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ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS
AWARENESS AND ATTITUDE

About the Author

The Author is currently employed as lecturer at the Institute of Vocational Studies, New Delhi
(Affiliated to GGSIP University, Delhi). She has obtained B.Sc. (Hons).in Botany from Delhi
University, Delhi in 1995 and acquired M.Sc degree in Botany from Jamia Hamdard, Delhi in
1997 with distinction. She has acquired B.Ed & M.Ed degrees from Jamia Millia Islamia, New
Delhi in the year 1999 & 2000 respectively. She was awarded Doctor of Philosophy in Education
by Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi in the year 2005. The author has four year of teaching
experience as Lecturer in Education.
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Chapter 1
ENVIRONMENT AND EDUCATION CRITICAL CONCERNS AND EMERGING FOCUS

“Whatever we take from the earth may that have quick growth
again “0” purifier may we not injure they vital or thy heart”.`
The Atharva Veda
Mother Earth is the home of all mankind animal kingdom and plant life. It is incumbent on
man to take from earth what he can give back to it quickly by planting, growing, rearing supplying, what he had
taken from it. Again it is man’s duty to keep the earth, which is his eternal home, clean and purify what he had
already polluted. Man must not injure the vitals, he cannot replenish, as God has not gifted man with the power to
create stock, even to the slightest extent. So, protection and conservation of environment for posterity is the bounden
duty of the present and future generation of mankind.

Man has become guardian of the earth. His prerogative to use natural resources should be balanced by his
responsibility to cherish them, protect them and use them carefully. Man is far more than a
producer and consumer; life is not merely production and consumption. It is protection and conservation
also. The relationship between man and environment is based upon the principle of action and reaction. An
aggressive approach to environment is bound to backlash.

The mad rat race among the nations over the globe for development jeopardized the health of man itself.
Progress in agriculture and industry is taken as general criterion of development of any country. Competition and
technology has paved the way for scientific development accompanied which natural destruction. Man’s
understanding of environment in the recent years especially with reference to greenhouse effect, global warming,
deforestation, desertification has proved that environment however, vast it may appear to be cannot be taken for
granted. As the great Buddha States, “ Desire is the cause of sorrow and we are reaping the big harvest of sorrow
caused by our insatiable desire”. A brief outline of the dimensions and causes of environmental problems has been
discussed as under.

(A) Four Major Dimension of Environment Problems

Human “Success stories” are marked by struggle to control and thereby interfere with the environment to wrist
a good living from it. Human influence in most cases creates ecological imbalance with deleterious effects. These
unwanted effects result in serious environmental problems which, in the long run, may lesh back and
cause the deterioration of human well being.

In recent conferences on environmental education, four dimensions of environmental problems in the


contemporary society have been identified. These are Physical, Economic and Social Consequences,
Geographical Scale, Time Scale and Socioeconomic System. (UNESCO),
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(1) The Physical, Economic and Social Consequences of Environmental Problems .

Many human activities, particularly the poorly planned developmental programmes have detrimental and
irreversible. Consequences. These consequences may consist of resource deterioration, biological pollution,
chemical pollution and physical disruption.

• Resource deterioration involves a reduction in the quality and /or quantity of resources. Examples are
deforestation, desertification and indiscriminate destruction of flora and fauna, depletion of mineral
resources.

• Biological pollution occurs when diseases or pest spread. Malaria and Diarrhoea often result
from irrigation and other water resources projects. Inappropriate agricultural practices encourage the spread of
pest.

• Chemicals pollution refers to the release of chemical substances into the environment resulting in the
deterioration of soil, air, water or food. The chemical pollutants are often traced back to industrialization,
urbanization, transportation, energy production and consumption etc. A poison that finds its way into the diet
through a food chain and the subtle interaction of some chemicals with the human body are examples which
encompasses this type of pollution.

• Physical disruption is either an encroachment or depletion effect on the physical environment. Encroachment
refers to interference with the levels of productivity upon the social, mental or physical well being
of humankind and other living things. Depletion inVolves the reduction of the future availability of resources.
Wasteful use and lifestyles of people may cause the depletion of our precious resources. The exploration of
water, soil, air or flora and fauna may bring in cash profits but its unwise utilization will deplete
the quality of resources and have deleterious impact an human health.

(2) The Geographical scale of Environmental Problems

• Environmental problems range from local to global. Global environmental problems call for worldwide action
and management based on international conventions. Examples include threats to ozone layer, global
warming, disastrous impact of nuclear radiations, impact of climatic change, extinction of flora and fauna.

• Environmental problems at the regional level requires agreement of the affected countries on a plan of
action in solving problems of common concern. These problems may include the destruction of rain
forest, natural calamities, the pollution of regional lakes or seas and the spread of diseases.

• Environmental problems at national level may be solved by a nationwide action that considers the
country’s economic capability and cultural tradition. For example, the human settlement
problems are solved in different ways by different types of societies.
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• Environmental problems that occur at the regional or local level require the concerted action of groups
of people within a state to solve them. Examples of these problems are several polluted streams from
different areas polluting a river in another area or the destruction of many woodlands may lead to
the adjoining plains being turned into deserts

(3) The Time scale of Environmental problems

The impact of human activities upon the environment may be felt immediately or may take time before their
effects become apparent. Some impacts have both a short term and a long term effect. An example is Smog.
Smog affects the environment immediately but its effects on human health take a longer time to
be felt. It is, therefore, essential that solutions to such problems consider the future risk and present environmental
risk.

(4) The socioeconomic systems affected by environment al problems

• Developing countries throughout the world are confronted with problems which arise in the course of
development. Environmental problems resulting during the course of development are poor conditions of
human settlements, loss of productivity through disease and malnutrition, vulnerability to natural disasters such
as earthquake and loss of natural resources. For instance, forest destruction and soil erosion, yet developing
countries also suffer in the process of development. The conceived development projects may result in tradeoff
with equally undesirable or worse effects. For example, Large scale mining can yield quick profits
accompanied with fast depletion of resources and alarming increase in pollution.

• Industrialised and Developed countries are faced with more complex environment problems . These problems
may arise from the intensive application of science and technology resulting in industrial pollution, high rates
of resource use because of abundance and socio cultural problems of living in larger cities.

(B) Major Causes of Environmental Problems

Human activities since time immemorial have always resulted in changes in the environment. Yet, it was only
in the last few decades that the impact of human activities became accelerated and more pronounced. Pressure from
raised population growth, uncontrolled and lavish consumption, industrialization, urbanization, science technological
reVolution has accelerated the rate of environmental destruction. Environmental problems affect not only a certain
locality or a certain type of society but also the people throughout the world of developed as well as developing
countries. The major causes of environmental problems are

• Pollution

• Population Explosion

• Urbanisation

• Scientific and technological problems .


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The world is confronted with changes in the composition of air, water and soil on world wide scale leading to
pollution of abiotic factors which disturbs the dynamic equilibrium of the environment and in this process biotic
component is the worst sufferer. In the subsequent paragraph environmental pollution problems ,its types, its sources,
its impact on environment including remedial solution to combat the pollution problems has been discussed.

POLLUTIONANDGLOBALENVIRONMENTALCHANGE

Environmental Pollution

Environmental pollution is an undesirable change in the physical, chemical or biological


characteristic or air, water and soil that may harmfully affect the life or create a potential health hazard of any
living organism. Pollution is this direct or indirect change in any component of the biosphere that
is harmful to living component (s) and in particular undesirable for man, affecting adversely the industrial
progress, cultural and natural assets or general environment.

(Environmental Protection Act, 1986)

Environmental Pollutants

Any solid, liquid or gaseous substance present in such concentration as may be or tend to be injurious to the
environment. A pollutant may thus include any chemical or geochemical substance, biotic component or its
product, or physical factor that is released intentionally by man into the environment in such a concentration
that may nave adverse, harmful or unpleasant effects.

(Environmental Protection Act, 1986)

Kindsof Pollution

Pollution can be classified in many ways. On the basis of part of environment where it occurs most
(atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere), it can be classified as air pollution, water pollution and
soil pollution. In terms of origin, pollution may be natural (e.g., Volcanic eruptions which add tons of
toxic gases and particulate matter in the environment), or anthropogenic (man-made, such as
industrial pollulion, agricultural pollution, etc.). According to the physical nature of the pollutants, the
categories include : gases, particulate matter, temperature, noise, radioactivity, solid waste etc. These
categories can be named as gaseous pollution, dust pollution, thermal pollution, noise pollution,
radioactive pollution, etc.

From the ecosystem viewpoint, pollutants can be categorised into non-biodegradable and
biodegradable pollutants. Non-biodegradable materials, such as chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides (dichloro
diphenyl trichloro ethane or DDT, benzene hexachloride or BHC, etc.), waste plastic bottles,
polyethylene bags, used soft-drink cans, etc. are either not degraded, or degraded only very slowly by
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decomposers in the nature. Therefore, non-biodegradable pollutants are difficult to manage, and in most
cases there is no treatment process to handle the anthropogenic input of such materials in the
ecosystem.

Biodegradable pollutants, such as market garbage, livestock wastes, municipal sewage, etc., on the other
hand, can be decomposed efficiently by the decomposers. Therefore, biodegradable pollutants are
easily manageable by natural processes or in engineered systems such as the waste treatment. If managed properly,
biodegradable wastes can be turned into useful resources.

AIR POLLUTION

Any substance that adds to or subtracts from the usual constituents of Air altering its physical and chemical properties
sufficiently enough to produce measurable adverse effect on man, other animals, vegetation and materials can be
regarded as air pollution.

(Environmental Protection Act 1986)

Degradation of a i r q u a l i t y and natural atmospheric conditions


constitute air pollution. An air pollutant may be a gas or particulate matter (i.e., suspended aerosols
composed of solids and liquids). Concentrations of atmospheric pollutants depend mainly on the total
mass emitted into the atmosphere, and t h e atmospheric conditions that affect their fate and transport.
Most of the air we breathe is elemental O2 and N2. About 1 per cent is composed of other constituents, such as
CO., and water vapour. A small part of this 1 per cent may, however, be air pollutants, including gases and
p a r t i c u l a t e matter. Even such a small concentration may be cxt remely
harmful to life and property.

Natural sources of air pollution include pollen, dust and smoke (from forest fires and Volcanic ash)
which are e m i t t e d into t h e atmosphere. Anthropogenic air pollutants enter
the atmosphere from fixed and mobile sources. Fixed sources include large factories, electrical power
plants, mineral smelters and different small-scale industries, while mobile sources include all sorts of
transport vehicles moving by road, rail or air.

Air pollutants can be classified into two categories, viz.. primary and secondary air
pollutants. Primary pollutants enter the atmosphere directly from various sources. Secondary
pollutants are formed during chemical reactions between primary air pollutants and other atmospheric
constituents, s u c h as water vapour. Generally, these reactions occur in the presence of sunlight.

Primary Air Pollutants and their Effects

Amongst the primary air pollutants, most important are particulate matter, carbon monoxide (CO),
hydrocarbons (HCs), sulphur dioxide (SO2), and nitrogen oxides (NO).
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Particulate matter comprises solid particles or liquid droplets (aerosols) small enough to remain
suspended in air; examples are soot, smoke, dust, asbestos fibres. pesticides, some metals (including Hg, Pb,
Cu and Fe), and also biological agents like tiny dust mites and flower pollen. Atmospheric particles having diameter
> 10 m, generally settle out in less than a day, whereas particles with diameters 1 m or less can
remain suspended in air for weeks. Suspended particulate matter in the lower atmosphere (troposphere)
causes and aggravates human respiratory illness, l i k e asthma, chronic bronchitis, etc. When
accumulated in the upper atmosphere (stratosphere), particulate matter may significantly a l t e r
t h e r a d i a t i o n a n d t h e r m a l budgets of the
atmosphere, lowering the temperature at the earth’s surface.

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a product of incomplete combustion of fossil fuels. Nearly 50 per cent of all CO
emission originates from automobiles. It is also present in cigarette smoke. CO is short-lived in the
atmosphere and gets oxidised to CO2. Carbon monoxide is highly poisonous to most animals. When
inhaled, CO reduces t h e Oxygen carrying capacity of blood.

Hydrocarbons (HCs) or Volatile organic carbon (VOCs) are compounds composed of hydrogen
and carbon. HCs are produced naturally during decomposition of organic matter and by certain types of
plants (e.g.. pine trees).
Methane (CH 4 ) i s most abundant hydrocarbon in the atmosphere, is eVolved from soil in
flooded rice fields and swamps. Benzene and its derivatives, such as formaldehyde are carcinogenic
(substance t h a t causes cancer). Formaldehyde e m i t t e d from indoor
sources, such as newly-manufactured carpeting, causes indoor pollution. Some relatively reactive HCs
contribute to the generation of secondary pollutants. HCs are also generated during the burning of fossil fuels
(coal and petroleum).
Sulphur dioxide (SO 2 ) is t h e major constituent in the emission when sulphur-
containing coal is burnt. Ore smelters and oil refineries also emit significant amounts of SO2. A high concentration of
SO2 in ambient air causes severe respiratory problems . Exposure to high SO 2concentration is also harmful to
plants.
Nitrogen oxide (NO2) are formed mainly from N2 and O2 during combustion of fossil fuels at high
temperature in automobile engines NO2 stands for an indeterminate mixture of NO and NO2.
Nitrogen oxides cause the reddish-brown haze (brown air) in traffic-congested city air, which contributes to heart
and lung problems and may be carcinogenic. Nitrogen oxides also contribute to acid rain because they
combine with water droplets to produce nitric acid (HNO3) and other acids.

