Effects of a community environmental management Education prototype on knowledge and attitude to Sustainable environmental management of residents of Ago-are, oyo state.
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Date
2013
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Abstract
This study determined the effects of a self-designed community environmental management education prototype on the Ago-Are Community members’ knowledge of sustainable environmental management. It also assessed the effects of the prototype on the community members’ attitude to sustainable environmental management and examined the moderating effects of the residents’ gender on knowledge and attitudeto some aspects of sustainable environmental management. These were with a view to enhancing rural peoples’ knowledge of sustainable environmental management and inculcating positive attitude towards the environment in them.
The study employed the pretest-posttest and control group quasi-experimental research designs. The study involved 400 residents (200 men and 200 women) selected through stratified randomization technique from 50 different societies from the Ago-Are Community. Out of the 400 participants, 200 people (100 men and 100 women i.e. 4 per society) were the participants in the experimental group (exposed to treatment – training on sustainable environmental management), while 200 (100 men and 100 women i.e. 4 per society) were in the control group (not exposed to treatment at all). The “Community Action Cycle for Community Mobilisation” in the Howard-Grabman and Snetro “Field Guide on How to Mobilize Communities for Health and Social Change” was adapted to develop a “Prototype of Community Environmental ManagementEducation”.A Community Environmental Management Education Test of Knowledge and Community Environmental Management Education Attitude Measurement Scale, addressing five core areas of sustainable environmental management(biodiversity, pollution,conservation, environmental health and sustainable development) were used to determine the participants’ knowledge of and attitude to sustainable environmental management. The data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics.
Results obtained showed that there was a significant effect [(F (2, 597) = 134.7; P<.05)]of the community environmental management education prototype on the Ago-Are Community members’ knowledge of sustainable environmental management. There was also a significant effect [(F (2, 597) = 578.6; P<.05)] of the community environmental management education prototype on the Ago-Are Community members’ attitude to sustainable environmental management. Result further showed that there wassignificant moderating effect of gender on the Ago-Are Community members’ (i) knowledge of [(χ2 (1, 207) =2.4; P<.05)] and (ii) attitude to [(χ2 (1, 324) =2.4; P<.05)] the five aspects of sustainable environmental management; although, the female residents’ overall averagescore washigher both in knowledge (x̄=86.1) and attitude (x̄=93.6) to sustainable environmental management than their male counterpartswith overall average knowledge score of 86.75, and attitude score of 84.5.
The study concluded that grass root mobilization involving male and female community members could assist the people to acquire relevant knowledge and develop positive attitude towards sustainable environmental management.
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121p
Keywords
environmental, prototype, management, Ago-Are, Oyo State