COMMONWEALTH ASSOCATION FOR
EDUCATION, ADMINISTRATION AND
MANAGEMENT
VOLUME 1 ISSUE 4
ISSN NO 2322-0147
DECEMBER
2013
STUDY OF AWARENESS OF ENVIRONMENT OF BACHELOR OF ARTS
(B.A) STUDENTS OF FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
Excellence International Journal of Education and
Research (Multi- subject journal)
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VOLUME 1
ISSUE 4
ISSN 2322-0147
STUDY OF AWARENESS OF ENVIRONMENT OF BACHELOR OF ARTS (B.A)
STUDENTS OF FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
Dr. Nasrin
(Associate Professor and Coordinator of Environmental Awareness Course)
Department of Education, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh-202002
E-mail id: nasrinamu@gmail.com
Mobile No: 09897451671
Dr. Anjum Ahmed
(Lecturers of Environmental Awareness Course )
Faculty of Social Sciences, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh-202002
Email Id: anjum1509@yahoo.co.in
Mobile No: 09756707878
Dr. Tabassum Choudhary
(Lecturers of Environmental Awareness Course )
Faculty of Social Sciences, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh-202002
Email Id: tabassumkanpur@gmail.com,
Mobile No: 09415131765
ABSTRACT
Inspite of the deteriorating status of the environment, study of environment has so far not
received adequate attention in our academic programmes. Recognizing this, the Hon’ble
Supreme Court directed the UGC to introduce a basic course on environment at every level in
college education. Accordingly, the matter was considered by UGC and it was decided that a six
months compulsory core module course in environmental studies many be prepared and
compulsorily implemented in all the University/Colleges of India. The experts committee
appointed by the UGC has looked into all the pertinent questions, issues and other relevant
matters. This was followed by framing of the core module syllabus for environmental studies for
undergraduate courses of all branches of Higher Education. UNO institution takes participation
in the environmental programs but if the peoples have no awareness regarding the environment
than the work to protect the earth will be wastage. By the use of education medium, the flow of
awareness for the environment will be full filled. So, future teachers, professors and principals
should have the maximum awareness for the environment so that they can teach in future to their
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students. Therefore, for finding awareness and importance of this course at the undergraduate
level a small study was conducted with the topic: Awareness of Environment of Bachelor of Arts
Students of Faculty of Social Sciences. The result, findings and discussion of the study is
discussed in the paper.
Keywords- Environmental Education, Agenda 21, Sustainability, Environmental Awareness
INTRODUCTION
Environmental concern across countries has been a topic of study for the past thirty years.
The term “environmental education” has been in common use in educational circles for several
decades. In 1979 the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources
(IUCN), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) held
an “International Working Meeting on Environmental Education in the School Curriculum at the
Foresta Institute, Carson City, Nevada, USA. There, an influential and what might be described
as the ‘classic’ definition of environmental education was formulated and adopted:
Environmental education is the process of recognizing values and clarifying concepts in
order to develop skills and attitudes necessary to understand and appreciate the interrelatedness among man, his culture, and his biophysical surroundings. Environmental
education also entails practice in decision-making and self-formulation of a code of
behavior about issues concerning environmental quality (IUCN, 1970).
In 1990s, environmental education shifted its focus on sustainability. For example in 1990s
environmental education as a cross-curricular theme was adopted into the National Curriculum in
Britain. Many schools practiced the model of interdisciplinary teacher cooperation. The
interdisciplinary teacher cooperation mean that teachers of different disciplines can work
together, planning courses, organizing team-teaching activities, where the subjects are interactive
and interdependent.
Most significantly, Agenda 21 of the Summit, called for the re-orientation of
environmental education towards sustainability. A proposal is made that:
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Governments should strive to update or prepare strategies aimed at integrating
environment and development as a cross-cutting issue into education at all levels within
the next three years. (UNCED Agenda 21, 1992).
From that time Environmental education for sustainability began to be developed. It uses
holism as its philosophical basis. So it is based on the premise that environmental and
developmental problems are not solely caused by physical and biological factors, but that an
