Environmental Awareness, Attitude and Perception of Senior Secondary School Students In Onitsha Onitsha South Local Government Area Of Anambra State, Nigeria

Abstract

Awareness is crucial to accelerating positive human behaviours towards the environment. This study assessed the environmental awareness level of senior secondary school students in Onitsha South Local Government area of Anambra State Nigeria. The specific objectives were to: assess environmental awareness level; environmental attitude and perception of some basic environmental terms of senior secondary school students in the study area. Survey method was used for this research. One category of questionnaire was distributed in eight secondary schools in the study area. The questionnaire consisted of three parts. The first part sought information on awareness level of the students, while the second part sought information on the attitude of the students toward the environment, the third part sought information on perception of the students on some basic environmental terms. A total of 400 questionnaires were distributed in the study area. Stratified sampling technique was used to distribute the questionnaire. The four communities in Onitsha south formed the stratum. Two schools were randomly picked from each community. The study concluded that the students have a very low awareness, attitude and perception towards environmental issues and concerns. The study further suggested some measures that would help save the situation which include: intensive environmental awareness programmes in secondary schools, inculcating environmental studies in secondary school curriculum, engaging qualified teachers to engage the students in environmental management classes, formation of environmental clubs in all secondary schools among others.

Keywords: Environment, Awareness, Environmental attitude, Perception, Secondary Schools.