Secondary Air Pollutants and their Effects


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Photochemical smog : The classical example of secondary pollutant, photochemical smog is


formed in traffic_congested metropolitan cities where warm conditions and intense solar radiation are
present (Figs 1 (a) and (b)]. Photochemical smog is composed m a i n l y of ozone (O 3 ),
peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) and NO2. It is often called brown air where solar radiation is intense.
In areas or seasons of lesser solar radiation, smog formation is incomplete and the air is referred to as
grey air. Automobile exhaust contains HC and NO and these play an important role in O3 and PAN
formation in urban environment. A simplified set of the photochemical reactions involved in smog
formation is as follows :

Reaction occurring inside engine .


N2 + O2  2NO

Reactions occurring in atmosphere :


2NO + O2 –  2NO2

NO2 UV radiation NO + O

O+O2 O3

NO + O3  NO2 + O2

HC + NO + O2  NO2 + PAN

Smog ozone may damage plant as well as animal life. In plants the main damage occurs in leaf. Ozone
aggravates lung diseases in humans. Ozone an effective oxidant, corrodes the heritage building
surface and damages marble status and other cultural assets. Several plant species are also very
susceptible to PAN in smog. PAN damages chloroplasts and thus, the photosynthetic efficiency
and growth of plants are reduced. It also inhibits electron transport system and interferes with enzyme
systems that play important role in cellular metabolism. In humans, PAN causes acute irritation of eyes.

Acid rain : In a broad sense, acid rain refers to several ways in which acids from the atmosphere are
deposited on the earth. Acid deposition includes wet and dry deposition. Wet deposition refers to acidic-
water received through rain, fog, and snow. Dry deposition relates to the wind blown acidic gases and
particles in the atmosphere, which settle down on the ground. About half of the acidity in the atmosphere is
transferred to earth through dry deposition. Dry deposited gases and particles can also be washed from trees
and other surfaces by rainfall.
Nitrogen oxides (NOX), VOCs and SO2, are produced during the combustion of coal (in industry) and
petroleum (in automobile). Lightning in sky also produces NOX naturally. These gases are highly
reactive in air. They rapidly oxidise to acids (sulphuric or nitric), which quickly dissolve in water and are washed
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out to the ground as acid rain. Normally, rainwater is slightly acidic (pH 5.6-6.5) because water and
CO2 combine in air to fonn a weak acid. The pH of acid rain is less than 5.6, and could be as low as 4 or below.

Acid rain damages building materials and furnishing fabrics. Our heritage monuments (such as Taj Mahal at
Agra) are threatened by the corrosive action of acid deposition. Acid rain adversely affects terrestrial and
aquatic vegetation. Most plankters, molluscs and fish fry cannot tolerate water having pH below 5.0. Low pH
conditions also damage soil microbial community.

CONTROLOFAIRPOLLUTION.

Important preventive strategies to control air pollution are : (1) suitable fuel selection (e.g., fuel with
low sulphur content) and its efficient utilisation to reduce pollutant level in emission; (ii) modifications in industrial
processes and/or equipments to reduce emissions; (iii) correct selection of manufacturing site and zoning for
industrial set-up to disperse pollution sources. The most common methods of eliminating or reducing
p o l l u t a n t s to an acceptable level include destroying the pollutant by thermal or catalytic
combustion, changing the pollutant to a less toxic form, or collecting the pollutant by use of equipment to prevent its
escape into the atmosphere.

Control of Particulate Matter

Principally, two devices remove particulate air pollutants, viz arresters (used ideally to separate
particulate matters from contaminated air) and scrubbers (used to clean air for both dusts and gases by passing
it through a dry or wet packing material). Particulate matter arresters may be of different kinds. Cyclonic
separators and trajectory separators are commonly used to separate out particulate matters from
industrial emissions with minimum moisture content. These separators work on the principle of dust separation
by centrifugal force and are efficient for coarser ,dust particles. Filters are usually used to collect extremery
fine particulate matters. Different types of filter materials are available to suit different quality and size of the
particulate matters. However, electrostatic

Precipitator (ESP) is the most effective device to remove particulate pollutants. ESP works on the
principle of electrical charging o f t h e dust particles and collecting it on a differently
charged platform. Both dry and wet type scrubbers are also used for dust separation. however,
scrubber is the least used device for separating particulate matters from t h e emissions, as this device is best
suited for the removal of gaseous pollutants.

Control of Gaseous Pollutants

Combustion, a b s o r p t i o n a n d adsorption techniques are


used to control gaseous pollutants. In combustion process, oxidisable gaseous pollutants are completely burnt at
a high temperature. Petro-chemical. fertiliser, paints and varnish industries use combustion control of gaseous
pollutants. In absorption technique, gaseous pollutants are absorbed in suitable absorbent materials.
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Adsorption technique is applied to control toxic gases, vapours and inflammable compounds that could not be
efficiently removed or transferred by the aforesaid techniques. Such air pollutants are adsorbed on large solid
surfaces.

Control of Automobile Exhaust

Efficient engine (for example, multi-point fuel injection engine) can reduce the unburnt HC in auto-emissions.
Catalytic converter filters in the vehicle can convert NOX to nitrogen, reducing potential hazards of NOX. Good
quality automobile fuels can also drastically reduce the toxic contaminants in exhaust. Lead-free petrol can
reduce the load of lead in the exhaust. Automobile engines operated with compressed natural gas (CNG)
have significantly lowered toxic contaminants in exhaust.

WATERPOLLUTION

waterpollutioncanbe defined as any aquatic contamination ranging between two extremesvigorously highly enriched over productive water
body and one made injurious by chemicals, petrochemicals,metal, industrual effluents, radioactivematerial, diseases possing pathogenseetc.
whichmayeliminate many living organisms or even excludeallformsof life

(Environmental Protection Act,1986)

Sources of Water Pollution

On the basis of their origin, the sources of water pollutants can be broadly categorised into : (i) point sources,
where the effluent discharge occurs at a specific site; for example, sewage outlet of a municipal area or
effluent outlet of a factory; and (ii) non-point sources, where inflow of pollutants occurs over a
large area; for example, city storm water flow, agricultural runoff, etc. Point source pollution can be
effectively checked with appropriate technology. Non-point source pollution is difficult to control and
needs application of control measures on a large scale.

Water pollutants can be : (i) biological (pathogens, such as viruses, b a c t e r i a ,


protozoa, algae and helminths), (ii) chemical (organic chemicals like biocides, polychlorinated biphenyls
or PCBs; inorganic chemicals, like phosphates, nitrates, fluoride, etc.; also heavy metals like As, Pb, Cd, Hg, etc.),
and (iii) physical (hot water from industries, oil spills from oil carriers, etc.). These pollutants are generated by
different sources and activities, which are briefly described below.

Municipal wastewater : Liquid wastes from domestic activities such as kitchen, toilet and other
household wastewaters are, in most cases, discharged directly into a river or into a large water body nearby. Many
rivers in India, including the river Ganga, are polluted by indiscriminate discharge of wastewaters. The
famous Dal Lake in Kashmir is also heavily polluted by domestic sewage. Domestic effluents mostly carry
organic wastes, which are biodegradable. Excess input of nutrients occurs from detergent residues (e.g.,
phosphates) and organic remains (e.g., nitrates).
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Industrial wastewater : Both small-scale and large industrial activities produce wastewaters
contaminated by a variety of organic and inorganic pollutants. Almost all the rivers of India, at least in certain
stretches, are heavily polluted by the discharge of industrial wastewater. Even the marine environment is not spared,
and most of the coastal waters are threatened by pollution from the effluents of coastal prawn-culture farms and fish
processing industries. Most components of industrial effluents are toxic to ecological systems even at- low
concentrations, and many are non-biodegradable.

Hot water is another notable pollutant from the industries. Many industries, including power plants
and oil refineries, use water as c o o l a n t for the machinery. Release of hot wastewater,
having 8 to 10°C higher temperature than the intake water, causes thermal pollution in the water body.

Surface runoff from land : Pollutants in surface runoff (and storm water) vary according to
the nature of land over which it flows. The runoff from agricultural land is contaminated with pesticide residues and
residues of inorganic fertilisers. The runoff from urban areas mainly contains biodegradable organic pollutants.
Industrial sites may contribute to varied types of pollutants, like heavy metals, acids and various inorganic
compounds. All these pollutants in the runoff heavily contaminate our surface water and groundwater resources.

Oil spills : An oil spill is the accidental discharge of petroleum in oceans or estuaries. Capsized oil tankers,
offshore oil mining and oil exploration operations and oil refineries mainly contribute to oil pollution of marine
ecosystem. In addition to unpleasant aesthetic impact of oil-covered coastal region, the death of plankton, fish
and marine birds is a significant ecological effect of oil spills. Oil spills are also immensely harmful to coral reef
and can drastically damage the marine local biodiversity.

Effects of Water Pollution

Water pollutants adversely affect the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of the
a q u a t i c ecosystems and t h e q u a l i t y of groundwater.
Effects on Aquatic Ecosystem. : Organic and inorganic wastes decrease the dissolved O2 (DO) content of
water bodies. Water having DO content below 8.0 mg L –1 may be considered as contaminated. Heavily
polluted waters have DO content below 4.0 mg L–1. DO content of water is important for the survival of
aquatic organisms. The surface turbulence, .photosynthetic activity, O2 consumption by organisms and
decomposition of organic matter are the factors which determine the amount of DO present in water. Higher
amounts of organic waste increase the rates of decomposition and O 2 consumption, thereby causing a drop in DO
content of water. The demand for O2 is directly related to increasing input of organic wastes and is
expressed as biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) of water. BOD is a measure of oxygen required by
aerobic decomposers for the biochemical degradation of organic materials (i.e., biodegradable materials) in
water. Higher the BOD, lower would be the DO. Chemical oxygen demand (COD) is another measure
of pollution load in water. COD is the measure of oxygen equivalent of the requirement for oxidation of total
organic matter (biodegradable + non-biodegradable) present in water.
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Therefore. contamination of water bodies by pollutants will reduce DO content, and sensitive
organisms, like plankton, molluscs, and fish etc. will be eliminated. Only a few tolerant species, like annelid
worm Tubifex and some insect larvae may survive in highly polluted, low DO water, and they may
be recognised as indicator species for polluted waters. Biocide residues, PCBs and heavy metals, such as
Hg, Pb, Cd, Cu, As, etc. can directly eliminate different species of organisms.
Higher the temperature of water, lower is the rate of dissolution of O2 in water. Hence, hot wastewaters
discharged from industries, when added to water bodies, also lower its DO content.

Biological magnification : The phenomenon through which certain pollutants get accumulated in tissues
in increasing concentrations along the food chain, is called biological magnification. Such pollutants, e.g.,
DDT are non-biodegradable, i.e., once they are absorbed by an organism, they cannot be metabolised and broken
down or excreted out. These pollutants generally get accumulated in fat-containing tissues of t h e
organism. The classic example of biological magnification is that of DDT, an insecticide which is sprayed on water
bodies to check the growth of mosquitoes. In an island in USA. after regular DDT spraying for few years, the
populations of fish-eating birds began to decline. Later, it was found that the concentration of DDT had
increased about 800 times in the phytoplankton relative to the concentration in water. Zooplankton contained about
five times greater DDT than phytoplankton. In different fish, the DDT concentration increased 9 to 40 times,
relative to the concentration in zooplankton. Birds showed about 25 times greater DDT concentration relative to
that in fish. Many other persistent pesticides and radio nuclides also show biological magnification.

Eutrophication : Besides inorganic nutrient input with the inflow of wastewater, decomposition of organic
wastes too, increases the nutrient content of the water bodies. Availability of excess nutrients causes profuse
growth of algae (algal bloom), especially the blue-green algae. Such algal blooms may totally cover the
water surface, often release toxins in water, and sometimes cause deficiency of oxygen in the water. Thus, in
bloom-infested water body the, growth of other algae may be inhibited due to toxins, and aquatic animals (e.g., fish)
may die to toxicity or lack of oxygen. The process of nutrient enrichment of water, and consequent loss of
species diversity is referred to as eutrophication.

Effects on human health : Domestic-sewage contains pathogens like virus, bacteria, parasitic protozoa
and worms. Contaminated water, therefore, can carry the germs of water-borne diseases like jaundice, cholera,
typhoid, amoebiasis, etc. Such contamination may make the water unfit or drinking, bathing, and swimming,
and even for irrigation.

Heavy metal contamination of water can cause serious health problems . Mercury poisoning
(Minamata disease) due to consumption of fish captured from Hg-contaminated Minamata Bay in Japan, was
detected in 1952. Mercury compounds in wastewater are converted by bacterial action into extremely toxic
methyl mercury, which can cause numbness of limbs, lips and tongue, deafness, blurring of vision, mental
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derangement. Cadmium pollution can cause itai-itai disease (ouch-ouch disease, a painful disease of bones and
joints) and cancer of liver and lung.

Groundwaterpollution: In India, at many places the groundwater is threatened with contamination due to
seepage from industrial and municipal wastes and effluents, sewerage channels and agricultural runoff. For example,
excess nitrate in drinking water is dangerous for human health and may be fatal for infants. It reacts with
haemoglobin and forms nonfunctional methaemoglobin that impairs oxygen transport. This is called
methaemoglobinemia or blue-baby syndrome. Excess fluoride in drinking water causes teeth deformity,
hardened bones and stiff and painful joints (skeletal fluorosis). At many places in India, groundwater is
contaminated with arsenic, mainly from naturally occurring arsenic in bedrocks. Overexploitation of
groundwater may possibly initiate leaching of arsenic from soil and rock sources and contaminate
groundwater. Chronic exposure to arsenic causes black-foot disease. Arsenic causes diarrhoea, peripheral
neuritis, and hyperkeratosis, and also lung and skin cancers.