understanding of the parts played by aesthetic, social, economic, political, historical and cultural
elements is required. Environmental education for sustainability needs to draw from all
disciplines if it wants to achieve its goal. Its aim is to change the behavior of students, not only in
their present roles in society but even more so in their future roles as adults (Schemer, A. 1994).
Environmental education of the interdisciplinary teacher cooperation can embody the
characters of integrating and holistic. Because of the environmental problem in actual life bring
from various fields. The teacher guides students to find and resolve environmental issues by
aesthetic, social, economic, political, historical and cultural e.g. discipline. Therefore
environmental education of the interdisciplinary teacher cooperation embodies idea of the
environmental education for sustainability. As a result, environmental education for
sustainability contributes to the education of the ‘whole person’. (Tilbury, D. 1995, p 200)
According to the spirit of Agenda 21 environmental education should go into this stage of the
interdisciplinary teacher cooperation.
Inspite of the deteriorating status of the environment, study of environment has so far not
received adequate attention in our academic programmes. Recognizing this, the Hon’ble
Supreme Court directed the UGC to introduce a basic course on environment at every level in
college education. Accordingly, the matter was considered by UGC and it was decided that a six
months compulsory core module course in environmental studies many be prepared and
compulsorily implemented in all the University/Colleges of India. The experts committee
appointed by the UGC has looked into all the pertinent questions, issues and other relevant
matters. This was followed by framing of the core module syllabus for environmental studies for
undergraduate courses of all branches of Higher Education. The authorities are deeply conscious
that there are bound to be gaps between the ideal and real. Genuine endeavor is required to
minimize the gaps by intellectual and material inputs. The success of this course will depend on
the initiative and drive of the teachers and the receptive students.
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IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY
According to M. K. Gandhi, “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need but not
for every man’s greed.” That advice was very important for the world today. UNO institution
takes participation in the environmental programs but if the peoples have no awareness regarding
the environment than the works of to protect the earth will be wastage. So, if the peoples have no
awareness than the earth will be polluted and also we could not see the atmosphere without
pollution. The medium of the work to decrease pollution of any type is education. By the use of
education medium, the flow of awareness for the environment will be full filled. Teacher is the
person who makes those types of environment and awareness. So, future teachers, professors and
principals will have the maximum awareness for the environment so they can teach in future to
their students. Therefore, for finding awareness and importance of this course at the
undergraduate level a small study was conducted with the below topic:
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Study of Awareness of Environment of Bachelor of Arts Students of Faculty of Social Sciences
Definitions of the term used:
Awareness
Awareness is the state or ability to perceive, to feel, or to be conscious of events, objects, or
sensory patterns. In this level of consciousness, sense data can be confirmed by an observer
without necessarily implying understanding. More broadly, it is the state or quality of being
aware of something.
Environment
Environment literally means ‘surrounding’ and everything that affect an organism during its
lifetime is collectively known as its environment. In another words “Environment is sum total of
water, air and land interrelationships among themselves and also with the human being, other
living organisms and property”. It includes all the physical and biological surrounding and their
interactions. It also encompasses the aggregate of social and cultural conditions that influence the
life of an individual or community.
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OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The objective of the study is to find out the response of students regarding the environment
before and after implementation of the course and the need for the construction of separate
syllabus.
POPULATION AND SAMPLE OF THE STUDY
Population
The population of the B.A Ist year students of the Faculty of Social Sciences in session 20112012 is 412 and in session 2012-2013, a new course (Bachelor of Social Work) was introduced
therefore in this session the population was increased to 462 students.
Sample
The sample collected in the pretest is 150 (from the session 2012-2013) and the sample collected
in the post test is 157 (from the session 2011-2012). The sample is tabulated as follows:
