Environmental Literacy of Junior Secondary Students in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Human development without considering the impact on the environment has created numerous global issues, prompti ng policymakers to prioriti ze environmental protecti on. As environmental issues became pressing concerns, the importance of environmental literacy among citi zens has gained recogniti on. Environmental literacy embodies a multi faceted understanding, awareness, and acti ve engagement of addressing environmental challenges, encompassing knowledge, skills, atti tudes, moti vati on, and responsibility towards fostering ecological balance, sustainable development, social justi ce, and nurturing environmentally conscious citi zens and communiti es. A study was conducted to identi fy the environmental literacy skills of junior secondary students in Sri Lanka. A pragmati c, deducti ve, quanti tati ve survey design was followed, and a sample of 816 students was selected using the strati fi ed random sampling method. The Middle School Environmental Literacy Survey (MSELS) instrument was adopted for data collecti on. The study revealed that junior secondary students exhibit a low level of environmental literacy at 39.7%, with medium scores observed for ecological knowledge (61.5%) and issue identi fi cati on (59.8%), and notably lower scores for other skills such as acti on planning (38%), verbal and actual commitment (37.6%), environmental sensiti vity and feeling (25.2%), and problem-solving and predicti on (15.3%). These fi ndings highlight the imperati ve for Sri Lankan junior secondary curricula to prioriti ze environmental literacy skills and adopt a more practi cal approach to teaching and learning. Modifi cati ons to pedagogical strategies are essenti al to enhance profi ciency across all the areas of environmental literacy.