IMPROVINGWATERQUALITY

The industrial and municipal wastewaters are treated in Effluent Treatment Plant prior to
disposal in water bodies. Generally, the following treatments are given in ETP :

(i) Primary treatment : This physical process involves the separation of large debris, followed by
sedimentation in tanks or clarifiers.

(ii) Secondary treatment : This is a biological process and is carried out by microorganisms.
In this treatment, the wastewater is pumped in shallow stabilisation or oxidation ponds, where the microbes
oxidise its organic matter. The process results in release of CO 2 and formation of sludge or biosolid. The sludge is
continuously aerated to further its oxidation. Algae grown in the upper lighted zone of the wastewater provide
aeration by generating O2.

(iii) Tertiary treatment : This physico-chemical process removes turbidity in wastewater


caused by the presence of nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, etc.), dissolved organic matter, metals or pathogens. This
step inVolves chemical oxidation of wastewater by strong oxidising agents, such as chlorine gas, perchlorate salts,
ozone gas and UV radiation. After tertiary treatment, t h e wastewater can be discharged into
natural waters or used for irrigation.

NOISEPOLLUTION

Sources and Effects

Noise pollution can be defined as the loud disturbing sound dumped into the ambient
atmosphere without regard to the adverse effects it may have. Sound travels in pressure waves and affects
our eardrums. The intensity of a sound wave is the average rate per unit area at which energy is transferred by the
wave onto the surface (expressed as W m2). The sound level is the logarithm of ratio of the ambient
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intensity to the reference intensity (usually considered 10–12 W m–2). The unit of sound level is decibel
(dB), a name that was chosen to recognise the work of Alexander Graham Bell. When the ambient sound
intensity is equal to the reference intensity, the sound or noise level is 0 dB. Noise level can range from 0 to more than
120 dB, at which point physical discomfort starts. In view of the logarithmic nature of scale, 10, 20 and 100
decibels represent 10 times, 100 times and 1010 times the threshold intensity, respectively.

Effects of Noise on Human Health

Man-made noise originates from industrial machines, transport vehicles, sound amplifiers, cracker blasting,
industrial and mini site detonation, etc. Jet aircraft landing and take-off create a lot of noise pollution to
the inhabitants near the busy airports. Noise has many ill effects on human physiological functions. Noise
seriously affects heartbeat, peripheral circulation, and breathing pattern. Persistent noisy environment can
c a u s e annoyance, irritability, headache, and sleeplessness, a n d may
seriously affect productive performance of humans.

Exposure to levels of noise over a long time causes harmful physiological effects. The detrimental effects of
noise depend not only on its frequency (loudness), but also on the total duration of exposure and the age, general
health and susceptibility of the individual. High frequency noise is more harmful than low frequency noise of the
same level. Intermittent noise could be more harmful then continuous noise. The impacts of increased noise stress on
human responses can be classified into.

Auditory effects such as noise induced hearing loss temporary / permanent and Non- auditory effects
such as increased heart beat, indigestion, tension, anxiety, emotional imbalances, spasm, fatigue,
etc. Impacts of increased noise stress on human responses causes hearing impairment such as
temporary / permanent and Tinnitus. It also causes physiological impacts such as cardiovascular
constriction (High blood pressure, heart attack, heart beat increase), Gastro-intestinal
modification (ulcers), Endocrine stimulation, Respiratory modification, Skin resistance
alternation, Headache, Muscular tension, Neurological disorder, Dilation of pupil, Paling of skin,
Blinking. It leads to communication interference either face to face / telephonic and task
interference such as reduced work efficiency increased proneness to accidents. It also leads to
sleep interference, awakening, medication, sleep stage alternation. It also interferes with personal
behaviour causing annoyance, fear, anxiety, nervousness, misfeasance, fatigue, startled response.

Control of Noise Pollution

Soundproof insulating jackets or filters are used to reduce noise from machines. Industrial workers
and runway traffic control personnel may use earrmuffs to protect themselves from unwanted
noise exposure. Acoustic zoning to prevent noise propagation may also be helpful. A ‘silent zone’ around 100
15

meters of hospitals or schools can give comfort to ailing patients or help students to concentrate in
studies. Forests and dense hedge of p l a n t s c a n effectively act as noise barrier.
Sound must be considered as a potentially harmful pollutant around us and should be treated with no less importance
than the other pollutants of our environment. Efforts must be made to increase awareness among people about
the perils of noise in our surroundings.

Noise Standards

A) For Industrial Noise

The damage risk criteria for hearing as enforced by CPCB (1975) stipulates that noise level upto 90 dBA are
acceptable for 8 hours exposure per day ie. 90 dBA is the maximum sound level to which an employee can be
exposed for 8 hrs on a given working day.

B) For community Noise

The Noise Pollution Regulation and Control Rules( 2000) prescribed the ambient noise quality standards with
respect to noise in industrial, commercial, residential and silent zones areas as follows.

Table:

National Ambient Noise Level Zone Wise.

Zone Day (6.0-2 1 hr) Night (2 1.00- 6.00 hr)

Industry 75 dB 70dB

Commercial 65 dB 55 dB

Residential; 55 dB 45 dB

Silent zone 50 dB 40 dB

Besides the these the following measures could be adopted to minimize noise pollution at source.

• Control of exposure time.

• Job rotation

• Provision of quite working areas for some time

• Regular audible monitoring of the hearing levels of personnel.

• Provision of noise barriers close to the receiver.

B) For community Noise

(i) Industrial Area


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• Various machines in the industry should not be allowed to generate more noise by proper designing,
maintenance and providing partition

• Residences should not be allowed to grow Ed industrial areas, and Commercial areas

(ii) for commercial Area

• The traffic Volume should be reduced by diversion of traffic. Parking of vehicles should be restricted to one
place only.

• The noise generating sources like music system from shops should be preferably kept at low Volume.

• Generates where used should be provided by acoustic hoods.

• Unnecessary honking of horns should be banned

(iii) for Residential areas

• Movement of vehicles on the inner colony roads should be banned

• There should be restriction n the use of homs by vehicles passing by the residential areas

• There should be plenty of trees and bushes in open spaces; houses and lanes.

(iv) for Silent Zones

Areas upto 100 meters around certain premise like hospitals, educational institution and court may be declared
as silent zones by the competent authority. The noise control measures are:

• Plying of heavy vehicles should be banned near the silent zone area

• Use of horn should be banned.

The central pollution control board has set up the national committee on noise pollution.
National Commission on Noise Pollution Control (NCNPC) has recently decided to bring out a legislation with the
provision of making it binding on the machinery manufacturer to display the level of noise produced by their
appliance(s) from mixers to bulldozer. The committee has set the upper limit for the noise that can be created by
crackers used in celebrations and these standards have been communicated to the crackers manufacturer.

American technologist have developed a hydrogen powered fuel cell engine which replaces internal
combustion engines of cars and will be cleaner and quieter Scientist of Cambridge university, U.K have gone a step
further by breaking ordinary petrol into hydrogen as a built in device in the car engine itself so that bulk (weight) of
the fuel that would have been needed is reduced had the hydrogen fuel cell were carried separately. The whole device
is regulated by a computer. The central pollution control board has set up the national committee on noise
pollution. National Commission on Noise Pollution Control (NCNPC) has recently decided bring out a
legislation with the provision of making it binding on the machinery manufacturer to display the level of
17

noise produced by their appliance(s) from mixers to bulldozer. The committee has set the upper limit for
the noise that can be created by crackers used in celebrations and these standards have been
communicated to the cracker manufacturer.American technologist have developed a hydrogen powered
fuel cell engine which replaces internal combustion engines of cars and will be cleaner and quieter.Scientist of
Cambridge university, U.K have gone a step further by breaking ordinary petrol into hydrogen as a built in device in
the car engine itself so that bulk (weight) of the fuel that would have been needed is reduced had the
hydrogen fuel cell were carried seperatiely. The whole device is regulated by a computer.

GLOBALENVIRONMENTALCHANGE

The human activities that are transforming the biosphere include land use changes, industrial development,
energy production from fossil fuels and urbanisation. The conversion of a forest to agrazing land or a
cropland through deforestation causes loss of carbon stored in soil and vegetation to the atmosphere,
and affects the global carbon cycle. Biomass burning associated with agricultural practices also releases
CO2 into the atmosphere. In recent times, due to domestic and industrial coal burning, huge amount of
CO2 is being pumped into the atmosphere. Similarly, the concentrations of gases like methane (CH 4), nitrous
oxide (N2O) and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are increasing in the lower atmosphere. These gases (CO2
CH4, N2O and CFCs) are radiatively active gases (also called greenhouse gases) because they can
absorb long wave infrared radiation. The increased amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are affecting the
global climate and this phenomenon is now recognised as Global Change.

Greenhouse Gases and Global Warming

The atmospheric cover around the earth acts like a window glass pane. It allows most of the solar radiation to
enter right up to the earth’s surface, but does not allow a substantial amount of the long-wave radiation
emitted by the earth to escape in space. The outgoing longwave infrared radiation is absorbed by the greenhouse
gases normally present in the atmosphere. The atmosphere radiates part of this energy back to the earth. This
downward flux of radiation, called greenhouse flux, keeps the earth warm. Thus, the atmospheric
greenhouse gases forming a blanket over the earth, control the escape of heat from the earth’s surface to outer space
so as to keep it warm and hospitable. This phenomenon is referred to as greenhouse effect. The name is derived
from the fact that inside a glass-enclosed greenhouse temperature is warmer than outside. Such greenhouses
are used for growing plants t h a t require higher temperatures for growth. The mean annual temperature
of the earth is about 15°C; however, in the absence of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the earth’s mean
temperature would drop sharply to about -20°C. This capacity of the atmosphere to keep the earth warm depends
upon the concentration of greenhouse gases. The excessive increase in concentrations of these gases in the
atmosphere would retain more and more of the infrared radiation, resulting in enhanced greenhouse effect. The
consequent increase in the global mean temperature is referred to as global warming. The Intel-
governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) periodically makes an assessment of the atmospheric abundance of
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greenhouse gases and its possible impact on climate and related issues. Much of what you will read in this
section is based on IPCC assessment reports.

The trends in the increase in concentrations of greenhouse gases since pre-industrial times are briefly described
below :
Carbon dioxide: CO2 is the most abundant greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. The level of CO2 in the
atmosphere has increased from the pre-industrial level of 280 ppm to about 368 ppm in 2000. This has been
largely the r e s u l t of fossil fuel burning, deforestauon and change in land use.

Methane : Methane concentration. in atmosphere has more than doubled (1750 ppb) than its concentration
during the pre-industrial times. Methane is largely a pro-
duct of incomplete decomposition and is produced by a group of bacteria called methanogens, under anaerobic
conditions. The major sources of methane include : freshwater wetlands, enteric fermentation in
cattle, and flooded rice fields. Biomass burning also produces methane.

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) : CFCs are non-toxic and non-flammable, highly stable and
synthetic gaseous compounds of carbon and halogens. Although these compounds were synthesised during the
20th century, t h e i r concentration in the atmosphere has increased. For example, the concentration
of CFC- 11 and HFC-23 in the air is about 282 ppt. Major sources of CFCs are l e a k i n g
a i r conditioners, refrigeration u n i t s a n d evaporation of
i n d u s t r i a l solvents, a n d production of plastic foams and propellants in
aerosol spray cans. The CFCs persist for 45 to 260 years or more in the atmosphere.
Nitrous Oxide (N2O) : The concentration of n i t r o u s oxide in t h e
atmosphere has increased from about 270 ppb in pre-industrial t i m e to about 316 ppb in recent
t i m e s . The main sources of N 2 are agriculture, biomass burning and industrial
processes. N2O is produced
d u r i n g nylon production, burning of nitrogen-rich fuels, livestock waste, breakdown of
nitrogen-rich fertilisers in soil and nitrate-contaminated ground water. It is estimated that CO2 contributes
about 60 per cent of the total global warming. The share of CH, and CFCs is 20 per cent and 14
per cent, respectively. A smaller contribution to global warming is made by N2O 6 per cent. The
increasing abundance of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has the following possible effects :
(i) CO2 fertilisation

(ii) Global warming

(iii) Depletion of ozone layer in t h e stratosphere.


CO2 Fertilisation Effect on Plants The measurements made at Mauna Loa Observatory in
USA have shown t h a t atmospheric CO2 concentration has been rapidly rising since 1959. If
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this rising trend continues, it is expected that the atmospheric CO2 concentration shall increase to a level between
540 and 970 ppm by the end of the 21 SI century.
With a doubling of the atmospheric CO2 concentration, the growth of many plants, particularly the C3
species, under favourable conditions of water, nutrients, light and. temperature, could increase by about 30
per cent on average, in the short-term (i.e., up to a few years). The response of plants to elevated concentrations of
CO2 is known as the Carbon dioxide fertilisation effect. Due to increased CO2 concentration, the rate of
photosynthesis will increase and the stomatal conductance will decrease (due to partial closure of stomata). Thus,
the transpiration rate may be reduced and consequently, water-use efficiency will increase. This may allow many
species to grow successfully in regions of water scarcity. Under higher atmospheric CO 2 conditions, plants shall
allocate a greater proportion of photosynthate to roots. Greater r o o t production is
expected to enhance mycorrhizal development and fixation of N2 in root nodules, thereby enabling the plants to
grow in nutrient-poor soils. However, under natural conditions, the beneficial effects of increased CO 2 may not be
actually realised because of negative effects of global wanning.

