Abstract:

In this study attempt was made to model the environmental literacy of Malaysian pre-university students enrolled in a matriculation college. Students enrolled in the matriculation colleges in Malaysia are the top notch students in the country. Environmental literacy of this group is perceived important because in future these students will be joining work force that requires important decision making. Environmental Literacy Model of these students is explained using environmental attitude, belief, conservation knowledge and Responsible Environmental Behavior (REB) with knowledge as a mediator. For this purpose data has been collected from 384 students (114 male and 270 female) and analyzed using covariance based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM) approach. The result shows that REB is influenced by the students’ attitude and belief towards performing REB and knowledge about the environmental issues. On the other hand, students’ belief towards the environment does not influence the formation of REB. Furthermore students’ knowledge also does not mediate the influence of belief on the REB. These findings imply that individual who possess certain desirable attitude, belief and conservation knowledge have more tendencies to engage in REB. The results suggest that the matriculation colleges should integrate approaches that could promote attitude, belief and conservation knowledge into the mainstream of education.

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