Do demographic factors impact plant knowledge and plant awareness disparity?

Abstract

Since 1999, plant blindness, now known as plant awareness disparity (PAD), has gained great awareness. However, no study to date has explored the impact of multiple demographic factors, including those of an indigenous population, in understanding plant knowledge. Specifically, this study assessed how race, gender, rurality, and college type of general biology students influenced their self-perceived plant knowledge and where that knowledge was learned. A total of 702 students across six different colleges, including three tribal and three non-tribal colleges, completed the survey. The survey included demographic questions, five-point Likert questions, and choose all that apply questions to assess students’ confidence in their plant knowledge, plant identification skills, where they learned that plant knowledge, and from whom they learned it. College type (tribal vs. non-tribal) and race (American Indian/Alaskan Native vs. White) showed little differences across most analyses. However, rurality (rural vs. urban) and gender (male vs. female) were often significantly different (p ≤ 0.05). Similar findings were reflected in confidence in identifying specific plant categories. In most cases, participants disagreed when answering that they were confident in identifying categories of plants, with the only exception being gardening. The types of plants participants knew the most about were food, herbs, and foraging plants, which corresponded with gardening and foraging being the activities that taught them most about plants. Parent(s)/guardian(s) were the most important source of plant knowledge followed by school. The information in this study can aid educators, resource managers, and researchers in improving education, curriculum, and PAD.