Possible Effects of Global Warming The predicted global warming in near future has the
potential to affect the weather and climate, sea level, and the distribution and phenology of
organisms, food production and fishery resources in the oceans. Let us study some of these effects.

Effects on weather and climate : The global mean temperature has increased by approximately 0.6°C
in the 20th century. The average temperature of the earth may increase by 1.4 to 5.8°C by the year 2100 from the
1990 level. Temperature changes are expected to be most marked in regions of middle and higher latitudes.
Warming of atmosphere will considerably increase its moisture carrying capacity. While the troposphere warms up,
the stratosphere will cool down. This would cause widespread changes in precipitation patterns due to changed
pattern of air-mass movements. Precipitation is expected to increase at higher latitudes in both summer and
winter and in southern and eastern Asia in summer. Winter precipitation may decrease at lower latitudes. Besides, the
frequency of extreme events (e.g., droughts, floods, etc.) is expected to increase substantially. The climate change will
increase threats to human health, particularly in tropical and subtropical countries, due to change in ranges of
disease vectors, water-borne pathogens, etc.

Sea level change : Sea level has been raised by 1 to 2 mm per year during the 20th century. It is
predicted that by the year 2100, the global mean sea level can increase up to 0.88 m over the 1990 level. The global
warming may contribute to sea level rise due to the thermal expansion of ocean as it warms, and melting of
glaciers and Greenland ice sheets. A rise of even half a meter in sea level would profoundly affect human population,
one-third of which lives within 60 km of a coastline. Many of the world’s important cities and
coastal areas will come under the threat of flood. Several low-lying islands may be submerged.
I n u n d a t i o n of coastal salt marshes and estuaries may deprive many important
birds and fish their breeding grounds, forcing their extinction. Thus, sea-level rise is projected to have negative
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impacts on human settlements, tourism, freshwater supplies, fisheries, exposed infrastructure, agricultural and dry
lands, and wetlands.

Effects on range of species distribution : Each plant or animal species occurs within a specific range of
temperature. The global warming is likely to shift the temperature ranges and, therefore, would affect
altitudinal and latitudinal distribution pattern of organisms. With increasing global warming many
species are expected to shift slowly poleward, or towards high elevations in mountain areas. For
example, with a global temperature rise by 2 to 5ºC during the 21 st century, the temperate region vegetation may
extend 250-600 km poleward. Since trees are sensitive to temperature stress, a rapid rise in temperature may cause
large scale death of trees and t h e i r replacement by s c r u b vegetation. Many
species may not be able to migrate fast enough to track temperature changes and may disappear.

Food production : Increased temperature will cause eruption of plant diseases and pests, explosive growth of
weeds and increased basal rate of respiration of plants. A combination of all these factors will decrease the
crop production. Small temperature increase may slightly enhance crop productivity in temperate regions, but larger
temperature changes will reduce crop productivity there. In all tropical and sub-tropical regions, even a small
temperature rise will have detrimental effect on crop productivity. Rice yield alone, in southeast Asia, will reduce
by 5 per cent for each 1°C increase in temperature. Despite beneficial CO2 fertilisation effect, the overall world
crop productivity will, in all probabilities, decline considerably due to projected global warming. This will
have alarming consequences on world food supply.

Approaches to Deal with Global Warming Some of the strategies that could reduce the warming
by global stabilising atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases include :

(i) Reducing the greenhouse gas emissions by limiting the use of fossil fuels, and by developing alternative
renewable sources of energy (e.g., wind energy, solar energy, etc.).

(ii) Increasing the vegetation cover, particularly the forests, for photosynthelic utilisation of
CO2.

(iii) Minimizing the use of nitrogen fertilisers in agriculture for reducing N2O emissions.

(iv) Developing substitutes for chlorofluorocarbons.

Apart from the above mitigation strategies, adaptations to address localised impacts of climate change will be
necessary.

Stratospheric Ozone Depletion


Stratospheric O3 layer : In t h e stratosphere, UV-radiation causes photodissociation
of ozone into O2 and O. But O2 and O quickly recombine to form O3. This ozone dynamics dissipates the
energy of UV as heat. An equilibrium is established between generation and destruction of O3 leading to a
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steady state concentration of ozone layer in the stratosphere between 20 and 26 km above the sea level. The thickness
of the vertical column of stratospheric O3 layer, condensed to standard temperature and pressure, averages
0.29 cm above the equator and may exceed 0.40 cm above the poles at the end of the winter season. This
layer acts as the ozone shield protecting the earth biota frorrTharmful effects of strong UV-radiation.
Absorption of UV-radiation by ozone layer increases exponentially with its thickness. Therefore,
maximum amount of UV-radiation passing through the atmosphere reaches the earth surface in the tropics (i.e., near
the equator), and this amount decreases towards the poles. The concentration of O3., in the stratosphere changes with
seasons, the concentration being highest during the period February-April (spring season) and lowest
d u r i n g J u l y - October (fall season).

Ozone hole : During the period 1956-1970, the spring-time O3., layer thickness above Antarctica
varied from 280 to 325 Dobson Unit (1 DU = 1 ppb). The thickness was sharply reduced to 225 DU in 1979 and to
136 DU in 1985. Later, the O3 layer thickness continued to decline to about 94 DU in 1994. The decline in spring-
time ozone layer thickness is termed Ozone hole. The ozone hole was f i r s t discovered in
1985 over Antarctica. The existence of ozone hole was also confirmed above Arctic in 1990. The global-
average total column ozone amount for the period 1997-2001 was about 3 per cent below the pre-1980
average values.
CFCs, CH4 and N2O escape into t h e stratosphere and cause destruction of O3 there. Most
damaging is the effect of CFCs, which produce “active chlorine” (Cl and CIO radicals) in the presence of UV-
radiation. These radicals catalytically destroy ozone, converting it into oxygen. CH 4 and N2O also cause ozone
destruction through a complicated series of reactions. For making these discoveries related to O3
destruction, Sherwood Rowland and Mario Molina, along with Paul Crutzen, were honoured with Nobel
Prize for Chemistry in 1995.

Effect of ozone depletion: The thinning or the ozone layer results in an increase in the UV-B
radiation reaching the earth surface. A 5 per cent loss of ozone results in a 10 per cent increase in UV-B
radiation. In humans, the increased UV-radiation increases the incidence of cataract, and skin cancer
(including melanoma) and diminishes the functioning of immune system. Elevated levels of UV-B radiation affect
photosynthesis, as well as damage nucleic acids in living organisms. UV-B radiation inhibits photosynthesis in
most phytoplankton as it penetrates through the clear open ocean waters. This, in turn, can affect the whole food
chain of organisms that depend on phytoplankton.

INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVE FOR MITIGATING GLOBAL CHANGE

The long term change of stabilising the aimospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases requires
that global emissions be significantly lowered than what they are today. In l987, 27 industrialised countries
signed the Montreal Protocol, a landmark international agreement to protect the stratospheric ozone by agreeing to
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limit the production and use of ozone-depleting substances, phasing out of ozone-depleting substances and helping
the developing countries to implement use of alternatives to CFCs. To-date, more than 175
countries have signed t h e Montreal Protocol. The United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development (UNCED, Eath Summit held at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992
e s t a b l i s h e d t h e principles for reducing greenhouse gas emissions to a
level at least 5 percent below the 1990 level by the commitment period 2008-2012.

The world is confronted with changes in the composition of air, water and soil on world wide scale leading to
pollution of abiotic factors which disturbs the dynamic equillibrium of the environment and in this process biotic
component is the worst sufferer. In the subsequent paragraph environmental pollution problems, its types, its
sources ,its impact on environment including remedial solution to combat the pollution problems has been discussed.

Environmental Pollution

Environmental pollution is an undesirable change in the physical, chemical or biological characteristic of air,
water and soil that may harmfully affect the life or create a potential health hazard of any living organism.
Pollution is this direct or indirect change in any component of the biosphere that is harmful to
living component (s) and in particular undesirable for man, affecting adversely the industrial
progress, cultural and natural assets or general environment. (Environmental Protection Act, 1986)

Environmental Pollutants

Any solid, liquid or gaseous substance present in such concentration as may be or tend to be injurious to
the environment. A pollutant may thus include any chemical or geochemical substance, biotic
component or its product or physical factor that is released intentionally by man into the environment in
such a concentration that may have adverse, harmful or unpleasant effects. (Environmental Protection Act, 1986)

Types of Pollution

There are two types of pollution:

• Natural Pollution: They are produced by pollutants generated in nature by natural processors and
phenomenon example such as methane produced by anaerobic decay of organic matter Volatile
terpenes produced by some plants, Volcanic gases and ash, solar radiations, oxides of sulpher in the
atmospere.
• Artificial Pollution: They are produced by human activities such as production of CO 2 and CO) by
consumption of fossil fuels, use of pesticides, motor vehicles exhaust. Entitled pollutants (oxides of N,S, lead etc.),
municipal and industrial effluents and so on.

Air Pollution
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Any Substance that adds to or substracts from the usual constituents of air altering its physical and chemical
properties sufficiently enough to produce measurable adverse effects on man, other animals ,vegetation and materials
can be regarded as air pollution.

(Environment Protection Act, 1986)

Types of Air pollutants

• Primary Air Pollutants: These are pollutants which originate directly from sources such as
hydrogen sulphide, ammonia, oxides of carbon,sulphur dioxide.

• Secondary Air Pollutants: These are pollutants formed in the atmosphere by chemical
interaction amongst the primary pollutants and the atmospheric constituents such as sulphuric acid and ozone.

The Air Pollutants, Its Sources and Its Impact on Environment

The air pollutants, its sources and its impact on environment are presented as under.

Soil Pollution

Soil is one of the major and most precious natural resource has been built slowly over thousands of years. They
got stabilized under the protective cover of plants and the soil binding property of their roots. With the cultural
eVolution of man, soil segment became the first causality. Forest were cleared for raising crops. The naturally rich
soil yielded bumper crops for only a few years and in absence of adequate replenishment of litter and protective plant
cover, the fertility gradually decreased forcing the human population to shift to newer areas. The principal
factors of soil pollution are use of fertilizers and pesticides, solid waste disposal, desertification,
deforestation, soil erosion.

Soil is not as abundant as it is appears. About 20 percent of the total land area of the globe has no soil cover and
the increasing population is always placing great demand on soil. At the sametime, degradation of soil is taking place
at a rapid rate due to indiscriminate human activities. The main categories of soil degradation are as follows:

• Soil erosion: It can be caused by wind, running water, oceans waves and glaciers. Forest cover plant roots
act as binding material for soil. Deforestation, overgrazing, overcropping, makes soil vulnerable to wind and
water erosion. Erosion caused by running water may result in surface erosion, gully erosion or
stream erosion. Soil erosion also causes frequent floods and silting of river beds, dams and canals.

• Desertification: Removal of vegetation cover by overgrazing, deforestation or poor mode of cultivation are
the biggest cause of desertification.

• Shifting cultivation: It is an example of soil resource mismanagement. The harmful practice is still in use
globally. This method usually restricted to one crop, can lead to the depletion of some minerals and it takes twenty
year or more for the soil to regain its fertility.
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• Deforestation: It is estimated that forests are disappearing at the rate often million hectares annually.
Overgrazing, logging and indiscriminate destruction of trees are the main reason of deforestation.

• Artificial fertilizers: Increased use of chemical fertilizers, flood watering, pesticides, insecticides and multiple
cropping have changed the soil ecology and have degraded it so much that it has lost its basic elements which
maintain the soil fertility and the natural soil structure. This phenomenon is known as soil pollution. Modern
agriculture rely heavily on wide range of synthetic chemicals which include different types of fertilizers and biocides
(pesticides, herbicides, weedicides). These chemicals along with waste and wash off lands through irrigation, rainfall
drainage etc. reaches into the rivers, lakes, streams where they disturb the natural ecosystem.

How dangerous are they ?

Are they harmful?

Do they benefit?

Are they safe?

What to use?

Which to use?

Artificial fertilizers crowd out useful mineral naturally present in the top soil. The microbes (bacteria, fungi,
worms) in top soil enrich the humus and help to produce nutrients to be taken up by the plants and later by animals
but fertilizer enriched soil cannot support microbial life and hence there is less humus and less nutrients in the soil.
The soil is subjected to the process of qualitiative and quantitative degradation. The artificial fertilizers can be of two
types mentioned as under :

• Chemical fertilizers:

They are made up of only few minerals. Thus they impede the uptake of other minerals and imbalance the
whole minerals pattern of plant body. Many crops today lack potassium due to excessive use of
nitrogenous fertilizers. Excessive potash treatment decreases valuable nutrients in foods, such as ascorbic acid
(Vitamin C) and carotene. Liming can prevent the release and uptake of cobalt, nickel, manganese and zinc by the
plants. Superphosphate may lead to a copper and zinc deficiency.

Plants also become less resistant to disease .Nitrogenous fertilisers increase the total crop
yield (carbohydrates) but at the expense of protein. Corn and wheat grown on soil fertilized with N,P and K showed
a 20-25% decline in protein content and increase in carbohydrate content. Fertilizers based product (fruits and
vegetables) are oversized, more prone to insects and other pests. According to H.H. Koepf, an eminent soil chemist,
modern agriculture can honestly claim two notable crops “Disease and Pest”. To this we can add a third-poison (as
nitrites, nitrates). Nitrate fertile izers used in soil enter wells and ponds and pollutes water. These waters thus are very
rich in nitrates. These nitrates are converted to nitrites by microbial flora of human intestine when water is taken by
25

us. These nitrites combine with heaemoglobin of blood to form methaemoglobin, which interferes with oxygen
carrying capacity of the blood. The disease produced is caused methamoglobinaemia, which in turn damages
respiratory, vascular system, causes blue coloured skin and even cancer. It also pollutes marine ecosystem and
suffocates fishes to death by depleting oxygen from water.

• Pesticide and Biocides

Pesticides are the chemicals used for killing the plant and animals pests. It is a general term that includes
bactericides, fungicides, nematicides, insecticides and also the herbicides and weedicides. Since weeds are not pests
likes bacteria, fungi, algae, insects so, the spectrum of the activity of these chemicals is extended beyond the pests and
thus a broader term biocide is used to include herbicides etc.

There is a wide range of chemicals used as biocides but the most harmful are those which
are non biodegradable or degrade very slowly in nature. Those chemical substances are hazardous substances or
toxicants. These are highly potent chemicals that enter our food chain and then begin to increase in thin concentration
at successive trophic level in the food chain.

Some of the most toxic biocides are DDT (dichloro- diphenyl- trichloro ethane), Aldrin etc. Indiscriminate use
of the biocides could make them an integral part of our biological, geological and chemical cycles of the earth. They
are everywhere in same form. Measurable amount of DDT residues may be found in air, water, soil and at several
thousand of kms from the point where it had originally entered the ecosystem. For instance, if DDT enters a pond,
lake, it is taken as such by the plants of the pond, then reaches to zooplankton feeding on plants, then to microbes
eating the zooplanktons, then fish which eat the microbes and finally in the body of birds who eat the fish. Not only
DDT as such in its original form keeps on moving from water to different living components of the pond system but
most threatening is that DDT concentration continuously increases in successive trophic levels in a food chain. This
phenomenon is known as biomagnification. This is the reason that the pesticides has concentrated in plant bodies and
can’t be removed by washing or any other method. From plants it reaches animals and human being where the
concentration further increases. Alarming quantities of biocides were found in plants, fish, frogs, planktons and birds
and its impact on them were shocking.

SOILPOLLUTION

Soil pollution usually results from different human activities, like waste dumping, use of agrochemicals,
mining operations and urbanisation.

Waste Dumps

Land gets polluted by dumping of industrial wastes, municipal wastes, and medical or hospital
wastes. Industrial solid wastes and sludge are the major sources of soil pollution by toxic organic and
inorganic chemical compounds and heavy metals. The fall out from industrial emissions, for example, the fly-ash
emitted by thermal power plants, can pollute surrounding land. We must keep in mind that the particulates of the
26

industrial emissions from the tall chimneys always come back to the earth’s surface sooner or later.
Radioactive wastes from nuclear testing laboratories and nuclear power plants and the radioactive fall out from
nuclear explosions also contaminate the soil. Radioactive materials thrive in the soil for long periods because they
usually have a long half-life. Strontium-90, for example, has a half-life of 28 years, and half-life of caesium-137 is 30
years.

Municipal Wastes

Municipal wastes mainly include domestic and kitchen wastes, market wastes, hospital wastes,
livestock and poultry wastes, slaughterhouse wastes, waste metals, arid glass and ceramic wastes, etc. Non-
biodegradable materials like used polyethylene carry-bags, waste plastic sheets, pet-bottles, etc. persist in soil for long
periods. Hospital wastes contain organic materials, chemicals, metal needles, plastic and glass bottles, vials, etc.
Dumping of domestic sewage and hospital organic wastes contaminate the environment with a variety of pathogens
that can seriously affect human health.

Agrochemicals

Pesticides and weedicides are being increasingly applied to control pests and weeds in agricultural
systems. Excess inorganic fertilisers and biocide residues are contaminating the soil as well as surface and
groundwater resources. Inorganic nutrients, like phosphate and nitrate are washed out to aquatic ecosystems and
accelerate eutrophication there. Nitrate can also pollute drinking water. Inorganic fertilisers and pesticide
residues change the chemical properties of soil and can adversely affect soil organisms.

Mining Operations

Opencast mining (a process where the surface of the earth is dug open to bring out the underground
mineral deposits) completely devastates the topsoil and contaminates the area with toxic metals and
chemicals.

Control of Soil Pollution

Control measures for soil pollution and land degradation inVolve safer land use, planned urbanisation,
controlled developmental activities, safe disposal and management of solid wastes from industries and
human habitations. Management of solid wastes inVolves : (i) collection and categorisation of wastes, (ii)
recovery of resources like scrap metals, plastics, etc., for recycling and reuse, and (iii) safe disposal with
minimum environmental hazards.

Sewage sludge and industrial solid wastes are used as landfills. Toxic chemicals and hazardous metal-
containing wastes are used as bedding material for road construction. Fly-ash is also used for similar purposes. Fly-
ash bricks are also being used for b u i l d i n g constructions. Other notable methods to
get rid of the solid wastes are incineration (burning in presence of oxygen) and pyrolysis (combustion
27

in the absence of oxygen). Municipal solid wastes containing biodegradable organic wastes, can be
transformed into organic manure for agriculture.

Solid Waste Pollution

Solid waste can be been defined as a “resource out of place”. In other words, something that was an item of
resource only a short time ago, becomes a waste after it losses its utility. Solid waste includes commercial and
residential waste generated from a community (Gazzette of India, 1999).

Types of solid waste

Solid waste are two types. (i) Biodegradable: The materials which degrades naturally by microbial action
and are cycled in the ecosystem. (ii) Non Biodegradable : These are materials that either do not degrade or degrade
only very slowly in nature. They are not cycled in ecosystem naturally. They not only accumulate
but are often biologically magnified with their subsequent movement in food chains and biogeochemical cycle: (a)
Combustible: The non biodegradable waste which can be burned such as paper, wooden cloth leather
etc: (b) Non Combustible: The non biodegradable waste which cannot be burned such as metals,
glass, ceramics, etc.

Sources of solid waste

The sources of solid waste are households, resturants, institutions, market, hospitals, factories, treatment plants,
industries hotels, breweries and distillaries, pharmaceuticals, textile mills, laundries etc.
Management of Solid Waste

The management of solid waste is carried out by two ways


(i)Revitalization of solid waste includes the following methods:
Recovery of useful material: All solid waste contain some amount of useful material
such as paper, glassware, plastic goods, rubber can, aluminum cans which could be
sorted out ,purified, refined ,molded and recast into useful article .
Use of municipal waste as fuel: Solid waste treatment plant convert municipal waste into
combustible solid fuel or manure.

Production of biogas : Solid waste generated by printing press and meat animals can be
subjected to anaerobic digestion to produce methane gas which can be used for cooking ,
heating, industrial operation etc.

Pyrolisis : The solid waste are heated up to 6500 C in a closed anaerobic chamber. Solid
waste are broken down into liquid like tar, water soluble distillate into gas like Co, Co2,
CH4 and solid tar.

Incineration: multiple hearth chambers are used and solid waste is exposed to it .Solid
part is seperated from gaseous part by water sprays and the clean gas is let out as fuel
gas .The solid part is burnt and converted into ash.

(ii) Disposal of solid waste includes the following methods:


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Open dumping: Solid waste is dumped in open which is then collected by the rag pickers
or municipality or left at an appropriate place from where the garbage truck pick it up
Sanitary land filling: Here the garbage is spread into thin layers in dug out land and then
compacted by bull dozers. It is then covered with a thin layer of clean earth and
compacted again. It causes no air pollution and minimizes spread of diseases due to
open dumping of garbage..
Ocean dumping : Solid waste is dumped into the ocean.Incineration: Multiple hearth
chambers are used and solid waste is exposed to it. Solid part is separated from gaseous
part by water sprays and the clean gas is let out as fuel gas. The solid part is burnt and
converted into ash.
Composting: Solid waste is subjected to fermentation which produces compost. Compost
provides humus for conditioning of solids. Humus makes soil porous .Compost is
achieved by heaping the refuse moistening it and letting it ferment for about 6 months.

Radioactive pollution

“Radioactive pollution of the environment is the increase in natural background radiation emerging from the
activities of man involving the use of naturally occurring or artificially produced radioactive material.” (Sharma,
1995)

Common man suddenly became aware of the tremendous destructive power of nuclear energy when two
atom bombs were exploded on Nagasaki and Hiroshima in August 1945. This had brought about the end of World
War II. The explosions released radioactive radiations that continued to harm man and all other life for a long
time after the explosions. Man also became aware of the tremendous potentiality of harnessing
nuclear energy for generation of electricity and many other diverse peaceful and profitable purposes.

Sources of Radioactive Pollution

The sources of radioactive pollution are mentioned as under.

Sources of Radioactive Pollution

Sources of radioactive pollution could be natural and artificial.

Natural sources of radioactive includes sunlight radiations (such as UV rays, and long radio
waves), cosmic radiations ( such as high energy charged particles mostly protons), terrestrial
radiations (such as radioactive isotopes buried under earth crust for example 238U, and 232Th
etc), isotopes in our body (such as 238U, 232Th etc.). Artificial sources of radiations includes
radiations from X Rays and radiopharmaceuticals, radio active fallouts, occupational exposure in nuclear labs and
industries, miscellaneous such as TV picture tubes and nuclear power plants.

Types of Radiation

There are two major types of radiations released by nuclear disintegration or man made devices mentioned as under:.
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Types of Radiations
Types of Radiations
Radiations arises from a spontaneous rearrangement of the nucleus of an atom.while some nuclei
are stable many are not and these can undergo a change ,losing mass or energy in the form of
radiation.Some unstable nuclei are naturally occuring while others are produced synthetically.The
most common of these are alpha particles,beta particles and gamma rays.

(i) Alpha Particles consists of two pprotons and two neutrons bound together and so are identicle
to helium nuclei.They have a mass number of 4 and a charge of +2.They are large and heavy so
they travel very slowly and can be stopped easily.Their ability to penetrate living tissue is limited
and damage occors only when alpha emmitting isotopes are ingested or inhaled.

ii) Beta particles are simply electrons emitted by the nucleus during the changeof a neutron into a
proton.They have minimum mass and high velocity and a charge of -1.They may penetrate
through skin or surface cells into tissues and may then pass close to the electron orbital of the
tissue atom where the repulsion of the two negative particles may force the orbital electrons out
of the atoms ,ionising the tissue and forming radicals.

iii) Gamma raysis very short wavelength electromagnetic radiation.It travels at the spped of
light ,is uncharged,but is highly energetic and so has considerable penetrating power.As it passes
through biological tissue ,the electric field surrounding gamma rays may eject orbital electrons
form atoms and can cause ionisation of tissue and formation of radicals on its path.

Impact of Radiation
Radioactive fallout – A number of nuclear explosive have already been made during recent
push in different parts of the world. The radioactive dust that falls to the earth after atomic
explosion is called radio active fallout. Two of the most dangerous materials in radio active
fallout from nuclear tests are strontium-99 and Cesium-137. They both contaminate environment
for many years. Nuclear weapon testing has added greatly to radioactivity. A powerful hydrogen
bomb test produces huge cloud of nuclear material that reaches the stratosphere and there to any
other part of world over a period of time and hundreds of such tests were carried out in part which
have showed effects much later and very far off places.
The major Contributions are C-14, Strontium – 90 and Cesium-137. Carbon-14 is taken up
by plants. The Strontium – 90 and Cesium –137 became concentrated in human body, the last in
food chain. Strontium – 90 reaches dairy products. Sr-90 was found in new mother’s milk which
passed to the body. In humans, most Strontium – 90 because concentrated in bones, where
damage to bone cells and bone marrow blood cell producing tissues occurs. Iodine – 131
produced by nuclear tests, passes to vegetation and then appears in milk of cattle that consume
the contaminated vegetation which in turn consumed by humans. Iodine - 131 causes serious
damage to thy roid gland. Generally, majors proportion of fallout enters environment. In nutrient
rich environment due to high exchange and storage capacity of soil or sediments, fallout is very
much diluted and relatively little reaches to the plants.
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Impact of Radioactive waste from unclean power plant


The radioactive waste from nuclear power plants may be in the form of gases, liquids or
solids. The power plants are designed in a way that there is no leakage of radioactive materials
in any form. However no plant is leakage proof. The Mile Island nuclear power plant in USA in
1979 and ‘melt down’ of Chernobyl nuclear power plant in USSR in 1986 are the examples of
nuclear plant accidents causing escape of radio nuclides in atmosphere. These substances are
eventually conveyed to humans from water supplies to food chain through watering of livestock
or through uptake by plants from irrigation water. Thus radioactive effluents from nuclear power
plant are affecting all forms of life on earth.
Biological effects of radiation
Radioactive substances are among the most toxic substances known. Biological importants
of radiations became known in 1895 when Wilhelm Roentgen placed his hand between x-ray tube
and a flusoscent screen. The bones cast deep shadow than flesh. The following year, Antonie
Bacquerel discovered radioactivity in a various compound such as potassium sulphate.
Radioactive radiations bring about most dangerous effects than other toxicants. There effect may
contrive in subsequent generation and bring about following two types of undesirable effects in
organisms.
• Somatic effects – These are the direct results of action of radiation on the body cells
and the tissue. Radiologists, uranium workers, and painters of radium dials suffer
most. The somatic effects may be immediate or delay ed.
High radiation exposure have much acute toxicity and can kill a an animal quickly. The
victims declines in vitality and dies from anemia infection and hemorrhage. The parts of body
differs in sensitivity. The most sensitive tissues from acute doses are intestines, lymophonodes,
spleen and bone marrow. The radiation destroys the body’s immune response. The effects of
low penetrating radiation are less severe than the high penetrating radiations. In delayed effects
the patient may survive for months or years. Delayed effects of radiation include eye cataracts,
leukemia, malignant tumors, cardio vascular dissorders, premature ageing and reduced life span.
• Genetic Effects – Most genetic effect are brought about by man made radiations.
Most important of these are exposures during medicare and exposure from nuclear
power plant. People in industry, research and medicine using radio nuclides are very
much directly exposed to radiations for large periods than other people. People
suffer from vomiting, nausea, loss of hair, bone marrow is affected, immune system
is weakend. When exposed to higher irradiation, the result is damage of tissues of
heart, brain etc. Among the delayed effects are cancer of different types.
Irradiation can also cause genetic defects on ovary and deformation of produced
offspring.
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Radioactive Waste Treatment and Disposal

An inevitable consequnce of man's use of radioactivity is that radioactrive waste material is


produced which must then be disposed of.Radioactive waste on the basis of its activity content
could be categorised as low,intermediate and high level.

