Assessing an Environmental Attitude Development Model: Factors Influencing the Environmental Attitudes of College Students.

Abstract

A study investigated factors affecting the development of positive attitudes toward enviroLmental issues among college students, focusing on the direct and indirect effects of student background characteristics, institutional characteristics, and college experience and outcomes variables. Data were drawn from the Cooperative Institutional Research Programs's follow-up survey of the 1985 freshman class, using a subsample of the database representing 18,887 students. Analysis of these data suggests that being male or liberal increases the likelihood of positive environmental attitude development. In addition, the results suggested that the number of science courses and human ethical/social activist values play important rcOes in development of a positive attitude toward the environment. Also, student academic and social integration appear to indirectly influence environmental attitude development. Based on these findings, it is urged that colleges and universities find methods to support: (1) development of a science curriculum incorporating environmental issues for both science and non-science majors; (2) hiring of environmental science faculty or retraining of other science faculty; and (3) development of public forums for student and faculty discussion of social issues and human ethics. Appended materials include definitir of variables, data summaries, and analytical models. (Contains 31 references.) (MSE) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** Paper presented at the American Education Research Association Conferenc::. April 8-12, 1996, New York Assessing an Environmental Attitude Development Model: Factors Influencing the Environmental Attitudes of College Students Grace Hess-Quimbita Science Department Oakwood School 11600 Magnolia Boulevard North Hollywood, California 91601 Michael Pavel Department of Educational Administration and Counseling Psychology Washington State University Pullman, Washington U 5 DEPAEITME `;7 O F DUCATION ED ATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER :ERIC TOM ,10,rimprd hds Over rniv.ddred rer,eived from Ihn poro,jl 3,0 rron./.01r-, w.ddr,ddlq ,1 IN.r,nr CO logo, hAvcr boon 0,310 fl driv-dd, II irddmr, nr rIpirucrot stmed dmrdd rin fl,0 0000r.cdrily roprocFmt OERI poshon or poIlcy PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY