Undergraduates’ Perception, Knowledge and Attitudes Towards Global Warming in Ekiti State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined perception, knowledge and attitude towards global warming among undergraduates in Ekiti State, Nigeria. The descriptive research survey design was adopted in this study. The population consisted of all undergraduates in all the Universities in Ekiti State. The sample for this study comprised of 600 undergraduates which were selected from the three universities in Ekiti State. The sample was selected through multistage sampling procedure. A questionnaire designed by the researchers tagged “Global Warming Questionnaire (GWQ)” was used to collect relevant data for the study. The face and content validity of the instrument was determined by specialists in Social Studies and Tests and Measurement experts. The reliability of the instrument was ensured through test re-test method of reliability. The scores of the two tests were correlated using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient Analysis. The correlation coefficient of 0.82 was obtained which was good enough to make the instrument reliable. The responses obtained were collated and analysed using descriptive inferential statistics. The study revealed that the perception of global warming was good, knowledge was high while attitude was positive among undergraduates. It was also found that there was no significant relationship between perception and attitude towards global warning likewise between knowledge and attitude towards global warning among undergraduates. It was therefore recommended that curriculum planners should ensure periodic review of tertiary institution curriculum by updating new trends on global warming into the school curriculum so that undergraduates can be well-informed of fresh information associated with global warming.