Low Level Waste : These are produced in large volumes by various ,medical,industrial,scientific
and military applications of radioactivity.They include contaminated solutions and
solids,protective cleaning and deconmtamination materials,laboratory ware and other
equipment.Theyalso include gases and liquids operationally discharged from power stations and
other facilites.Much low level waste is currently disposed off by shallow burial in landfill sites,
often with the co-disposal of other, non radioactive controled wastes ,or by discharge into surface
water in rivers, lakes,estuaries,or coastal areas or by discharge into the atmosphere.Low and
medium activity waste are passed through incinerators after removing explosives ,non
combustible fragments and harmful solids.Incineration is done at 1000-1100 celcius temperature.
The gases are passed through the cooling towers and cleaned by wet and dry process .The left out
substance consists of very light intensity radioactive material .

Intermediate Level Waste: These are sufficiently active to prevent their direct discharge into the
environment . They comprise much of the solid and liquid waste generated during fuel
reprocessing ,residues from power station effluent plants ,and waste produced by the
decommissioning of nuclear facilities.Very large quantities of intermediate level waste have been
disposed off by dumping in deep ocean waters .

High Level Waste : It manily consists of spent fuel and its residues and very active liquid
generated during fuel reprocessing .No such repository yet exists but deep mines and boreholes
on land and sea as well as other more exotic solutions including extra terrestrial disposal.The first
step is to separate the unfissioned Uranium from the fissioned products and then allowed to cool
for three and half months and treated to hot nitric acid .Uranium oxide get dissolved and leached
down
The left over solid is put in drums and buried deep under the grounds.

After understanding the environmental pollution problems in detail, it can be concluded that
the hazards of pollution are the outcome of industrial development. Step by step, the precious gift of nature is being
destroyed and the human life is being shortened by the polluted air we breathe and unhealthy water we drink
(Brown , 1994).

In would not be wrong to say that we are living in the age of environmental crisis. Issues which were viewed
largely as the domestic problems are now viewed as challenges for all nations because of their impact upon
climatology and biology of earth. An immediate measure is needed to readjust our ecosystem before it becomes
irreparable.
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Environmental problems is a global problems and needs combined human efforts. We can cope up with the
problems by creating awareness among people at all levels i.e. farmers, educationists, industrialists, politicians and
bureaucrats; so that they should take environment into account in their decision making process.

EVolution of Environmental Education

Education is an instrument of social change and the most organized means of conservation and
transmission of social thinking and ideologies. It is the high time to recall Chinese perception about education that “If
you plan for one year, plant rice, if you plan for ten years, plant trees but if you plan for 100 years, educate the
people.” If individuals are educated about environment, the society and the Government are automatically educated,
because the later is the extention of an individual. The only blue print for survival is to transform prevailing mindsets
to recognize the long term limits that nature imposes and the need to “nurture rather than jeopardize”
the ecological systems that supports our activities.

Education for the Environment, Education about the Environment, Education through the Environment is the
only alternative to bring compatibility between quality of life and quality of environment.

Environmental Education has emerged as a new dimension in the educational sphere Recently, perhaps in
the history of education, no other single movement has progressed so fast with as much acceptance in
such a short time. Only 25 years ago, the term environmental education was relatively unknown and poorly
understood. But now, it has grown into a world wide movement. The development of environmental education
constitutes a fascinating subject of research within the history of education. A study of the development of
environment education reveals that its explosive growth is due to its strong connections to basic
human needs and emotions. The awareness, knowledge approach and methods have gradually
been acquired from other streams of education and now environmental education has become an
enterprise with a multifacet personality of its own. Its growth is largely due to reVolutionary changes
in environmental conditions, our intellectual response to those changes, and the various international and
national activities which began in the 1960’s and continues today.

International Level

Man is a creature of his environment but the degree of this perception in the environment has
varied. His attitude towards environment have always been determined first by his contemporary
perception and degree of knowledge and secondly by the type of consciously felt interactions which have
existed between man and the environment in different ages.

Kirk (1985) has tried to analyze how two separate movement, namely, the conservation nature study
movement and the outdoor education movement have acted as the foundation of modern environmental
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education. He described a few major chronological phases. Developments in each phase have contributed to
the eVolution of the next phase. The four phases and a brief description of each phase is as follows.

• Awareness phase (1860-1890) - This was the initial phase in which various powerful
writers awakened many to recognize that man was not a single and solitary figure above all living and non
living systems, but rather an integral part of the system.

• Preservation phase (1890-1910) - In this phase, several writer popularized a need for conservation
of natural resources. Forest were considered not merely as resources for their products, but also resources for
creations, relaxation, research, and study.

• Nature Study phase (1910-1932) - In this phase, efforts were made to develop an
understanding and appreciation of the beauty and mystery of nature. Valuable materials were also prepared which
served as a tool guide for teachers and aspiring naturalists.

• Education phase (1937-50) - In this latest phase, the young people had an opportunity to learn the value of
forests and woodlands. People became more aware of the importance of learning about the interrelationships and
interactions between living and nonliving things. Efforts were made to train teachers in the use of natural
areas as an extension of their classrooms. Several conservation agencies were established which began to
publish educational materials for the conservation of forests, wildlife, and soil.

Environmental education began to emerge in its present form due to the enormous technological growth
which has embraced every field of human knowledge. Examples of this include nuclear physics, with its devastating
capacity and potential for long term pollution. Agriculture which uses pesticides and fertilizers indiscriminately.
Medical science whose live saving drugs have reduced the mortality rate and produced a consequent rise in
population. These areas along with a change in the outlook of the social sciences have all contributed to a drastic
transformation of the human environment. In the developed and the developing countries, a few isolated groups of
educators started facing these problems . A stunning blow came in 1962 with the publication of Rachael Carson’s
famous book, Silent Spring. It made western countries sit up and review their position in regard to the human
environment.

The commission, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources
(IUCNR) to educate people about the conservation of natural resources was established in 1949. This organization
is concerned with the promotion of environmental conservation education. The IUCNR has produced a number of
significant publications.

• Symposia on Conservation Education — Switzerland (1966)

• Conference on Conservation of Renewable Natural Resources- Argentina (1968).

• Conference on Environmental Education- Nevcda (1970)


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• European Conference on Environmental Conservation Education. - Switzerland (1971)

• International Workshop on Environmental Studies in Higher Education and Teacher Training at London
and Canada(1971).

On June 5, 1972 the first United Nations Conference on Human Environment was held at Stockholm. The
conference was attended by 113 nations, UN agencies, and Non- Governmental organizations. The conference
discussed the various aspects of environmental problems, adopted the declaration on human environment, and
approved a wide range of action plan.

The role of education in environmental matters for both young and adults was also acknowledged as being of
great importance. The efforts of the Stockholm Conference was materialized in the form of UNEP. An international
workshop on environmental education was held at Belgrade in 1975 which resulted into the formation of IEEP
(International Environmental Education Prorgamme). Much of the multidirectional development in the field of
environmental education was due to the constant efforts of IEEP. Their major activities include...

• setting up pilot projects on environmental communication system.

• the publication of a newsletter, connect (in five languages) which reaches thousands of individuals and
organizations .

• conducting a world wide study of needs and priorities in environmental education.

• studying trends in environmental education.

• the study, trial and development of innovations in environmental education.

The Tibilisi Conference (1977) was the climax of the initial phase for development in environmental
education. It gave a global thrust to environmental education recommending further identification and expansion of
environmental education. It endorsed the goals and objectives formulated by the Belgrade Workshop. On the basis of
regional and sub regional meetings, the guidelines for environmental education Were expanded and reinforced. The
conference also charted an action plan at national and international level for the promotion and development of
environmental education. Important developments which followed from the Tibilisi conference included intensive
and extensive actions on the part of IEEP, and the emergence of district entities of environment education in different
countries.

The IEEP intensified and expanded its multidirectional efforts for the promotion of environmental education
through.

• systematic integration of an environment dimension into national Educational policies.

• promotion of interdisciplinary and institutional co-operation.


35

• reorientation of curricula and educational materials by injecting interdisciplinary problems solving


approaches.

• incorporation of environmental education in pre and in service teachers and other educational functionaries.

• development of multimedia programmes for all.

• research on all aspects of educational process and dissemination.

• reinforcement of international, national and regional co-operation among Government and Non-
Government organizations.

• financial and technical support for a number of national training activities of key personnel in various
regions. (UNSECO, 1982).

The Stockholm- Belgrade- Tibillisi (1972-77) Phase is neither the beginning nor the end of environmental
education or of a concern for the environment but surely this is a crucial catalytic phase in both these areas concern
for and knowledge of the environment have gained both momentum and expansion over years since intensive efforts
both at national, international, and individual levels have produced a mass of literature, reinforcing contemporary
knowledge about various local and global environmental issues and their implications.

National Level

A concern for nature and natural resources is not at all a new conception for Indians. Indian literature and
scriptures reflect the environment consciousness of our ancestors. The rock edicts of Ashoka are probably
the first ever Governmental direction towards environmental protection in recorded history. However inspite of
such an impressive beginning, conservation movement in India is less than two decades old.

In the formal system of education the importance of integrating environmental concepts was recognized much
earlier. The movement of Basic Education (1937) launched by Gandhiji was perhaps the first serious attempt at
relating education in the schools to local environmental needs.

Kothari Commission (1964-66) realized the importance of environmental education and recommended,
“Environmental activities will lead to the study of physical sciences, natural science, history, civics and geography;
construction and creative skills will serve as the simple basis of art and craft and practice of healthy living will serve as
the foundation of environmental education.

NCERT in 1975 revised the curriculum of schools and introduced environmental education at primary level.
At secondary and higher secondary level, few chapters on environmental aspects were included in Geography and
Biology.

NPE (1986) discussed and concluded than there is a paramount need to create a consciousness of the
environment. It must premature all ages and all sections of society.
36

NCERT National curriculum Framework (2000) emphasized on the understanding environment in its
totality, interaction of natural and social environment, ways and means to preserve environment.

The Honorable Supreme Court of India (2004) realized the intensity of the situation and has
directed NCERT, AICTE and UGC to frame model syllabus for environmental education at school ,college and
university level respectively.

According to chapter IV A and Article 51 A of the Indian constitution, one of the fundamental duties
of the Indian citizen is ‘to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers,
wild life and to have compassion for living creatures.’

Fortunately, in the school curriculum although environmental science has not been made a separate school
subject yet its concern permeate appropriately at all stages of school curriculum. School text book of Languages,
Science and Social Science contain environmental concepts.

The NCERT study on environment in the school curriculum has shown that environmental
concerns have been introduced sequentially from local to global in its text book for the primary and upper primary
stages. The findings of NCERT was confirmed by Bharti Vidypeeth Institute of Environment and Research, Pune
after conducting a research study on influence of environment concepts in the school curriculam.
Maharashtra state conducted a research work to analyse the content of science text book from I to Xth standard and
concluded that the textbooks contain environment related concern. The detailed scrutiny of the textbook revealed
than the treatment of concepts can be improved by contextualising the learning material and by improving the
illustrations.

Although the importance of introducing environmental education has almost universally been accepted as a
policy, its real impact in schools remains to be seen. There is a persistent and genuine feeling that inspite
of international efforts, the environmentalization of school curriculum has been far from satisfactory. There can
be many reasons for it but the most important factor is the inadequacy of personnel trained in environmental
education. This lack of personnel exists even in countries in which policy makers and planners are sympathetic to
environmental education and teacher educators are enlightened. Unfortunately, it is also a fact that in
many countries these groups are blissfully unaware of both the lEEP’s efforts and a need for teacher training in
environmental education. There needs to be more intensive effort to reach these countries.

Where we lose out is that inspite of the constitutional concern in reality, the teaching - learning tends to be
mechanical because only few teacher knows in letter and spirit what is expected from them to teach and how to
teach. The problems can be traced to the teacher education program which remained static inspite of the fact that the
school curricula has undergone changes during the past 25 years.

In the teaching learning process no factor other than the curriculum is more important than that of the teacher.
The instructor is the sole aribtrator of curriculum and the central figure in the classroom. Teachers are important
37

professionals and like any other group of professionals, they require a proper background in the
subject, alongwith necessary training and commitment to effectively impact desired skills and on the learner.
Special training and commitment is also important is bringing environment thrust to education and for this, a new
focus which requires specific awareness, knowledge and skills, along with an attitude which might not
have been developed in the rest of their educational career.

