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Environmental Education and Student’s Perception, for Sustainability

Sustainability 2019, 11(6), 1553; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11061553

by Gratiela Dana Boca^1,* and Sinan Saraçlı^2,*

Reviewer 1: Anonymous

Reviewer 2: Anonymous

Sustainability 2019, 11(6), 1553; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11061553

Submission received: 9 February 2019 / Revised: 5 March 2019 / Accepted: 8 March 2019 / Published: 14 March 2019

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Education for Sustainability)

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

In the attachment you can find the review. In article are a lot of spelling errors I did not correct all of them.

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

Response to Reviewer 2 Comments

First of all I l would like to say Thank you for your attention and patience to read, verify and give us suggestions.

Point 1: The paper does not sufficiently describe the methodology or findings in a scientifically appropriate way

Response 1:

3.1. Correlations between items

Transferring the data base and using Lisrel 8.7 program, it was possible to model and establish the correlation between concerns about environment (CE), culture environment (CUE), warning (W) and volunteer (V) as we can see from Figure 2,

The values are positive and the strongest connection exist between concern and culture environment with a value equal with 0, 86 and the lowest value of -0, 01 it is between environment concern and their desire to practice volunteer activity V The concern about environmental problems CE has an equal influence of 0,79 between students participation (P) and their warnings (W).

Figure 2. Correlation between importance of environment IE and concern about environment CE

Figure 3, present the correlation between students culture (CUE), participation (P), warnings (W) and volunteers actions (V) with reuse factor (R).

Figure 3. Correlation between student’s environmental behavior and Reuse

The results for Romanian students show that they have a strong culture because they have a strong environmental education. Correlation between culture environment (CUE) and student’s participation in reuse (R) activities obtain a value of 0.12.

Even the students have environmental knowledge’s and culture about environment their recyclers attitude is due primarily to the lack of collection centers around the household, or even if they know they are saying it would prevent them from collecting selectively, according to the study. Another reason of respondents is because they did not trust the responsible authorities, being convinced that garbage collected also reached the landfill or they do not know where there are containers for separate collection. The low value obtains the R2 recycle bags and R4 renew materials maybe because the new harmonization of market with the international standards needs time and it is very hard to change student’s mentality.

A low value of -0,16 it is for the correlation between students participation (P) and reuse factor (R), the result of study show us that students dont like to participate to reuse actions even they know there are intelligent containers in the city they are wating the issue vouchers or they are thinking it is not their duty to do that.

Another lowest value of -0,07 was obtain for the warning factor (W) and reuse (R), the respondents don’t know and they are not interested about the harm and health problems and they are not aware of the harmful action of waste, The bigger value of 0, 64 it is between volunteer (V) and reuse factor (R). a value of connection between the dynamic generation involved in cleaning activities, protecting the nature, changing the life style, beeing green.

The bigger value for V volunteer factor between the item V1-V9 was obtain by ‘’I will use products produced from non-renewable resources like underground oil, coal, natural gas and mines in an economical manner because we will be unable to replace them with new resources’’ which show us a generation open to new vision and to became new citizens.

The values are appropriate so the behavior is to a high level. V (Volunteer) and R( Reuse)=0.64 the highest value which show the implication of students in recycling activities and for Reuse variable the biggest value was obtain by item R1 =0,64 , students are informed and they are buying ecological products even if the price is higher.

The article bring new information and the results in the international state of research are

-romanian students have a high score for environmental behavior EB espeacially for volunteer activities V;

-they have culture about environment CUE but they dont like to be invlve in direct activities like R reuse in special place, sepecial selection they consider that there are payed person for that;

- they are deeply involve in colunteer activities so they dont like to be push or force to do their citizen duty.

Point 2: More details on methods and materials are required and need reference to the statistical processing of data.

Response 2: Materials and Methods

Taking in consideration the literature and researches, the study was necessary because we want to know what students from Romania should know and what they should be able to do in their daily activities and their behavior in and with environment. For that reason the survey structure the environment in: individual environment, external environment and social environment and has 31 questions and four factors to identify the students profile and characteristics. In total 358 students enrolled in North Center University of Baia Mare, Romania give the feed-back to the environment perception and implication, attitude and their environmental behavior .

The survey created to collect the research data comprised four sections. In the first section, we try to identify the personal information and charateristicss using four questions (gender, age, student level of education and family education), in the second section, we try to measure students’ perceptions (A1-A20 questions) in the third section we try to identify students environmental attitude (volunteer, protection nature activities, warning) and their perception upon recycle phenomen (B1-B4 questions) and the last section students answer to the questions about their concerns about environmental behavior with the feed back on environmental education (C1-C7 questions).

