Paradojas del comportamiento proambiental de los estudiantes universitarios en diferentes disciplinas académicas / Paradoxes of the environmental behavior of university students in different academic disciplines

Resumen El objetivo del presente estudio fue establecer las características del comportamiento proambiental de los estudiantes universitarios colombianos, esto es, identificar las actitudes, creencias, valoraciones, prácticas y conocimientos ambientales de estudiantes colombianos de diferentes carreras universitarias. Para ello se realizó un estudio descriptivo-correlacional de corte transversal con una muestra de 1503 estudiantes de diferentes carreras universitarias en cinco ciudades colombianas, con una probabilidad de incidencia de .5, 95 % de confianza y un error del 2.5 %. Los participantes fueron seleccionados aleatoriamente al interior de cada universidad y seles aplicaron el Inventario de Comportamiento Proambiental (ICP) y el Test de Conocimiento Ambiental (TCA), este último desarrollado específicamente para propósitos de la presente investigación. Se encontró que los estudiantes encuestados poseen actitudes y creencias ambientales positivas en la mayoría de las dimensiones. El nivel de conocimiento ambiental de los estudiantes en las cinco ciudades seleccionadas es bajo. Si bien no se observaron diferencias significativas entre las carreras respecto a las creencias, valoraciones, acciones y conocimientos ambientales, paradójicamente los estudiantes de ciencias ambientales ocuparon lugares inferiores a los que estudian ciencias económicas y administrativas. Se puede concluir que existen diferencias según la ciudad en las creencias, valoración, conocimiento y acciones ambientales de los estudiantes encuestados. El reporte de acciones ambientales presenta un perfil controversial pues al mismo tiempo las personas realizan comportamientos proambientales y antiambientales. Las instituciones universitarias y el gobierno tienen el desafío de lograr que la educación ambiental muestre los resultados esperados para el cumplimiento de las metas ambientales del país y del mundo.

Abstract The objective of the present study was to establish the characteristics of the pro environmental behavior of Colombian university students; that is, to identify the attitudes, beliefs, valuations, practices and environmental knowledge of Colombian students from different university careers. For this purpose, a cross-sectional descriptive-correlational study was carried out with a sample of 1503 students from different university careers in five Colombian cities, with an incidence probability of .5, 95 % confidence and an error of 2.5 %. The participants were randomly selected within each university and the questionnaires applied were the Pro environmental Behaviour Inventory (ICP) and the Environmental Knowledge Test (TCA); the latter was developed specifically for the purposes of this research. The students surveyed were found to have positive environmental attitudes and beliefs in most dimensions. The level of environmental awareness of students in the five selected cities is low. Although no significant differences were observed between the careers with respect to beliefs, valuations, actions and environmental knowledge, paradoxically the students of environmental sciences occupied inferior places to those who study economic and administrative sciences. Thus, in the analysis of specific items it was evidenced that the students of environmental sciences develop diverse anti environmental actions, in a similar way to the behavior patterns of the students of the other researched careers. With respect to the region, the results show that it is possible to conclude that there are differences according to the city with respect to the beliefs, valuation, knowledge and environmental actions of the students surveyed. Among the findings it is worth highlighting the results of Bucaramanga in terms of the report of environmental actions and the highest average in the TCA observed in that city. Similarly, Cali stands out along with Bucaramanga in its results, while Medellín obtained the lowest scores in environmental knowledge. Finally, in the report on environmental actions in university students, contradictory results are observed, given that it presents a controversial profile because people perform pro-environmental and anti-environmental behaviors at the same time, with positive environmental attitudes and beliefs in accordance with these attitudes. Regarding the knowledge about the environment, in the descriptive results the average of the test was 12 points, which means that the students failed the test. The multivariate analysis showed that the theoretical model on which the construction of the ICP was based and the instruments from which items were selected for its conformation, apparently has great predictive power with respect to the verbal report of environmental actions; however, the TCA, a test constructed specifically for this research, would covariate with almost all the factors of the ICP but does not predict causally the actions reported by the students. In general, this study shows that university institutions and the Colombian government have the challenge of ensuring that environmental education achieves the expected results for the fulfillment of both the country and the world's environmental goals. The results also demonstrates the need to articulate policies, actions and regulations to improve the quality of environmental education in universities, as well as to implement citizen behavior programs that promote responsible consumption, given that knowledge does not correlate with effective actions in terms of public services, green brands and solid urban waste management, among other areas.

