Chapter 7 Practical 3
Formulation of questionnaire/online surveys for assessment of the impact of environmental education
Aim:
To formulate a structured questionnaire for an online survey to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) of students regarding environmental issues, and to measure the perceived impact of formal environmental education on these domains.
Principle:
Environmental Education (EE) aims to develop a world population that is aware of, and concerned about, the environment and its associated problems, and which has the knowledge, skills, attitudes, motivations, and commitment to work individually and collectively toward solutions of current problems and the prevention of new ones.
Assessing the impact of EE is crucial for refining curricula and demonstrating its value. The Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices (KAP) model is a standard framework for such evaluation:
Knowledge: What is known (e.g., understanding causes of climate change).
Attitude: What is felt (e.g., concern about environmental issues).
Practices: What is done (e.g., recycling, conserving water).
A well-designed survey can quantitatively and qualitatively measure changes in these three domains, attributing shifts to educational interventions. This aligns with the syllabus focus on "Environmental communication and public awareness" by providing a tool to measure the effectiveness of such communication.
Materials Required:
Computer with internet access.
Online survey tool (Google Forms, Microsoft Forms, SurveyMonkey).
Reference materials on environmental topics (textbooks, NCERT modules on EE).
Notebook for drafting questions.
Procedure:
Step 1: Define the Survey Objectives and Target Audience
Objective: To assess the impact of the AECC Environmental Studies course on students' environmental knowledge, attitudes, and self-reported practices.
Target Audience: College students who have completed at least one semester of the course.
Step 2: Develop the Questionnaire Structure based on the KAP Model
Section A: Demographic Information
Section B: Knowledge Assessment (Multiple-choice questions to test objective understanding)
Section C: Attitude Assessment (Likert scale questions to gauge opinions and concern)
Section D: Practices Assessment (Frequency scale questions on self-reported behavior)
Section E: Perceived Impact of Education (Open-ended and rating questions)
Step 3: Formulate the Questions
Draft clear, unbiased, and unambiguous questions.
Use a mix of question types: multiple-choice, checkboxes, Likert scale, and open-ended.
Ensure questions are directly linked to common environmental education topics (e.g., waste management, climate change, biodiversity).
Step 4: Review and Pilot Test
Check for clarity, leading language, and logical flow.
Pilot the survey with a small group of peers to identify confusing questions and estimate completion time.
Revise based on feedback.
Step 5: Finalize and Deploy
Set up the survey on an online platform.
Distribute the survey link through student groups and email.
Observations: The Environmental Education Impact Assessment Questionnaire
Title: Survey on Environmental Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices
Introduction: We are students of the Environmental Studies department conducting a survey to understand the impact of environmental education. This survey is anonymous and will take about 10-15 minutes to complete. Your participation is voluntary and greatly appreciated.
Section A: Demographic Information
What is your gender?
a) Male
b) Female
c) Prefer not to say
d) OtherWhat is your year of study?
a) First Year
b) Second Year
c) Third Year
d) Fourth Year or aboveHave you completed the AECC Environmental Studies course?
a) Yes
b) No
c) Currently enrolled
Section B: Knowledge Assessment
Which of the following is a major cause of climate change?
a) Depletion of the ozone layer
b) Increase in greenhouse gases like CO2
c) Changes in the Earth's orbit
d) Use of aerosolsWhat does the term 'biodiversity' refer to?
a) Only the number of plant species in an area
b) The variety of all life forms on Earth
c) A national park for animals
d) The number of humans in a cityWhich of these is a renewable source of energy?
a) Natural Gas
b) Solar Power
c) Coal
d) Petroleum
Section C: Attitude Assessment (Please indicate your level of agreement: 1=Strongly Disagree, 5=Strongly Agree)
I am personally concerned about the impacts of climate change.
1 2 3 4 5I believe that individual actions can make a difference in solving environmental problems.
1 2 3 4 5Protecting the environment should be a priority, even if it slows economic growth.
1 2 3 4 5
Section D: Practices Assessment (How often do you do the following?)