TABLE NO. 1 TABLE SHOWING THE SAMPLE SIZE
B.A Ist year (Session 2011-2012)
S.No. Stream
B.A Ist year (Session 2012-2013)
Total Students
Sample
Total Students
Sample
Intake
Collected
Intake
Collected
1
ECB
94
45
94
26
2
EDB
09
08
09
05
3
GGB
48
10
48
14
4
HSB
40
12
40
15
5
ISB
30
21
30
20
6
PLB
108
33
108
20
7
PSB
34
10
34
19
8
SOB
49
18
49
11
9
SWB
-
-
50
20
412
157
462
150
TOTAL
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The streams are according to the student’s main subjects:
Group- I- Economics- ECB
Group-VI- Political Science- PLB
Group-II- Education –EDB
Group- VII- Psychology-PSB
Group-III- Geography- GGB
Group- VIII- Sociology-SOB
Group- IV- History –HSB
Group- IX- Social Work- SWB
Group- V- Islamic Studies -ISB
RESEARCH TOOLS
A self constructed questionnaire was used both before and after the implementation of the
course. Given below are the questions that were framed.
Questions to be answered
A pretest questions were prepared on 5 point Likert scale ranging from Strongly Agree to Strongly
disagree.
1. Man is responsible for environmental pollution.
2. Every year, 5th June is celebrated as ‘World Environment Day (WED)’
3. Tree plantation is essential for the regulation of environmental temperature.
4. Protection of rare animals like tiger, leopard, rhino and lion is essential.
5. Paper should be used properly with regards to forest conservation.
6. Language and culture is closely linked to biodiversity.
7. Increase in Greenhouse gases is a danger to world community.
8. Mass media plays an essential role in imparting environmental awareness.
9. Use of lead free petrol is desirable.
10. Rapid deforestation unbalances the rain-cycle of a place.
Post-test questions were prepared on 5 point Likert scale ranging from Strongly Agree to Strongly
disagree
1. The proposed paper ‘Environmental Awareness’ has utility for undergraduate students.
2. In your opinion, the syllabus of ‘Environmental Awareness’ course is appropriate.
3. Instead of teaching separate paper at undergraduate level, it is better to inculcate few chapters in
each main subject of under graduate courses.
4. The way of teaching ‘Environmental Awareness’ course is satisfactory.
5. The level of lecture delivered by expert for the ‘Environmental Awareness’ course is satisfactory.
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8. The content imparted by lecturers in regular classes was satisfactory.
9. Co-curricular activities organized for the students were satisfactory.
Item no. 6, 7, and 10 were provided with options;
Item no. 6: The best lecture delivered by experts was lecture on:
a) Environmental Hazards
b) Environmental Problems
c) Population Variations among nations
d) Environmental Laws
Item no. 7: In your opinion the best way of teaching environmental awareness is:
a) Lecture method only
b) Lecture cum Demonstration method
c) Project method
d) All the ways
Item no. 10: Which one is most suitable in your view:
a) Syllabus is quite satisfactory.
b) Syllabus should be reduced.
c) Syllabus should be updated and reduced.
d) All the above.
PROCEDURE FOR THE DATA COLLECTION
The data was collected by the lecturers whenever they interacted with their students. The
questionnaire took 10-15 minutes to complete.
STATISTICS FOR DATA ANALYSIS
The data was treated on descriptive basis. The mean, median, range, standard deviation and the
normal probability curve was calculated using the SPSS package. The result is tabulated as
follows:
TABLE NO. 2 SHOWING THE DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS OF THE TWO GROUPS
OF SAMPLES
S.No. Descriptive Statistics
B.A Ist year (2011-2012)
B.A Ist year (2012-2013)
1
Mean
26.03
41.2
2
Median (Q2)
27
42
3
Mode
28
44
4
Standard Deviation
4.04
5.16
23 to 31= 74.6% cases
37 to 47= 74% cases
32 and above= 5.06% cases
48 and above= 8.8% cases
5
6
Range
Normal
High
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7
Low
22 and below= 19.6% cases 36 and below= 17.88% cases
8
Quartile 1 (Q1)
23
38
9
Quartile 3 (Q3)
29
45
10
Quartile 4 (Q4)
35
50
TABLE NO.3 RESPONSE OF STUDENTS OF B.A (2012-2013) ACCORDING TO THE
XII BOARD
S.No. XII Board No. Of Students Mean
1
AMU
41
42.65
2
CBSE
18
40.22
3
JKBOSE
12
43.66
4
NIOS
15
41
5
OTHERS
10
39.9
6
UP
54
40.29
TABLE NO. 4 RESPONSE OF STUDENTS ACCORDING TO THEIR STREAMS
B.A Ist year (Session 2011-2012) B.A Ist year (Session 2012-2013)
S. No Stream
No. Of Students
Mean
No. Of Students
Mean
1
ECB
45
26.23
26
41.16
2
EDB
08
26.77
05
40.08
3
GGB
10
26.57
14
44.28
4
HSB
12
26.75
15
45.86
5
ISB
21
24.54
20
36.55
6
PLB
33
26.15
20
41.57
7
PSB
10
26.4
19
39.15
8
SOB
18
25
11
41.9
9
SWB
-
-
20
41.15
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The graphical representations of the two samples are as follows:
GRAPH NO. 1 SHOWING THE NORMAL PROBABILITY CURVE OF B.A IST
STUDENTS (SESSION 2011-2012)
GRAPH NO. 2 SHOWING THE NORMAL PROBABILITY CURVE OF B.A IST
STUDENTS (SESSION 2012-2013)
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FINDINGS
Findings of B.A Ist students (session 2011-2012):

