Development of Environmental Education Model for Primary School Pupils in Malaysia

Abstract

The research was conducted to develop an Environmental Education Model and to identify the level of awareness, knowledge, attitude and skill of primary school pupils in Malaysia towards the environment using the model. The research was conducted through a survey using a questionnaire. The sample was randomly selected, involving 1000 pupils of Year 5 from Peninsular Malaysia divided into four zones, north zone (Kedah), east zone (Kelantan), west zone (Kuala Lumpur) and south zone (Melaka). The findings showed that the level of awareness, knowledge, attitude and skill of pupil were at a high level. The model had been developed by looking at direct impact testing through Evaluation Assessment Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) which suggested that awareness and skill factors were factors that significantly influenced pupils’ attitudes toward environmental education. Both relationships were positive. However, the relationship between knowledge and attitude was not significant. The findings also revealed that the awareness factor was the factor that most strongly influenced pupil’s attitudes. It can be concluded that the awareness variable was the main predictor of this structure model in predicting pupils’ appreciation toward environmental education.