knowledge in environmental education should not be ignored but environmental knowledge should be enriched by adding ECT to the environmental knowledge system and improving the environmental knowledge education curriculum, contributing to environmental education in China.

Highlights

In recent years, not much has improved in the Chinese ecological environment, which has attracted the attention of the Chinese government to formulate systematic environmental protection strategies and policies, design environmental education programs, and encourage university students’ pro-environmental behavior (Wang et al, 2021).Ecological Civilization on Pro-Environmental BehaviorIt is widely agreed that current human behavior has a negative impact on the natural environment (Edgell and Nowell, 1989; IPCC, 2014)
We will present the details of our confirmatory test of the theoretically anticipated relations between environmental knowledge (SEK and ecological civilization theory (ECT)), pro-environmental attitude, and pro-environmental behavior
This paper studies and analyzes the relationship between environmental knowledge, environmental attitude, and environmental behavior of university students, and puts forward that the theory of ecological civilization can be studied as a kind of environmental knowledge that can affect pro-environmental attitude and pro-environmental behavior

Summary

Introduction

Not much has improved in the Chinese ecological environment, which has attracted the attention of the Chinese government to formulate systematic environmental protection strategies and policies, design environmental education programs, and encourage university students’ pro-environmental behavior (Wang et al, 2021).Ecological Civilization on Pro-Environmental BehaviorIt is widely agreed that current human behavior has a negative impact on the natural environment (Edgell and Nowell, 1989; IPCC, 2014). Not much has improved in the Chinese ecological environment, which has attracted the attention of the Chinese government to formulate systematic environmental protection strategies and policies, design environmental education programs, and encourage university students’ pro-environmental behavior (Wang et al, 2021). Avenues for increasing pro-environmental behavior are required. Environmental education can serve as a critical tool in increasing pro-environmental behavior as it strives toward the goal of environmental protection (Potter, 2009; Ariffin and Wan, 2017). Environmental education is the comprehensive education of environmental knowledge, environmental attitude, and ecological behavior. Environmental education is regarded as an indispensable requirement if we want to increase pro-environmental behavior and protect the natural environment successfully (Fortner and Teates, 1980; Michelsen and Fischer, 2017)

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Results

Conclusion