The effect of a rainwater education program on South Korean students' awareness and attitudes

Abstract

Recently, rainwater has come to the forefront as an alternative resource contributing to solving various environmental problems, especially those related to water. However, more or less biased perspectives on rainwater as a pollutant, mainly derived from acid rain, have still been pervasive in public as well as research communities. Considering the significance of rain harvesting in recent society, it is necessary to promote educational efforts to overcome such social prejudices and improve desired values towards rainwater. Thus, this research attempted to develop a teaching-learning program focusing on the theme of rainwater for high school students in Korea. To verify the effectiveness of the program, one group pre/post testing was conducted with 57 students participating in the courses. According to the survey, students show significant differences in both awareness and attitude towards rainwater as well as water after the courses. In conclusion, this study has an implication on developing an effective educational way to improve students' positive recognitions and attitudes regarding rainwater-related issues. Such an educational effort might contribute to sharing the worthiness of preserving rainwater with the future generation and promoting rainwater harvesting within wider public participation. © Korean Society of Environmental Engineers.