I make a conscious effort to reduce my use of single-use plastics (e.g., carry a reusable bag/water bottle).
a) Always
b) Often
c) Sometimes
d) Rarely
e) NeverI switch off electrical appliances (lights, fans, chargers) when not in use.
a) Always
b) Often
c) Sometimes
d) Rarely
e) NeverI participate in waste segregation (separating dry and wet waste).
a) Always
b) Often
c) Sometimes
d) Rarely
e) Never
Section E: Perceived Impact of Environmental Education
To what extent has your environmental education (in school or college) influenced your daily habits?
a) To a great extent
b) Somewhat
c) Very little
d) Not at allWhich topic in your environmental studies course had the biggest impact on you? (Open-ended)
What is the biggest barrier that prevents you from adopting more environmentally friendly practices? (Open-ended)
Result:
A comprehensive 15-question survey was formulated to assess the impact of environmental education. The questionnaire is structured to measure:
Knowledge through objective multiple-choice questions (Q4-Q6).
Attitude through a 5-point Likert scale (Q7-Q9).
Practices through a frequency scale (Q10-Q12).
Perceived Impact through direct and open-ended questions (Q13-Q15).
The survey is designed for digital deployment and can be used to collect quantitative and qualitative data from a target student population.
Discussion:
The KAP Model: This questionnaire is grounded in the established Knowledge-Attitude-Practices model, which is ideal for evaluating educational outcomes. It helps identify gaps; for example, students might have high knowledge and positive attitudes but fail to translate them into practices due to external barriers (Q15).
Aligning with Syllabus: The questions directly relate to syllabus components like "human impacts on the environment," "climate change," and the goal of "environmental communication and public awareness." The survey itself is a tool for awareness.
Question Design: The use of different question types is strategic. Likert scales (Section C) capture the intensity of feelings, while open-ended questions (Q14, Q15) provide rich, qualitative data that multiple-choice questions cannot, such as personal insights and unexpected barriers.
Challenges and Biases:
Social Desirability Bias: Respondents may over-report positive behaviors (e.g., Q10-Q12) to appear more environmentally conscious. Anonymous surveying helps mitigate this.
Self-Reported Data: Practices are self-reported, not observed. There may be a discrepancy between what people say and what they do.
Utility: The data from this survey can be used by educators to:
Identify poorly understood concepts (low scores in Knowledge section).
Gauge student engagement and concern (Attitude section).
Tailor course content to address the gap between knowledge and practice.
Demonstrate the tangible impact of the environmental studies curriculum to stakeholders.
Conclusion:
Formulating a structured questionnaire is a critical research skill in environmental science. This practical exercise successfully demonstrated the process of designing a KAP-based survey to assess the impact of environmental education. The resulting tool is capable of generating valuable data to understand the effectiveness of current educational interventions, highlight areas for improvement, and ultimately contribute to the development of more impactful environmental curricula that foster not just knowledge, but also pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors among students.
Viva Voce Questions:
Why did you include demographic questions in the survey?
Demographics allow us to see if knowledge, attitudes, or practices vary significantly across different groups (e.g., year of study). For instance, we might hypothesize that students in later years have higher knowledge scores.
What is the advantage of using a Likert scale instead of a simple Yes/No question for measuring attitude?
A Likert scale (e.g., 1-5) captures the intensity or strength of an attitude. It provides more nuanced data than a simple binary choice, allowing researchers to distinguish between "somewhat agree" and "strongly agree."
How would you analyze the data collected from the open-ended question (Q14)?
Through thematic analysis. Responses would be read and coded into recurring themes or categories (e.g., "climate change," "waste management," "biodiversity"). The frequency of each theme would then be counted to identify which topics had the most significant impact on students.
What is one way to validate the self-reported practices data from this survey?
A follow-up study could use observational methods. For example, one could audit waste bins in hostels to see if segregation rates match the self-reported data from the survey, thus checking for the accuracy of self-reporting.
How does this survey tool relate to larger national campaigns like the National Green Corps (Eco-club)?
This survey is a micro-level assessment tool. The NGC is a macro-level program. The results from such surveys can be used to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of NGC activities in schools and colleges, ensuring they are successfully boosting environmental KAP among students.
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