Environmental Literacy and Integration of Environment Issues among Science Teachers in Region XI: Basis for Training Design

Abstract

The study sought to determine the relationship between the level of environmental literacy and level of integration of environmental issues of science teachers in Region XI. The results of the study will be used to design training on the integration of environmental education in science curriculum. The study employed descriptive-correlation research design. The respondents involved were 400 science teachers from 26 identified public secondary schools in Region XI random sampling. Findings showed that science teachers had high level of overall environmental literacy and integration of environmental issues. Specifically, the respondents obtained the highest level of environmental literacy in terms of ecological knowledge while lowest in the pro-environmental behavior. There was a significant relationship between the level of environmental literacy and the level of integration of environmental issues among the science teachers in Region XI. Ecological knowledge and awareness influenced the level of integration of environmental issues of the science teachers. Results implied that science teachers may have higher level of awareness and knowledge about the environment but behaving pro-environmentally did not motivate them to integrate environmental education in their classes. Keywords: Environmental literacy, environmental issues, Science teachers, secondary schools, Descriptive-correlation, Region XI, Philippines