The sample of B.A Students (session 2011-2012) is normally distributed with 75% cases
within the normal range.

The Mean and Standard Deviation is 26.03 and 4.04 respectively.

The high range calculated is 32 and above which has 5% cases and the low range that is
22 and below has 20% cases.

According to different streams. The Islamic Studies group has the lowest response.

The highest response was given by Education, Geography and History groups.

The post test questionnaire had 3 Items where four options were already provided. The
findings were that: In Item No. 6, the option (b) ‘Environmental Problems’ had the
maximum response. Out of the four guest lectures by experts, the students found the
lecture on ‘Environmental Problems’ interesting and informative.

In Item No.7, the option (d) ‘All’ had the maximum response. In this item, the teaching
methods namely: the lecture method, lecture cum demonstration method and project
method were found to be favorable to teach and learn the ‘Environmental Awareness
Course’.
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In Item No.10, the option (c) ‘Syllabus should be updated and reduced’ had the
maximum response. Moreover some students gave suggestions regarding the change in
timings of the course taught and the implementation of practical work in this course.
Findings of B.A Ist students (session 2012-2013):

The sample of B.A Ist year (session 2012-2013) Students is normally distributed with
74% cases within the normal range.

The Mean and Standard Deviation is 41.2 and 5.16 respectively.

The high range calculated is 48 and above which has 9% cases and the low range that is
36 and below has 18% cases.

According to different streams. The Islamic Studies group had the lowest score on the
pre test and the highest score was achieved by the History group.

The findings according to students having passed different XII grade boards were: The
highest response was from students who had passed their XII board from ‘Jammu and
Kashmir Board’ as they had prior knowledge of environment and its issues attained
during their school age.

The lowest response where from students who had passed their XII boards belonging to
‘Others’ category, namely students who came from south of India, foreigner students
from Thailand, Malaysia, Afghanistan, Iran etc. Their knowledge regarding environment
and its related issues were weak.
DISCUSSION OF THE RESULT
The study was conducted to find out the importance of the ‘Environmental Awareness
Course’, its effectiveness, student’s prior knowledge of the environment as a subject and their
view on the construction of the syllabus. It can be concluded that students coming from different
XII grade board from south of India and foreign students has little knowledge related to
environment. The UP board students who were the second last lowest in their responses even
though they had the environment awareness as a subject in their school stage was because of
English as the instructional language and the fact that they just had to pass to get the degree
without its contribution in their aggregate percentage. The schooling of these boards need special
attention and proper implementation of this subject as it will aid them to learn better in
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undergraduate level as the students would have made their conceptual base of the environment
strong enough to build anything further related to environmental and its issues.
Islamic Studies group was found to give a poor response in both the pretest and post test.
Reason could be the lack of integration of Islamic teaching and environment during their
schooling and at some point the teaching language ‘English’ could have also proved to be
hindrance to them. Though there are numerous quotations from Quran and Hadith which has
specifically given importance to nature and environment.
Students are highly motivated by guest lectures by experts especially those lectures
delivered through multimedia. Moreover many students found the syllabus to be comprehensive
and in need of reduction. The need for practical work/field work was also suggested by the
students to make this course interesting.
CONCLUSION
The conclusion of the study drawn is that this course ‘Environmental Awareness course’ is the
need of an hour as majority of the students even at the undergraduate level have little knowledge
regarding to the environment. This course is highly demanded and now is implemented in many
universities as graduate and post graduate degrees. Even in Indira Gandhi Open University, they
have commenced different short term and long term courses related to environment. The
sincerity of the implementation lies both with the teachers and students. As this course is
multidisciplinary in nature, the teachers from other disciplines should be trained and given
opportunity to teach this course as they will bring out the best integration process of their
subjects with the environment subject. In our country it may be at the embryonic stage but this
concept has already been adopted in 1990s where environmental education as a cross-curricular
theme was adopted into the National Curriculum in Britain. Many schools practiced the model of
interdisciplinary teacher cooperation. The interdisciplinary teacher cooperation mean that
teachers of different disciplines can work together, planning courses, organizing team-teaching
activities, where the subjects are interactive and interdependent.
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
Anastasi A. (1968). Psychological Testing (Third Edition). New York: The Macmillan
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
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
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
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
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
Schemer, A. (1994) Planned Assisted Institutionalization of Environmental Education,
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
Tilbury, D. (1995) ‘Environmental education for sustainability: defining the new focus of
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
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
UNCED Agenda 21 (1992) Agenda 21, Chapter 36, The United Nations Programme of
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
UNESCO (1992) Reshaping Education Towards Sustainable Development, Environment
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
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