American Journal of Environment and Sustainable Development
Articles Information
American Journal of Environment and Sustainable Development, Vol.4, No.2, Jun. 2019, Pub. Date: May 27, 2019
Assessment of Environmental Knowledge, Attitude and Behavior Among Undergraduates in a Southern Nigerian University
Pages: 68-76 Views: 1346 Downloads: 545
Authors
[01] Ibanga Ekong, Department of Community Health, University of Uyo, Uyo, Nigeria.
[02] Charles Nya, Health Centre, Akwa Ibom University, Ikot Akpaden, Nigeria.
Abstract
With an obvious trend towards an increase in awareness of existing and emerging critical issues in the environment due to man’s numerous activities which exposes the planet earth to threats of climatic changes and the respective consequences, this study aimed to determine how much young people know, their attitude and behavior towards environmental issues with a view to making recommendations to relevant policy makers. It was conducted among undergraduates in a southern Nigerian university using a cross-sectional approach. There was a near-uniform gender distribution of the respondents. Reasonable level of knowledge about the environmental was reported by a little over two-fifths (43.9%) of the respondents, with the electronic media being their major (77.1%) source of information. Most of the respondents were enthusiastic towards the environment; would care about deforestation of the rainforest; would do their best to protect their environment; would be willing to educate their friends and relations on the use of natural resources; and strongly agreed that environmental education should be incorporated into the secondary school curriculum. In conclusion, a moderate level of environmental knowledge and attitude has been demonstrated in this study which has shown a need for families to actively seek information on environmental sustainability, and for government to incorporate sustainable environmental education into the school curriculum.
Keywords
Environment, Undergraduates, Knowledge, Attitude, Behavior
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