International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education

Emerald Article: Environmental concerns, knowledge and practices gap among

Malaysian teachers
Aini Mat Said, Fakhru'l-Razi Ahmadun, Laily Hj. Paim, Jariah Masud

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To cite this document: Aini Mat Said, Fakhru'l-Razi Ahmadun, Laily Hj. Paim, Jariah Masud, (2003),"Environmental concerns,
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Environmental
Environmental concerns, concerns
knowledge and practices gap
among Malaysian teachers 305
Aini Mat Said
Department of Resource Management and Consumer Studies, Faculty of
Human Ecology, University Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia
Fakhru’l-Razi Ahmadun
Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of
Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia
Laily Hj. Paim and Jariah Masud
Department of Resource Management and Consumer Studies, Faculty of
Human Ecology, University Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia
Keywords Education, Sustainable development, Lifestyles, Environmental management,
Teachers, Malaysia
Abstract Environmental problems are caused directly or indirectly by the patterns of production
by industries, patterns of consumption and behavior of the consumers. The shaping of attitude and
values, commitment and skills needed to preserve and protect the environment begins at an early
age. Hence educators play an influential role in developing new patterns of behaviors for individuals.
Accordingly, aims to determine the level of knowledge, environmental concern and ecologically
conscious consumer behavior and identify the extent of involvement in nature-related activities of
school teachers. Also investigates the relationships between these variables. The subjects were 285
school teachers who were randomly selected from ten regular government schools in the state of
Selangor, Malaysia. A survey was conducted using drop and collect method. The data illustrated the
presence of high level of environmental concern among the teachers. The environmental knowledge
was fair but generally poor in understanding of the underlying causes of environmental problems.
The practices of environmentally responsible behavior were not in concert with the level of concern
and knowledge. The respondents were not actively involved in nature-related activities. Proposes
ways of enhancing the ecological awareness and responsibilities of the teachers.

Introduction
The world is currently facing complex environmental problems that have
resulted in environmental degradation. The consequences of environmental
degradation have caused, among other things, global warming, depletion of
stratospheric ozone layer, pollution of sea and rivers, noise and light pollution,
acid rain and desertification (Ramlogan, 1997). Environmental problems have
International Journal of Sustainability
been recognized and acknowledged at the United Nations Conference held in in Higher Education
Rio de Janeiro in 1992, which culminated in Agenda 21. However a review by Vol. 4 No. 4, 2003
pp. 305-313
the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP, 1999) seven years later q MCB UP Limited
1467-6370
asserted that the global system of environmental management is moving in the DOI 10.1108/14676370310497534
IJSHE right direction but much too slowly. These circumstances had been associated
4,4 with two master trends: lifestyle and industrialization.
It is predicted that if the present trend of economic growth and consumption
pattern continues, the natural environment will be increasingly stressed.
Among the full-scale environmental emergencies recognized by United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) are water supply, land degradation, tropical
306 forest destruction and loss of biodiversity, urban air pollution, and global
warming as a result of increased greenhouse gas emissions.
Malaysia, which is at an intermediary stage of development, is facing
tremendous challenge in ensuring sustainable development. The national
statistics showed that the state of some of the Malaysian environment is rather
stressful. Urban air quality, river water quality, deforestation, household
wastes and hazardous wastes are some of the examples of environmental
issues faced by the nation. The air quality index particularly in the urban areas
has deteriorated and falls under moderate levels with API of slightly above 50.
Since 1995, the number of clean rivers has dropped from 48 to 34 rivers but the
number of very polluted rivers has decreased slightly in the same period from
14 to 12 (Department of Statistics Malaysia, 2001). Solid domestic waste is one
of the major environmental problems faced by most municipalities in the
country particularly in urban areas. The generation rate of waste is 1.0kg/day
per person and 80 percent of the 230 landfills in the country have only two
years of lifespan left. Despite rigorous campaigns of recycling, the attainment
of recycling rate has increased from 1-2 percent in 1997 to merely 5 percent in
2001 (Aini and Roslina, 2002). Accordingly, various policies and strategies are
currently developed and implemented by the government in order to ensure
sustainable development of the nation. Environmental degradation is a global
concern for its effects are borderless and the quality of life of the present and of
future generation depends on the protection and preservation of ecosystems.
It was found that failure to overcome environmental problems or failure to
preserve a healthy environment is a result of overemphasis in technical,
socio-economic and political factors and inadequate attention given to
non-economic value of the environment (Tikka et al., 2000). Studies have shown
that the most significant factor affecting nature is not the official government
policy but public awareness (Chukwuma, 1998) or public concern for
environment and the readiness to bear the cost of minimizing the adverse
impacts of their activities (Ramsey and Rickson, 1976). The root causes of
environmental problems are related to human activities, consumption and
production patterns, many of which are unaffected by environmental policies.
Studies by various scholars have demonstrated that the quality of the
environment depends critically on the level of knowledge, attitude, values and
practices of the people (Schulitz and Oskamp, 1996; Mansaray and Abijoye,
1998). It is recognized that environmental education help create awareness,
concern, recognition of the consequences of their actions and thus adopting an
environmentally responsible behavior (Salequzzman and Stocker, 2001; Environmental
Bradley et al., 1999; Fien, 1997). concerns
Teachers play a significant part in determining the successful
implementation of environmental education among the young. It was
demonstrated that teacher’s attitude, knowledge and behavior towards the
environment affect and influence the students’ attitude (Summers, 2000;
Bradley et al., 1999; Tartar, 1998). Hence determination of the environmental
307
gap of the teachers with respect to concern, knowledge and practices is
essential in order to assess their preparedness in guiding and shaping the
young generation to adopt a sustainable lifestyle. Understanding of the
relationship between these variables would enable various relevant parties to
develop effective policies and measures in order to create new patterns of
behavior of individuals, groups and society. Accordingly, the objectives of the
study were to determine the level of environmental knowledge, concern,
ecologically conscious consumer behavior and the extent of involvement in
nature-related activities of the teachers. The relationships among these
variables were also investigated.

