The influence of environmental education on Omani students self-reported environmental attitudes and behaviours

ABSTRACT

The objective of this research is to consider the self-reported environmental attitudes and behaviours of Omani students and identify the factors that determine them. This research aims to explore the current environmental education curriculum in Oman. Specifically, this research is designed to identify school-related factors that might influence Omani students' self-reported environmental attitudes and behaviours. An explanatory sequential mixed method research design is adopted to gather information from primary and secondary sources. A questionnaire of 53 items was designed and tested on 212 students from four secondary schools in Oman, and then 25 semi-structured interviews were conducted with students, teachers and heads from the same four secondary schools. The data generated from the questionnaires were analysed using two methods: descriptive statistics and chi-square tests. The data generated from the interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. The major findings of this research indicate that the environmental curriculum appears to be a moderate contributor to environmental attitudes and behaviours, whereas environmental knowledge appears to be a positive contributor to environmental attitudes and behaviours. Overall, this study suggests that including environmental education in schools improves students' environmental attitudes and behaviours. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of International Research in Geographical & Environmental Education is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)