Investigating the Role of Environmental Education on Responsible Environmental Behavior of Students at the Campus of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, Faculty of Agricultural Economics and Development, , University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran

2 Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, Faculty of Economy and Agricultural Development, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran

3 Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, Faculty of Agricultural Economics and Development, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran

Abstract

Higher education institutions are expected to provide appropriate education to raise the necessary awareness for changing students' attitudes and behaviors in support of the environment. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the role of environmental education on the responsible environmental behavior of students at the Campus of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran. The statistical population of this study consisted of agricultural students at the Campus of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, among whom 97 students (30 in the control group and 67 in the experimental group) participated. The data collection instrument was a researcher-made questionnaire based on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = very low; 5 = very high), which was completed by agricultural students in two phases (before and after the educational intervention). The reliability of the research instrument was calculated and confirmed using 30 questionnaires completed by agricultural students outside the participant sample, with a Cronbach's alpha value of 0.86. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS version 25. The results of the Mann–Whitney U test indicated that before the educational intervention, there was no significant difference in the mean score of responsible environmental behavior between the control and experimental groups. However, after the intervention, a significant difference was observed between the mean scores of the two groups, with the experimental group demonstrating more favorable responsible environmental behavior in terms of mean score. Furthermore, the results showed no significant difference in the mean score of responsible environmental behavior in the control group before and after the educational intervention. In contrast, the experimental group showed a significant difference in the mean score of responsible environmental behavior before and after the intervention, indicating that the educational intervention improved the responsible environmental behavior of the experimental group. Therefore, it is recommended that attention be paid to the importance and role of environmental education in improving the responsible environmental behavior of individuals in society, particularly agricultural students who will have greater interaction with nature in the future. Accordingly, courses aimed at promoting responsible environmental behavior should be incorporated into the students' curriculum.

Keywords

Extended Abstract

Objective

 Today, Iran is facing many environmental problems. Various factors play a role in the occurrence of these problems, which can be generally classified into two categories: natural factors and human factors. Due to the human origin of many factors causing contemporary environmental crisis, the best way to change human behavior. On the other hand, one of the powerful tools for changing environmental behavior is environmental education. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the general purpose of investigating the role of educational intervention on environmentally responsible behavior of agricultural students. The importance of this research is that policy makers and planners will become more familiar with the role and importance of environmental education in the development of environmental behaviors. It also provides a basis for similar future research into the role of environmental education in improving and developing environmental behaviors in different societies.

 

Methods

The present quantitative research is quasi-experimental in terms of applied purpose and in terms of data collection method and is a pre-test-post-test with a control group. The statistical sample of the study included 97 agricultural students of the Campus of Agriculture and Natural Resources of the University of Tehran who voluntarily participated in this study and were divided in two groups of control (30 people) and test (67 people). First, both groups were pretested. Then environmental training was applied for 6 sessions and each session with 65 minutes was applied only for the experimental group. After one month, post-test was performed to evaluate the effect of the educational intervention on responsible environmental. In this study, the data were analyzed using SPSSV25 software by using descriptive statistics and Mann-Whitney test.

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Results and Discussion

Based on the analysis of the collected data, before the educational intervention, no significant difference was observed between the mean score of responsible behavior of the control and experimental groups, but after the educational intervention, the mean score of environmentally responsible behavior showed a significant difference between the two groups. The control group had a higher mean score of responsible environmental behavior. Therefore, it can be concluded that through environmental education, environmentalist behaviors can be improved among agricultural students who will be more connected to nature in the future, and in this way, action will be taken to protect and prevent environmental degradation. According to these results and evidence reported in previous research, it is suggested that Through environmental education and funding, the appropriate infrastructure and place to provide formal and informal environmental education to strengthen the culture of different segments of society in the field of responsible environmental behaviors. Also, in the curriculum of agricultural students, should be put courses that related to environmental education.

 

Author Contributions

The second author was responsible for conducting the interviews and preparing the literature review and theoretical framework, whereas all other tasks were performed by the first author.

 

Data Availability Statement

“Not applicable”

 

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank all participants of the present study. The Directorate of Research and Technology at the University of Tehran has also supported this research, which is highly acknowledged.

 

Ethical considerations

The authors avoided data fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, and misconduct.

 

Conflict of interest

The author declares no conflict of interest.

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