Methodology
The research design was a descriptive type of study utilizing survey method.
Five primary and five secondary schools in the state of Selangor (one of the 13
states in Malaysia) were randomly selected for the study. Five districts were
chosen randomly from nine districts. In each of the selected area, a primary and
a secondary school was chosen. Secondary school consists of students aged
between 13 years to 17 years while primary school housed children from seven
to 12 years old. The sample size of the study was 296 teachers randomly
selected from a total population of 801. A return rate of 96.3 percent was
obtained (n ¼ 285). Prior to data collection, permission was sought from the
Ministry of Education. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 10.0.
Environmental concern (EC) refers to the belief, stance and the degree of
concern an individual holds towards the environment. It was assessed using an
adapted version by Zimmer et al. (1996) which consisted of seven dimensions
ranging from concern of waste, wildlife, biosphere, general issues
(responsibility and education), health and energy awareness to
environmental technology. It contained 22 statements, with a response
format of a five-points Likert scale ranging from strongly agree (5) to strongly
disagree (1). Ecologically conscious consumer behavior (ECCB) refers to
consumption practices in which a person takes into consideration the impact of
his/her purchasing, utilization or choices of his/her action to the environment.
ECCB scale was adapted from Straughan and Robberts (1999). It consisted of
15 questions with a respond format of 4 for all the time, 3 for always true, 2 for
sometime true and 1 for never true. Involvement in nature-related activities
refers to the degree or associations with environmentally related recreational
IJSHE activities that are either indoor or outdoor. The scale comprised of ten
4,4 questions and respondents were being asked about their frequency of
engagement in nature or environmental related activities with the following
anchor: 4 ¼ at least once a month, 3 ¼ several times a year, 2 ¼ once a year
and 1 ¼ less than once a year or never. The last part of the questionnaire
measured the objective level of environmental knowledge, which contained 15
308 questions. The questions consisted of general awareness, principle and
know-how knowledge of environmental issues. A score of 1 was given for a
right answer and 0 for a wrong answer. In addition, the subjective level of
knowledge was assessed using ten questions with a response format of
knowing very well (1), know (2) to don’t know at all (3). The questionnaire was
translated into Malay language. Pilot study was conducted and the wording of
the questionnaire was amended accordingly. The post-test value of reliability
coefficient (Cronbach’s alpha) of the instrument was 0.89, 0.69 and 0.71 for EC,
ECCB and involvement in nature related activities respectively.