VALORACIÓN ACTITUDINAL PROAMBIENTAL: UN ANÁLISIS GLOBAL EN ESTUDIANTES DE ENSEÑANZA PRIMARIA, SECUNDARIA Y TERCIARIA / ATTITUDINAL PRO-ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT: A GLOBAL ANALYSIS IN PRIMARY, SECONDARY AND TERTIARY EDUCATION STUDENTS

El objetivo del presente estudio fue analizar y comprender la forma en que la valoración condiciona los elementos tanto cognitivos como afectivos (de los ámbitos contextual y personal) en la conducta de los estudiantes de enseñanza primaria, secundaria y terciaria con el entorno. Las preguntas orientadoras fueron ¿cuál es la valoración que los estudiantes de diferentes niveles de enseñanza otorgan a temas ambientales? ¿Existe diferencia en la valoración de los estudiantes entre el ámbito personal y el ámbito contextual al interior de las variables actitudinales? ¿Existe diferencia en la valoración de los estudiantes entre el ámbito de contaminación y el ámbito de conservación al interior de las variables ambientales? Para el análisis actitudinal se aplicó la escala de actitudes ambientales de Moreno et al. (2005) a 367 estudiantes. Se confirmó una adecuada consistencia interna de la escala, α Cronbach = 0,776. Se detectó que las mayores diferencias ocurrieron en las variables actitudinales correspondientes al marco personal y las menores diferencias se presentaron en las variables del ámbito contextual. Los resultados fueron relevantes debido a que indicaron que las variables pertenecientes al ámbito contextual son las que se deben reforzar, lo que puede materializarse robusteciendo el currículum a través del fortalecimiento de la educación ambiental. Las mayores valoraciones de las variables ambientales ocurrieron diferencialmente en los estudiantes de enseñanza terciaria, secundaria y primaria respectivamente; igual tendencia se dio en las variables actitudinales, detectándose en su interior que el ámbito contextual obtenía la menor valoración en los tres niveles educativos.

The aim of the present study was to analyze and understand the way in which as-sessment both cognitive and affective elements (contextual and personal) condition the behavior of primary, secondary and tertiary education students with their environment. The guid¬ing questions were: What is the assessment that students of different levels of education give to environmental issues? Is there any difference in the assessment of students between the contamination and the preservation scope within environmental variables? The environmental scale of attitudes by Moreno et al., (2005) was applied to 367 students for the attitudinal analysis. An adequate internal consistency of the Scale, α Cronbach = 0,776 was confirmed. It was detected that the greatest differences occurred in the attitudinal variables corresponding to the personal framework and the smallest differences occurred in the variables of the contextual scope. The results were relevant because they indicated that the variables belonging to the contextual scope are the ones that must be reinforced which can be materialized by strengthening the Curriculum through the emphasis in environmental education. The highest assessment of the environmental variables occurred differentially in students of tertiary, secondary and primary education respectively. The same tendency was observed in the attitudinal variables, detecting in its interior that the contextual scope obtained the lowest assessment in the three educational levels.

Valoración actitudinal frente a temas ambientales / Attitude assessment to environmental issues

Se aplicó la Escala de Actitudes de Moreno, Corraliza & Ruiz (2005) a 367 estudiantes de la ciudad de Talca. Se confirmó una adecuada consistencia interna de la Escala, a Cronbach = 0,776. Se detectó que en las variables actitudinales, correspondientes al marco personal, es donde se producen las mayores diferencias significativas en sus respuestas, esto es valoración y obligación moral, y las menores diferencias significativas se presentaron en las variables del ámbito contextual: norma social, facilitación e información. Esto es relevante, ya que indica que las variables pertenecientes al ámbito contextual son las que se deben reforzar, lo cual se puede realizar robusteciendo el Currículum a través del fortalecimiento de la educación ambiental. Por otra parte, se concluye que las personas construyen sus actitudes hacia temas emergentes por referencia a sus conocimientos, valores y creencias generales, dando soporte a un modelo de orden jerárquico sobre conocimiento-conciencia-valor-actitud-acción.

The scale of attitudes by Moreno, Corraliza & Ruiz (2005) was applied to 367 students from the city of Talca. An adequate internal consistency of the scale is confirmed; a Cronbach = 0.776. It was detected that it is in the attitudinal variables, corresponding to the personal framework, where the major differences occur i.e., assessment and moral obligation, and the minor differences were found in the contextual scope variables: social norm, facilitation and information, respectively. This is relevant, since it tells us that the contextual scope variables are the ones that must be strengthened by enhancing the Curriculum through the reinforcing of the environmental education. On the other hand, we believe that people build their attitudes towards emerging issues by making reference to their knowledge, values, and general beliefs, giving support to a hierarchical order model based on knowledge-awareness-value-attitude and action.