To obtain more informations about the influence of environmental education between students we re-organized the 35 questions in function of 7 variables which can measure the environmental behavior and attitude.

2.1. Sample and Measurement tool

To measure the student’s environmental education towards environment, a Likert scale type questionnaire, ranging from 1 ‘not agree’ to 5 ‘totally agree’ is applied on a face-to-face basis. To determine the dimensions of the environmental education and identify students implication, behavior and commitment an Explanatory Factor Analysis (EFA) is applied to data set. By independent samples t test the hypothesis were tested using the SPSS statistical analyses software. Lisrel 8.7 program was used to establish the connection and correlation between variables.

Point 3.References are limited and in some instances the relation from the text to the indicated reference is not clear.

Response 3:

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Point 4. Update sources of literature (only 2 from 2017-2018) all the rest old and outdated

Response 4: done Response 3

Point 5. .FIG 2: Unclear, It is not clear what the pictures contribute to understanding the text.

Response 5: Conclusion

The higher education has the potential to deal with different actors from external and internal environmental issues. Universities can use their infrastructure and expertise in a positive way to achieve sustainable support in collaboration with education institutes and center of research. They can help to suport and sustain an environmental education and educate people about environment, to develop a green society in conlusion they are playing a crucial role in sustainable development. Because environment and education coexist with sustainable development, they can influence the way institutions define and put in practice environmental education.

Environmental education must be adapted and harmonize with the new environmental, political, economic, and cultural realities.

Taking in consideration the students attitude and their behavior regarding the environment, the possible factors: importance of environment, concerning about environment, culture environment, participation and volunteer action, warning and recycling influence can also make some changes following and guiding principles for environmental education.

The support for sustainable development it is presented in Figure 3, where in author’s vision education can be for environment (lectures, good practice), education in environment (trips, planting tree, cleaning water) and education about environment (sea disaster, storm, climate changes) and education to environment.

Universities in our case must to be sure that all the dimensions in, for, about and to environment are given in a proper balance information’s and also give them the opportunity about national and global environment problems and have the capacity to understand and prevent the actions which can harm the environment. The research results for environmental education and some suggestions proposed by authors are presented in Figure 3.:

1. Environmental education in Environment

Teachers institutions should adapt their curricula cultivating a new type of education to induce to students passion for environmental education by and abilities and labs and development their service and practical exercises in nature, for example learn about plants and the seasons influence on environment attitude and behavior activities of society, cleaning actions in parks, river, recycling the garbage from touristic roads, plant as practical lessons and the influence of different external factors of influence. Creativity can be use to create from garbage some state of art fashion, art painting or design architecture.

Figure 3. Education for Sustainable development

2. Environmental education for Environment encouraging the student’s universities which is considers as a pillar and support in environmental education to encourage the new citizen in different actions. Encourage students to create and keep their own shape of internal environment (university campus) because majority of time they spent at school and it is their learning space. So they can use non polluted energy for example solar and wind energy, they can use green letter.

3. Environmental education about Environment -deeper discussions to re-clarify, to criticizes and to compare some facts or attitudes towards nature and environment , trainings about some specific situation and the solution taken to protect and preserved the environment for future, case study presentation and mass media presentation of disaster and solutions taken to prevent the situation, create a on-line group and volunteer activities between universities and a cross cultural evaluation of environmental problems.

4. Environmental education to Environment students can be encourage to sustain their opinions, to respond to environmental problems in daily life, to express free their opinions and personal ideas, to be involved in critical situation and to find solutions in limit situations. Here we can use the online platforms or to create the virtual environment and identify solutions or modeling some space or habitats for risk situation and develop the ethics and effects upon environment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

The idea of this paper is interesting.

Please change accordingly:

1.The paper does not sufficiently describe the methodology or findings in a scientifically appropriate way

2. More details on methods and materials are required and need reference to the statistical processing of data.

3.References are limited and in some instances the relation from the text to the indicated reference is not clear.

4. Update sources of literature (only 2 from 2017-2018) all the rest old and outdated

5.FIG 2: Unclear, It is not clear what the pictures contribute to understanding the text.

Author Response

Response to Reviewer Comments

First of all I lwould like to say Thank you for your attention and patience to read, verify and give us suggestions.