Results and discussions

The average age of the respondents was 34.7 years and 78 percent of them were
female teachers and majority was married. The percentage of the female
teachers in this study was slightly higher than the national average of 64
percent. The mean total teaching experience was 4.6 years. Majority were
Malays (92.6 percent), followed by Indian (3.9 percent), Chinese (3.1 percent)and
this reflects the general national distribution of race in national schools The
secondary school teachers were mainly graduate teachers while the primary
school teachers were diploma holders. Majority of them were locally trained
teachers. The mean income of the teachers was USD 440.00 per month,
implying that they were in the moderate-income earners. The overwhelming
majority (95 percent) stated that they were not members of any clubs or
organizations outside the school. From the seven sources of environmental
knowledge listed, television, newspaper and magazines were ranked first,
second and third respectively as the source that provided them with the
relevant information. Books, radio, internet and videos were secondary sources
to them.
The average score for environmental knowledge was 25 out of the total score
of 30. When asked to name two environmental problems in Malaysia, pollution,
waste, deforestation and flash flood were the four most frequently mentioned
issues. The other environmental issues that were also mentioned by the
respondents were land degradation and open burning. This indicates that the
respondents were aware of various environmental problems faced by the
country. On the whole they had a fairly good understanding of the general
environmental issues, causes and general impact of the human activities to the
environment. Nonetheless about 50 percent of the respondents were not able to
correctly answer the underlying causes of waste problem, water and air
pollution. It is interesting to note that almost all the respondents have rightly Environmental
agreed that the responsibility to maintain and protect the environment is the concerns
responsibility of all including the government, private sectors and individuals.
When the respondents were requested to rate their level of knowledge on ten
environmentally friendly practices, four issues were identified as being poor in
understanding. They were related to biodegradability, organic food, organic
farming techniques and labeling and packaging of environmentally-friendly
309
products.
The mean of environmental concern of the respondents was 3.6 on a scale of
1-4. Of the seven dimensions of environmental concern measured, the
respondents concerned for health was the highest (m ¼ 3.8) and the lowest was
concerned for waste (see Table I). Referring to Table II, about 96 percent of the
respondents reported a score of between 67 to 88. The findings serve to
illustrate that there was considerable level of environmental concern among the
respondents.
The mean of the ECCB was somewhat low with a score of 2.7 on a scale of 4.
Comparing between the five different categories of environmentally conscious
consumer behavior, recycling was the least frequently done activity with a
mean of 1.9. The means for reuse and reduction of resources was slightly
higher at 2.7 and 2.3 respectively. Energy/water conservation and the
consideration of impact of purchasing on the environment both had a mean of
3.0. From the activities listed, the four most frequently engaged behavior were
usage of unleaded petrol to reduce pollution (m ¼ 3.5), trying hard to reduce the
consumption of water (3.3), saving electricity (3.3) and do not purchase
products that harm the environment although low in price (3.0). The acts that

Dimensions Mean

Health 3.8
Wildlife 3.7
Technology 3.6
Biosphere 3.6
Waste 3.6 Table I.
Energy 3.5 Mean of environmental
General issues 3.0 concern

Score Level of environmental concern n %

, 43 Low 1 0.3 Table II.

44-66 Medium 10 3.5 Levels of environmental
67-88 High 273 96.1 concern
IJSHE were least done by the respondents was to bring own containers to avoid using
4,4 packaging or plastic bags (m ¼ 1.6) and recycling household trash (1.9). As
depicted in Table III, majority of the respondents (82 percent) reported a score
of between 30-44. The data reflects that the practice of ECCB was only
moderately undertaken by the respondents.
Table IV shows the mean of involvement in nature-related activities of the
310 respondents. Three nature-related activities that were most frequently
undertaken by the respondents were all related to indoor activities. They
were associated with acquiring information on environmental-related issues
such as watching documentary films, reading environmental articles in
newspaper or magazines, all with a mean of above 3.0. However with an overall
mean of 2.5 on a scale of 1-4, it shows that the respondents were not actively
involved in nature-related activities. Participation in environmental clubs or
organizations, involvement in community work, and outdoor activities were
rather unpopular among the respondents. Among the variables of the study
tested for linear relationships, it was found that only ECCB and involvement
with nature related activities had positive linear relationship (r ¼ 0.35
significant at 0.01 level).