A great need for both teacher and teacher educators trained in environmental education has
been felt in both developed and developing countries. The Tibillisi conference considered the
training of personnel, including pre service and in service teachers and others connected with
education and environmentally linked matter as a priority activity. The conference report
requested that states should establish national level programme of action, whose purpose should
be to familiarize teachers, educational administrators and planners with the different aspects and
problems of the environment (UNESCO, 1978). These programmes should also provide
individuals with a basic level of training, both inservice and preservice, enabling them to
incorporate environmental education effectively in their respective sphere of activities.

The Tibilisi conference considering the need for all teachers to understand the importance of
environmental emphasis in their teaching recommended:

• environmental science and environmental education to be included in the curricula for


preservice teachers.
• the staff of teacher education institution be associated in this respect.
• teachers should get appropriate environmental training related to the area, either urban or
rural, where they are going to work.
The conference also recognized that a great majority of existing teachers had graduated
from teacher training colleges at a time when the importance of environmental education was not
so apparent. Then the training courses were also deficient in environmental issues and the
methodology of environment education. In view of the above, the conference recommended:
• in service training in environmental education available to all who need it.
• the implementation and development of inservice training, including practical training in
environmental education be made in close cooperation with professional organization of teachers,
both at the international and national levels.
• inservice training take into account of the area, either urban or rural, where the teachers are working.

• teachers and learners should be inVolved in preparation and adaptation of instructional


materials for environmental education .
38

• teacher training should be given an understanding of the widest possible range of educational materials and
aids, with special reference to low cost materials and to opportunities for adoption and improvisation according to
local circumstances (UNESCO, 1978).

The need for professional training of educators further arises from the fact that even topics related to the
environment which are covered in present subject curricula, both in schools and teacher training programmes do not
place a real emphasis on environmental education, at best they may lead to more environmental literacy.

Definitely knowledge about personal hygiene, environmental sanitation, water pollution, energy, material
resources, forestry, climate, weather and population are topics related to environment of education but environment
of education is all these and a great deal more. It is not enough to cite problems , realistic solutions must also be
attempted. Environmental education can offer answers to some of these concerns from both a local and global
perspective.

In must also be understood that environmental education seeks to achieve a great change in formal education
by adapting a new approach. This approach not only gives a few pieces of information on environmental concern but
also bring both, new personal and individualized behavior based on a global ethic which can be realized only through
the enlightenment and training of education professional.

Intensive teacher education, not merely orientation, is essential if the present fragmented approaches of
traditional education are to be transcended in favour of a holistic, global approach. Interdisciplinary and
multidisciplinary treatment of issues would require a thorough change in both, the outlook and content preparation
of teachers and teacher educators.

This task is far more complex than putting environmental content into existing curricula. A need for the
development of environmental education policy at local, national and international level is also needed and has been
accepted in many cases. But policy is only a guideline or blue print for action, to create effective changes, large scale
preservice and inservice teacher training programme in environmental education must be organized.

Need of the Study

Gandhiji Said, “There is enough in the nature for man’s need but not enough for man’s greed.” The
whole world attention is now focussed on the state of environment degradation brought about by developments in
science and technology and the need to satisfy the demands of the growing population.

Despite considerable global efforts made by representatives from all the sections of society, the conservation of
natural resources has failed to keep pace with environmental degradation. The latest information furnished by Earth II
summit, September 2002 reveals a planet still in the need of intensive care. Every nation has right to develop enrich
its economy but that should not be at the cost of environment. There should be compatibility between economy and
ecology. The development should be sustainable where utilization and conservation of resources should be
39

simultaneous. Poverty, Population and Pollution are the three P’s pressurizing planets life support system by creating
environmental crisis globally threatening our ability to achieve sustainable development.

The action of an individual or society that has an impact on other societies contributes to
global environmental issues. The basic question underlying all the global environmental issues is a question
of awareness and attitude. It is fundamentally concerned with the kind of people we are, our awareness
about environment and the attitude we hold towards environment to make world a better place to live in.
(Willard et al 1976).

A tenet of environmental education is that humans use ecosystem, exists in complex interactions with
ecosystems, are affected by ecosystem, and are ultimately accountable for their effect on ecosystem
(Willard 1976).In the name of development we have started distancing ourselves from nature. Due to rapid
mdustrialization and urbanization, we have lost our relationship with environment. At this juncture, when the nature
is fighting a lost battle against its degradation and experiencing broken relationship with mankind, what on earth are
we doing by being a part of it? We can remove this revive this relationship by environmental education.

Environmental education to mind is not just awareness, it is far more. It is development


of the attitude to make world a better place to live in, to be aware of what is happening around and above all
to act without fear. A primary goal of environmental education is the development of responsible
environmental behaviour in citizens, both as in individuals and as societal groups (Ramsey and Hunger ford,
1989).

The Supreme Court of India (2004) directed all the states and educational agencies in the country to
introduce environment as a compulsory subject in all classes in schools upto higher secondary level for the Academic
Session (2004-2005) with the help of Central Pollution Control Board .

NCTE discussion document (2004) emphasized on the importance of environmental education for
preservice teachers and inservice teachers and its inclusion in the teacher training program.

The need of the hour is to prepare future citizens to lead a sustainable life style and place ecosystem concepts as
the intellectual centre of all disciplines (Disinger, 1993). Though sustainable development is a national and
international issue, it becomes locally defined through actions and decisions within cities,
neighbourhood and communities which falls under the realm of society .School is the epitome of society.

Quality environmental education in schools depends more on the qualifications, , teaching experience
and preparation of the teachers than it does on the school curricula. (Filho and O’ lean, 1996). The
key to successful environmental education infinite class room is the teacher. If teachers do not have the
awareness, skills, commitment and an attitude environmnentalise their curriculum, it is unlikely that
environmentally literate students will be produced. (Wilke, 1985).
40

School and teacher training colleges plays an important role in environmental education and
the effectiveness of such education depends upon teachers. Unfortunately there is dearth of teachers and
teacher educators in our country to handle environmental problems as they lack awareness, expertise and perfect
training in environmental education. For imparting sound environmental education, the teacher
should not only be aware of environmental problems but must possess basic knowledge of Ecology is...the
environmental science of survival.

A revamping of education system is required to produce environmentally conscious citizens through


research and teaching at various levels to make environmental education a life long process with
awareness and attitude as its key component. Such a challenge has to be taken by educational institution
and among these teacher training institution will have to show the leadership by producing teachers who posses
a chemistry of awareness of environmental problems and desirable attitude towards environmental conservation in
their persona.

If we want to secure the future of our environment, we have to create awareness about environment and an
attitude of caring and sharing of natural resources in the mind of those who are the future of our nation. As rightly said
by Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru that the future of india in shaped in her class room, where teacher is the central
figure. Teachers are the pillars on whom the future of nation lies by precept and example.

The Tibilisi conference rightly identified teacher as a key factor in the education of people about environmental
problems . Teachers behavior do have an impact upon students classroom behaviour. It is highly probable that
teacher influence extends beyond the classroom. Therefore it is implicit in all activities aiming for changed students
behavior that teachers be the model of desired behavior by action or by word.

“Whatever we want to achieve emotionally in our pupils should already be present in the teachers”
(Harbrich and Kohler, 1981).

With the above statement, the role of teachers becomes manifold cutting across all the boundries of discipline,
qualifications and specializations. They should be able to discharge the role of Green Educators in today’s scenario
to spread Green Message to everybody especially young be broadened in its scope to encompass problems that
falls under the realm of environment thus exposing the children to the wholistic picture of environment and
sensitizing them with the slogan of conserve or perish (UNESCO 1998).

Hence in this study the investigator has made an attempt to find out the awareness and
attitude of pre-service, inservice teachers and teacher educators towards environmental problems .

Title of the study

Awareness and Attitude of Preservice Teachers, Inservice Teachers and Teacher Educators Towards
Environmental Problems .

Objectives
41

General Objectives

1) To study and compare the awareness of environmental problems among preservice and inservice teachers
with respect to

a) interaction between group, discipline and qualification

b) qualification (postgraduate/ graduate)

c) discipline (science/ social science/ humanities)

d) group (preservice and inservice)

2) To study and compare the attitude towards environmental pollution problems among preseryice and
inservice teachers with respect to

a) interaction between group, discipline and qualification

b) qualification (postgraduate / graduate).

c) discipline (science/ social science/ humanities)

d) group (preservice and inservice)

3) To study the awareness of environmental problems among teacher educators with respect to

a) interaction between discipline and qualification

b) qualification (postgraduate/ Ph. D)

c) discipline (science/ social science/ humanities).

4) To study the attitude towards environmental poilttttoTffproblems among teacher educators with respect to

a) interaction between discipline and qualification

b) qualification (postgraduate/ Ph. D).

c) discipline (science/ social science/ humanities).

5) To study the relationship between awareness and attitude towards environmental problems.

Specific Objectives

1 . To study the awareness of environmental problems among preservice, inservice teachers & teacher
educators.

2. To study the attitude towards environmental problems among preservice, inservice teachers & teacher
educators.
42

3. To study the effect of discipline, qualification and their various interaction on the awareness of
environmental problems among preservice and inservice teachers.

4. To study the effect of discipline, qualification and their various interaction on the attitude towards
environmental problems among preservice and inservice teachers.

5. To study the effect of discipline, qualification and their various interaction on the awareness of
environmental problems among teacher educators.

6. To study the effect of discipline, qualification and their various interactions on the attitude towards
environmental problems among teacher educators.

7. To compare the awareness of environmental problems between preservice and inservice


teachers.

8. To compare the attitude towards environmental problems between preservice and inservice teacher.

9. To study the interaction effect of the types of teachers (preservice and inservice) their
discipline and qualification on the awareness of environmental problems.

10. To study the interaction effect of the types of teachers (preservice and inservice), their
discipline and qualification on the attitude towards environmental problems.

11. To study the relationship between awareness and attitude towards environmental pralhiiipn problems.

Definition of the Term

• Awareness: It can be defined as the knowledge of different types of pollution, its sources and impact of it
on environment including remedial measures to minimize the pollution problems.

• Attitude: It is the tendency to act for or against something in an environment which


becomes thereby a positive or negative value.

• Environmental Problems: It encompasses problems which are natural or manmade in origin, local or
global in nature, having short term or long term impact upon the climatology and biology of earth such as pollution,
population explosion, energy crisis, landslides, earth quakes, floods, droughts etc.

Delimitation

• The study was confined to the preservice teachers pursuing one year full time B.Ed. Program from the
teacher training institution of Delhi University, Jamia Millia Islamia and GSSIP University.

• The study was delimited to the teacher educators teaching B.Ed program in the teacher training institution
of Delhi University, Jamia Millia Islamia and GGSIP. University.
43

• It was confined to the inservice teacher teaching at secondary and senior secondary level in the schools of
Delhi Government

• It was confined to environmental pollution problems only.

Chapter 2

REVIEW OF THE RESEARCH TRENDS

Introduction

“A familiarity with the literature in any problems area helps the student to discover what is already known,
what others have attempted to find out, what methods of attack have been promising and
disappointing and what problems remain to be solved.”

(Best, 1 999).

A literature review is a written summary of articles, books and other documents that describes the past and
current state of knowledge about a topic. Researchers conduct a literature review as one element in the research
process. This review documents the importance of research problems in a study, cites useful explanations or theories
to be tested, foreshadows the major questions in a study and provides explanation for results or
findings. Thus the review of the literature suggest some area for further study. The researcher might find some gaps
while reviewing the literature related to a particular area and therefore may consider that for research. This chapter
presents a glimpse of the research work conducted at national and international level. The total number of studies
reviewed in environmental education were twenty one and can be broadly classified as under:

• studies related to knowledge, awareness and attitude

• studies related to experimentation

• studies related to curriculum

• studies related to innovations

Majority of these studies used questionnaire , opinionnaire and interview schedule as a tool for gathering data.
Four studies followed experimental design. The following trebd emerges from review of the related literature:

• Research in environmental education started at international level in early eighties and at national level in
early nineties

• Heavy concentration of exploratory studies inVolving knowledge attitude and perception of students and
teachers were seen
44

• Most of these studies used small purposive sample except few studies which were conducted on random
sample.

• Majority of the studies used survey method and very few studies followed experimental design.

• Variables studied were age ,gender, locality and academic background.

• Data in most of these studies were presented in simple percentage and no effort was made to subject the data
to rigorous statistical analysis.

• Studies related to curriculum development showed that curriculum were developed without the benefit of
first finding out the level of students knowledge, content needs, their readiness to receive environmental education
topics etc.

• Not even a single study was conducted on the inculcation of values through environmental
education at any level of education.
45

Studies Related to Awareness and Attitude

Barathi & Swatantra Devi (2004). Students the environmental awareness among the higher
secondary students. The findings were (a) The first year higher secondary students had high
environmental awareness. (b) The girls school and the co-ed schools differed in their
environment awareness, in favour of girls (c) Private and Govt. school differed in their
environment awareness, in favour of private schools (d) The urban and and rural school students
differed in their environmental awareness, in favour of urban school students (e) There was no
difference in the environmental awareness of school students on the basis of sex (f) The
environmental awareness of students whose parents were graduate were more then the students
whose parents were not graduate.

