Investigating High School Students’ Attitudes Towards, Beliefs about and Behaviors Associated with Water and Energy Saving

Abstract

Schools play a critical role in raising awareness in students of the importance of water conservation and environmental protection. Based on this premise, the current study aims to investigate high school students’ attitudes towards, beliefs about and behaviors associated with water and energy saving. The research was designed as survey model and involved a study group consisting of 102 high school students who attended schools in Ankara, Turkey during the 2014 Spring Semester. The Water and Energy Saving Attitude, Belief, and Behavior Scale, which was developed by this study’s researchers, was used as the data collection tool. The data obtained were analyzed with t-test, ANOVA and Pearson correlation, using the SPSS 20 software package. Results from the research showed that high school students’ beliefs about water and energy saving significantly differed according to gender, grade level, the presence of an environmentally aware family member and concern levels toward the environment, and that the students’ attitudes significantly differed in terms of the presence of an environmentally aware family member and concern level towards the environment. No significant relationship was found, however, between the high school students’ behaviors and attitudes towards water and energy saving and between their behaviors and beliefs, while a mid-level significant relationship was determined between high school students’ beliefs and attitudes.