Conclusions and recommendations

The data have illustrated the presence of a considerable level of environmental
concern among the respondents. The environmental knowledge was fair but

Table III. Score Level of ECCB n %

Levels of
environmentally 15-29 Low 0 0
conscious consumer 30-44 Medium 260 81.8
behavior 45-60 High 52 18.2

Activities Mean

I visit parks/zoo etc. 2.8

I go fishing/collecting specimen of flora or fauna 1.5
I plant trees, vegetables or do gardening 2.8
I go camping/ picnicking/hiking 2.3
I am a member of environmental clubs or organizations 1.2
I participate in environmental activities organized by clubs or organizations 1.8
I attend environmental seminars/exhibitions 2.0
I watch documentary movies on TV on wildlife 3.6
I read environmental articles in newspapers 3.5
I read magazines or books on environmental-related articles 3.3
Table IV.
Mean of nature-related Notes: 1 ¼ Never or less than once a year; 2 ¼ Once a year; 3 ¼ Several times a year;
activities 4 ¼ At least once a month
lacking in general understanding of the underlying causes of the environmental Environmental
problems. However the practices of environmentally responsible behavior was concerns
not in concert with level of concern and knowledge. Although the respondents
reported that they had identified waste as one of the environmental issues of
the country, the practices that would reduce waste problem such as reduce,
reuse and recycling was rather low. A study conducted by Othman (2000)
found similar findings where although the level of environmental awareness
311
was high but environmental factor ranked fourth after quality, price and brand
when making purchasing decision by the consumers. It appeared that adoption
of a type of practice or behavior would depend on whether there is direct
financial benefit, convenience or habit. As such, different approaches are
needed to align current habits with ecologically responsible practices. Reward
and penalization in terms of paying for one’s action ought to be considered as
one of a viable solution. From the data, it indicates that most of information and
learning was acquired through mass media particularly television and
newspaper. Hence, the policy makers could take advantage of the situation by
properly planning a comprehensive environmental education of the masses via
these media besides formal education.
The data indicated that most of learning on environment was through mass
media but lacking in nature experiences. With significant relationships found
between ECCB and nature-related activities, greater opportunities and more
active participation may paved the way for an adoption of a more sustainable
lifestyle. Studies have shown that “in” and “with” nature experiences was
found to affect behavior (Palmer et al., 1999; Finger, 1994). As such the
development of environmentally responsible behavior could further be
enhanced through active participation in environmental-related activities
such as enrolment in nature-related clubs, environmental seminars, campaigns
and participation in outdoor activities and hobbies. This nature of activities
was found to be unpopular among the respondents. Studies by Aini et al. (2001)
found that the greatest effect of the water shortage crisis was the positive
changing of attitude of people towards the value of water and the adoption of
water saving practices. In view of that, experience, direct experiential learning
and field observation of the impact of development and one’s behavior on
environment may generate more concern that induces sustainable consumption
pattern and lifestyle.
In order to ensure successful implementation of environmental education to
the young generation, the teachers who are their instructors and role models,
need to fully equip themselves with adequate knowledge, proper attitude and
appropriate consumption pattern and lifestyle. There are various ways of
facilitating this: in service-training programs for the teachers should give
emphasis to environmental aspects; encourage involvement of teachers in
environmental related activities/co-curriculum at the school; establish linkage
between the school and corporations or organizations that have environmental
IJSHE interest; and organize talks, seminars and visits. Teachers training syllabus at
4,4 the universities or colleges of the country may need to be looked into so as to
incorporate more environmental-related contents and activities so as to equip
the educators of the future generation.. As aptly pointed out by Hudson (2001),
environmental education must stay relevant to the needs and interest of the
community and yet constantly adapt to the rapidly changing social and
312 technological landscape. These efforts would simultaneously raised ecological
awareness and responsibilities of both the teachers and the students to the
nation and the mankind of the present and future. Consequently it would help
to materialize the ultimate goal of environmental education which is to create
new patterns of behavior of individuals, groups and society that adopt a
sustainable consumption lifestyle that would lead to sustainable development.
Environmental problems are multidimensional issues and therefore everyone,
engineers, social scientists, industries, government and non-governmental
organizations and individuals have to collaborate to resolve the matter.

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