The Effects of Region and Gender on Students’ Attitudes towards Environment

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of region (rural and urban) and gender on 6th Grade students’ attitudes toward the environment. A total of 135 students (n=65 girls; n=70 boys) participated in the study. A 45-item Likert type questionnaire consisting of four dimensions was used to measure students’ environmental attitude. These dimensions (awareness for environmental problems, general attitude about solutions, awareness of individual responsibility and awareness on the national environmental problems) constitute the dependent variables of the study. A two-way MANOVA was conducted for the specified purpose. Results showed that there was a significant effect of region on the collective dependent variables. Univariate ANOVAs indicated that students in the urban area had greater awareness for environmental problems, individual responsibility and national environmental problems. On the other hand, no statistically significant effect of gender was found.