Medidas del comportamiento ecológico y antecedentes: conceptualización y validación empírica de escalas / Measures of Ecological Behavior and its Antecedents: Scales Conceptualization and Empirical Validation

Este estudio valida, a nivel confirmatorio, la escala de comportamiento ecológico que mide la realización de acciones que procuran proteger y/o conservar el medio ambiente y las escalas de las variables utilizadas en la literatura para explicar dicho comportamiento: el conocimiento medioambiental, las creencias asociadas a la preocupación ambiental, los valores y las intenciones de comportamiento ecológico. Sobre una muestra de 497 individuos en España, seleccionada por muestreo no probabilístico por cuotas, se analizan las propiedades psicométricas de las escalas mediante análisis factorial exploratorio y confirmatorio. Los resultados muestran el carácter multidimensional de las escalas de conocimiento (conocimiento básico [CB] y conocimiento experto [CEX]) y comportamiento ecológico (gestión ecológica de basuras [GEB] e implicación medioambiental [IM]) y unidimensional del resto de medidas. La validación a nivel confirmatorio de las escalas para las variables seleccionadas proporciona una importante contribución para futuros trabajos de investigación.

This study validates using confirmatory factor analysis the scale of ecological behavior, which measures the implementation of actions that intend to protect and/or preserve the environment, and the scales of variables used in literature in order to explain that behavior: environmental knowledge, beliefs associated with environmental awareness, values and ecological behavior intention. Using a sample of 497 individuals in Spain selected by non-probability quota sampling, the psychometric properties of the scales were analyzed by exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The results show the multidimensional nature of knowledge (basic knowledge -CB and expert knowledge -CEX) and environmental behavior (waste management -GEB and environmental implication -IM) scales and the one-dimensional nature of the rest of measures. The validation, using confirmatory factor analysis of the selected variables, provides an important contribution to future research.

A Study on Higher Secondary Students Knowledge on Climatic Change Knowledge in Relation to Environmental Attitude.

As climatic change becomes a threatening force to the mankind. Climatic change knowledge is essential for the successful for the adaptation and mitigation. In this view point, the researcher has undertaken this study. The present study was conducted in Puducherry and 300 higher secondary students were selected. Normative survey method was adopted; simple random sampling technique was used in selecting the samples. The result revealed that the level of climatic change knowledge is average and more favourable environmental attitude among higher secondary students and there is significant relationship between climatic change knowledge and environmental attitude among higher secondary students

Conciencia ambiental de los habitantes de la colonia Emilio portes gil en la h. matamoros, tamaulipas / Environmenal awaareness of the the emilio portes gil colona inhabitants iin h. matamoros, tamaulipas

La Conciencia ambiental en México es un tema de gran relevancia ya que las alteraciones de hoy en día sobre el medio ambiente son principalmente por actividades antropogénicas ya sea por el desarrollo industrial, consumismo, la contaminación, residuos sólidos, etc., por lo que es de gran importancia lograr un equilibrio entre la naturaleza - hombre y para alcanzar este equilibrio es necesario la educación ambiental la cual permite emplear diferentes estrategias para lograr generar sentimientos, desarrollar conciencia ambiental y evidenciar la necesidad de elaborar nuevos valores a partir de las experiencias directas. Por lo que la presente investigación tuvo como objetivo evaluar la Conciencia Ambiental de los habitantes de la colonia Emilio Portes Gil en la H. Matamoros (Tamaulipas) mediante el instrumento llamado Cuestionario de Actitudes Ambientales (CAAM) de Núevalos a una población de 50 habitantes conformada con 52% de mujeres y el 48% de hombres en un rango de edad entre los 20 a 31 años, obteniéndose una conciencia ambiental muy parecida con un 32% y 30% tanto del sexo femenino como del masculino respectivamente.

Environmental awareness in Mexico is a very important issue since today's alterations on the environment are basically produced by anthropogenic activities either because of industrial development, consumerism, pollution, solid waste, etc.., reason why it is very important to achieve a balance between nature and man and, in order to achieve this balance, environmental education which can employ different strategies for generating feelings, developing environmental awareness and highlighting the need to develop new values from direct experiences is necessary. For this reason, this investigation has as its main objective the assessment of Emilio Portes Gil Colonia in H. Matamoros (Tamaulipas) inhabitants' Environmental Awareness, using Nuévalos' instrument called Environmental Attitudes Questionnaire (CAAM) to a population of 50 inhabitants conformed by 52% women and 48% men in an age range between 20 to 31 years, yielding a very similar environmental awareness with 32% and 30% of both the male and the female respectively.