Does Climate Change Education Result to Less Carbon?

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the climate change knowledge and measure the individual carbon footprint of 164 Grade 10 students who were randomly selected from two highly urbanized and two less urbanized schools in the Philippines. The study also investigated the demographic factors that were previously found to affect the amount of carbon footprint. A 20-item test was used to measure climate change knowledge while the Philippine version of World Wildlife Fund's (WWF) carbon footprint calculator was used to measure individual carbon footprint. Response pattern of the climate change knowledge test was analyzed and carbon footprint was computed for each participant. One-way Analysis of Variance was used to determine the influence of demographic factors on individual carbon footprint. Results show that the participants were "moderately knowledgeable" about climate change. Meanwhile, their mean carbon footprint (1.20 metric tons per capita per year) is slightly higher than the 2014 Philippine average (1.1 metric tons per capita per year) which suggests that being knowledgeable on climate change does not necessarily result to lower carbon footprint. Results of the study likewise show that among the demographic factors investigated, only parents' highest educational attainment (p= 0.000), level of urbanization (p= 0.002), and household income (p= 0.044) influence individual carbon footprint. It is recommended that in teaching the science of climate change, the social, political and ethical dimensions of the issue may be emphasized. The topic may also be discussed in the context of Education for Sustainable Development to engage students in concrete carbon reduction initiatives.