A Comparative Study of Environmental Awareness and Attitude of High School Students of Rural and Urban Area of Karnal Block

1. INTRODUCTION

Environment refers to the sum total of condition and influence that affects the life and development of organism. The qualitative development and quantitative progress of mankind depends on the quality of environment. Therefore, there are no two views about the fact that, it is the primary responsibility of man not only to preserve the environment but also to improve it qualitatively. Environment is the sum total of an aggregate of all the external conditions forces and circumstances, objects, or influences that act upon an organism which live by changing energy and matter with their environment with changing nature of human being environment is not static. It changes with corresponding change in time and conditions. It is varied in form and physical environment, biological, Ecological (Edaphic, diametric, Abiotic Biotic, Human or Social) Physical and Biological Nature and Man made like Physical, Biological, social, Economics, Geography, Psychology, Education, Religious, Cultural and Political etc. If we look back in the age of “Puranas” we will find that the education was delivered to students at the residence of GURU. Guru’s residence or ‘ASHARAM’ was located in a peaceful atmosphere because education is more effective in a good atmosphere Environment is a multi dimensionalsystem of complex interrelationship in a continuing state ofchange. The environment of an individual comprises theentire physical and social factor around him, which directlyaffect his living including the working conditions. Thevarious environmental factors are interdependent and interweaven with each other. The Physical environmentincludes the living and Non living, the geographicalandmark, topography and climatic conditions, themanmade features like Buildings, Bridges, Roads,Transports & other Features like health, sanitations,nutrition aspects. Environment is the sum of the substance and forcesexternals to the organism in such way that it affects theorganism existence. In relation to man, the environmentconstitutes of air, land, water flora and fauna becausethese regulates the man’s life.

Studies have shown that environmental education canreduce discipline problems, increase attendance, anddevelop leadership skills.

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Environmental education (EE) is a means of learning whereby students engage in hands-on studies of local environments such as parks, bodies of water, and gardens. Although local ecosystems are particularly useful for teaching scientific content, creative educators are using them to teach a variety of additional subjects. EE programs have been found to increase standardized test scores among the majority of participating classrooms and schools, reduce behaviour problems, and provide opportunities to develop leadership capacity.

ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION REDUCES BEHAVIOUR PROBLEMS

Educators have found that students in EE programs are usually better behaved and less likely to be absent than those in traditional programs. An additional benefit of EE is that it often includes after-school programs that constructively occupy students and involve parents and other members of the community. This reduces the likelihood of juvenile crime and violence, which occurs most frequently between 2:00 pm and 8:00 pm, according to law enforcement officials.

ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION ENHANCES LEADERSHIP ABILITY AMONG STUDENTS

EE programs are effective in developing character and leadership capacity because they lack the off-putting preachiness of so many other character-building efforts that have been attempted in schools.Certain features of EE are particularly useful for building leadership skills, as well as the abilities students will need to maintain lucrative employment within the modern information economy:

• Social skills – Students must work together as a team to complete projects, which fosters inclusiveness, cooperation, and diplomatic skills.

• Critical thinking and decision making – Because EE encompasses issues-oriented instruction, students apply their knowledge to solve real-world problems and thus engage in higher-order thinking.

• Active participation – EE offers opportunities to engage in the sort of hands-on learning that increases student motivation and engagement.

• Community orientation – Students derive a sense of empowerment and connection to their communities through taking action to solve problems for the greater good, as well as learning about the roles and

responsibilities related to citizenship, and thepossibilities for and constraints upon citizen action.

• Personal responsibility – Students take responsibilityfor devising strategies both for learning about theenvironment and for solving environmental and relatedproblems. Rather than feeling that environmentalproblems are overwhelming and that the situation ishopeless, EE students tend to be optimistic about thefuture and the ability of their generation to solve suchproblems.

DELIMITATION OF STUDY

• Environment disturbance is a crisis for the whole mankind. It is the problem for present and futuregeneration. To apart the future generations for thesolution it is necessary to bring awareness amongfuture generation about the causes and consequencesof the problems. Since the proposed study is related to environmentalawareness among high school students. Therefore120 students of high school of Rural and Urban areaof KARNAL Block will be considered from the total 12Government and Private High Schools. Statistical Analysis The data was analyzed by the help of mean, standard deviation (S.D.), standard Deviation Error (S.Ed.) and t-test, because the sample will contain the rural and urban area’s Government and Private schools and girls and boys of high school of KARNAL block

(A) The finding of the first objective of the presentstudy revealed environmental awareness and attitude ofBoys and Girls students of High School Class X did differsignificantly. It can be said that the knowledge andunderstanding of facts and concepts related toEnvironmental problem like air, water, soil and noisepollution etc. Girl students of High School Class X aboutenvironment were more to the Boys students. There can be seen such reason for this finding. The girstudents are getting more exposure through the differenttype of mass media etc. as compare to Boy students.

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(B) The finding of the second objective of the present study reveled Environment Awareness and Attitude of Government and private high school students did not differ significantly. It means that the knowledge and understanding of facts and concept relating environmental problems like – Pollution, Population, Explosion, Deforestation, Energy Crisis, Water, Air, Soil and Diseases etc. of the Government school student about environment were equal to Private school students. (C) The finding of third objective of the present study revealed Environmental Awareness and Attitude of Rural and Urban area girls of High school did not differ significantly. It can be said that the knowledge and facts understanding relating environmental problems- like Pollution Deforestation, Energy Crisis, Water, Soil, Population and Pollution etc. the rural area girls about environment were equal to urban area girls. (D) The finding of the fourth objective of the present study revealed Environmental Awareness and Attitude of rural and urban area boys of high school did not differ significantly. It can be said that the knowledge, fact and concept understanding relating environmental problems like – various types of pollution, diseases, energy crisis, Ozone layer depletion etc. the rural area boys about the environment were equal to urban area boys. (E) The finding of the fifth objective of the present study revealed Environmental Awareness and Attitude of Rural and Urban Area high school students did not differ significantly. It can be said that the knowledge and understanding of facts and concepts related to Environmental problems like – Pollution, Population, Explosion, Global Warming, Deforestation, Water, Air, Soil and Noise pollution etc. of the rural student about environment were equal to urban students.

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