Ramakrishna. A (2003) conducted a study on environmental awareness among secondary


school students. He found that children exposed to the co-cumcular activities instill appropriate behaviors. The
activities are not exhaustive. It is only suggestive. Many significance activities are proposed in class IXth because of
the environmental biased content and also of the highly receptive nature of the cognitive stage of
development i.e., formal operations where the child is capable of experimenting with the concepts learned in the
previous stage. These children as they grow develop sustainable lifestyle and participate in solving real life problems
with a practical bias of ensuring a healthy environment all around.

Das (2002) studied the development of environmental awareness through the study of life
science in the secondary schools of West Bengal. The finding revealed a hetero qeneity among
three groups in terms of perception about environmental awareness.

Sunnetha (2002) took up a study to examine the status of basic under standing in
environmental education and attitude towards environmental is issues among the upper primary
school students of Mysore. The findings were (a) multidisciplinary approval were more effective
as composed to infusion approach in teaching of environmental education (b) supplementary
curricular program is more favorable in generating parities attitude towards environment among
school children.

Sahoo and Gupta (1997) studied the effect of scholastic achievement and scientific attitude on environmental
awareness of +2 students of Rajasthan. The major findings were (a) scholastic achievement had significant effect on
scientific attitude on three dimensions viz., health and nutrition, forest, agriculture and nutrition, forest
and agriculture and population growth. In case of rest of the three dimensions of EA viz on pollution, water
pollution and ecosystem, there was no significant effect of scholastic achievement on scientific attitude. It
shows that achievement does not have equal level of effect on different dimension of EA. (b) Scientific
attitudes hold significant and positve effect on most of the components of environmental awareness viz health and
nutrition, forest and agriculture and population growth. (c)In the case of air pollution, water pollution and ecosystem;
46

components of SA had no significant effect on EA. (d) Trainees also has its effect on the knowledge and
understanding of facts and concepts relating to different aspects of environmental problems, (e) The subject
background of the trainees also has an effect on the knowledge and understanding of facts and concepts
relating to different aspects of environmental problems.

Bhattacharya G.C (1996) studied environmental awareness among primary grade boys and girl students and
their parents in Varanasi. The findings were (a) Among the primary girl students studying in grade
III, only 44% were in the above average, 48.89% was in the below average, 6.67% was in the low
category and none was there in the high category . (b) Among the girl students studying in grade
V, only 57.30% was in the above average, 37% was in the below average and 5.62% was in the
low category and none was found in the high category, (c) Among the parents of grade III girl
student, only 11.11% was in high, 67.78% was in the above average , 8.89% was in the above
average,8.89% below average and 2.22% was in low category, (d) Among parents of grade V girl
students, 7.87% was in high, 42.69% above average ,47.19% below average, 2-25% in low
category (e) No sex differences was found in case of grade II and V students in terms of their
environment awareness, (f) No sex difference was found in case of grade VI & V students in
terms of orientation, attitude and responsibility factors of environmental awareness, (g)
Coefficient of Correlation was significant in case of environmental awareness of the grades III
and V girl students and their parents.

Sidana and Pareek (1996) studied the environmental awareness among secondary school
students. The Findings were (a) The secondary school students possessed high level of
environmental awareness, (b) There was significant difference in the environment awareness of
urban and rural students, (c) There was no significant difference in the environmental awareness
of students on the basis of sex.

Padahan, Gopal Chandra (1995) studied environmental awareness among teacher


trainees. There is no difference among the pupil teachers in environmental awareness on the basis
of sex (b) The pupil teachers who were science post graduate were more environmentally aware
followed by social science postgraduate and humanities postgraduate pupil teachers (c) The
graduate science pupil teachers were more environmentally aware followed by social science and
humanities graduate teachers (d) The pupil teacher with master degree and urban area were more
environmentally aware than pupil teachers with masters and bachelor degree of rural area. (e)
variation in environmental awareness between the urban and the rural teacher trainees, where the former group was
significantly higher than the later, (f) The master degree holder exhibited higher environmental awareness compared
to the bachelor degree holders indicating that higher the educational qualification better the awareness of environment
problems. (g) The subject background of the trainees also has an effect on the knowledge and understanding of facts
47

and concepts relating to different aspects of environmental problems. The science teacher trainees surpassed social
science followed by humanities teacher trainees in their environments awarenes.

Sabhlok (1995) studied the awareness and attitude of teacher and students of high school towards
environmental education. The findings were (a) The boys and girl students differ significantly in the awareness about
environment, in favour of boys, (b) The rural and urban students different significantly in their
awareness of environment, in favour of urban students, (c) The boys and girl students differ significantly in their
attitude towards environment,in favour of girls, (d) The rural and urban teachers differed significantly in their
awareness and attitude towards environment, in favour of urban teachers, (e) The male and female teachers differ
significantly in awareness and attitude towards environment, in favour of female teachers, (f) The rural and urban
students differ in their attitude towards environment, in favour of urban students.

Ayishabi (1995) studied environmental attitude and literacy among science and non science students at degree
level. The findings were (a) Science students surpassed non science students in environmental literacy and attitude
towards environment. (b) Students of biology and chemistry were alike in their attitude and literacy of environment,
(c) English students surpassed history students and commerce students in their attitude and literacy of environment.

Raj Kumari and R.R. Singh (1995) studied the attitude of teachers towards environmental
education. He found that (a) teachers selected as representative sample had favourable attitude
towards environmental education, (b) there was no significant difference in the attitude of primary
and secondary school teachers towards environmental education.

Prahraj. B (1991) studied environmental knowledge, attitude and perception regarding environmental
education among pre service and in service secondary school teacher. He found (a) low environmental knowledge
among preservice teachers, although conceptual knowledge was moderate, (b) Among the inservice teachers,
environmental knowledge was moderate and factual knowledge about the environment was low.
(c)There was a moderate correlation between environmental knowledge and environment attitude. (d) Teachers
perceived that environmental education could be a core part of social science and science, (e) There was a significant
difference in the attitude of pre service and inservice teachers towards environmental education, in favour of inservice
teachers. (f)There was no significant difference in the attitude of primary and secondary school teachers towards
environmental education.

Mosathiwane et al (1991) studied knowledge and attitude of preservice teachers towards


environmental education in Botswana. The findings were (a) The knowledge of preservice teachers about
environmental education was moderate, (b) Forty two percent preservice teachers had positive
attitude towards environmental education.

Shahnawaj (1990) studied environmental awareness and attitude of secondary and higher secondary school
teachers and students. It was found that (a) 95% teachers and 94% students possessed positive environmental
attitudes. (b) The teachers and the students did not differ in their attitude towards environment, (c)
48

Teachers surpassed students in awareness about environment. (d) Trained and untrained teachers did not
differ in environmental awareness. (e) Girls surpassed boys in the awareness about environment. (f) Teachers
were above average and students were average in their awareness about environment.

Chang (1990) conducted a study on the knowledge of and attitude towards environment
among preservice elementary teachers in Taiwan. The findings were (a) Preservice elementary teachers had
moderate level of knowledge about environment, (b) Fifty percent of preservice elementary teachers had positive
attitude towards environment.

Studies Related to Innovations and Experimentation

Prajapat (1996) conducted a research to assess the effect of program in developing awareness towards
environment among the pupils of standard IV. The findings were (a) a significant difference in the environmental
awareness of experimental and control group was found. (b) The program was successful in developing
awareness of environment among the pupils of standard IV. (c) There was no significant difference in the
environmental awareness of students on the basis of sex.

Gopalakrishnan, Sarojini, (1992) studied the impact of environmental education on primary school
children.The study addresses the problems of environmental education and its impact on primary school
children of standard V selected at random from the schools of Nilgiris , Madras and Coimbatore. The Findings were
(a) The distribution the total Environment Education Test Scores of the entire sample approached the
normal form which implied that environmental education had a very good impact on the children, (b) Analysis
of the Environmental Education Test Score area wise reveals that the children of Madras scored better
when compared to that of the Coimbatore and the Nilgiris, and that could be due to better exposure of Madras
Children . (c) The study showed that the participatory learning approach could bring about a better impact, (d)
Teachers in general felt that there was not sufficient time to give importance to learner centred activities.

Gilbertson et al (1990) studied the effect of environmental awareness training program on the knowledge and
attitude of 2nd standard students in Minnesota. The findings were (a) There was a significant difference in the
environmental knowledge of experimental and control group, (b) There was no significant difference in
the environmental attitude of experimental and control group.

Rajput J.S (1988) conducted research for the identification of teaching skills and training
strategies for implementing the environmental approach at primary level. The findings were (a) The mean scores of
the environmental awareness for the experimental and the control groups at pre test and post test level indicated that
out of fourteen comparison groups in seven schools; nine groups had no significant difference and the remaining five
groups had a significant difference as a result of the treatment, (b) The results of comparison
between the groups indicated that out of fourteen groups, five had no significant differences in both
the cases, (c) The significant differences obtained in some groups did not follow any uniform pattern.
49

Studies Related to Curriculum

Smita Bhawalkar (2003) analysed the school syllabus in context of environmental education. The findings
were (a) The magnitude and the nature of the content related to environmental education was found suitable
with reference to the age group of the learners and teaching objectives in the syllabus of class I, II, III IV and V. (b)
In case of all the three subjects ie. . . Hindi, Science and Social Science; the environmental values are highly
emphasized in class VIII as compared to class VI and class VII in the present syllabus, (c) The environmental content
are found to have the lowest value in the Hindi subject in comparison to science. The agriculture section in Social
Science found to be highly devoted to environmental values in case of class VI and class VII in present syllabus, (d)
It was found that not all but majority of the teachers accepted the occurrence of content related to environmental
education and necessity of environmental education in school syllabus and suitability of not only science but other
subjects also to teach environmental education . (e) All the teachers of the sample were of the same view
regarding the importance of environmental education as a part of content of different school subject while
teaching, (f) Most of the teachers agree that they can persuade the students to play responsible role towards
environment, (g) Majority of the teachers considered environmental awareness as a part of moral values.

Sahoo, K .C (1992) conducted a research to renovate the concept of environmental education. The findings
were (a) The concept of the environment is broadly divided as natural and man made types . (b) Flora and Fauna
constitute the biotic environment, (c) The atmosphere hydrosphere and lithosphere constitute the abiotic environment
. (d) Man made environment are of different types such as social, economic, political, cultural, aesthetic, historical,
geographical psychological, religious and academic, (e) The relationship between man and environment is symbiotic
in nature, (f) Gradually man’s domination over the environment has created complexities in the man environment
relationship, (g) Efforts are continuing with regard to environment management, with focus on unity of life,
sustainable development, human welfare, futuristic and cultural program, (h) Self management is perceived as the
best form of good environmental management. (i) Several bodies, committees and workshops at national and
international level has thrown light on the conceptual analysis of environmental education.

Kidwai Zeenat (1991) developed environmentally centered curriculum in Geography at secondary stage.
The outcome of the study was a suggested framework for an environmentally oriented Geography curriculum at
secondary stage.

Mutaqui et al (1981) developed a curriculum in Biology for secondary school of Bangladesh.


The findings were (a) The curriculum was effective in developing knowledge of environment among
students of all the grades under study. (b) The curriculum was effective in developing positive attitude among
students of VI, VII, VIII grade towards environment. (c) There was a very low correlation between knowledge and
attitude towards environment.
50

Studies related to innovations

Educators conducted studies to assess the effect of outdoor education programmes on environmental
awareness, knowledge, sensitivity, consciousness, attitudinal change and environmental behaviour of people. Dunlop
and Hepperman (1975), Bryant and Hungerford (1977), Geisler et al., (1977), Crompton and Seller (1981), Jaus ( 1
984), Spepard and Spcelman (1986), Howeand Disinger (1998), Van Matre( 1990), Dresner and Gill (1994) made
attempts to study the effect of outdoor educational programmes on attitude and awareness about environment of the
students. Researchers found a significant effect of these programmes on the environmental
attitude and awareness of the students. Chelliah (1982) also indicated positive impact of outdoor
activities such as nature work ,camping and hiking trips on children’s knowledge of environmental issues.
Driver and Johnson (1984) studied the long-term benefits of the youth conservation programme, which
combines outdoor work opportunities and environmental education for youths. In the study, the youths
indicated that they had become more environmentally aware as a result of the Youth Conservation Corps
Programme.

Van Liere and Noe ( 1 98 1 ) and Howe and Disinger (1998) concluded that outdoor experiences made a
significant impact on students’ attitudes. Khoshoo (1991) and Mathews and Riley (1995) suggested that the
instruction in the general area of environment couldn’t be confined to the class-room, but more
importantly, field or out-of-school activities. Dutt (1998) also suggested that to impart environmental education to
students, the outdoor activities such as visit to nearby cities and township, industrial sides and visit of canals and
river sides etc., should be arranged by the teachers in schools. Bonger (1998) studied the influence of short-term
outdoor ecology education programme on long-term variables of environmental perspective. The results indicated
that five day outdoor programme explicitly provoked favourable shifts in individual behaviour.

Palm berg and Kuru (2000) concluded that nature experience develops pupils’ self-confidence and feeling of
safety, in particular, which in turn increases their willingness to participate in environmental outdoor activities.
Patankar (2000) suggested that field trips and outdoor studies are very much educative and they develop curiosity in
students. The selected places for field trips should include the areas related to various environmental problems . In
field trips and outdoor studies, the students can visit and study village river or lake, seashore, sanctuary and
industries. In their visit they may observe, different types of nests, ecosystems, food webs and the biodiversity etc.

Some investigators have conducted t h e i r researches to find out the effect of


Audio / video programmes on environmental awareness and attitude of the students. Kalimutthu (1991) found that
the higher secondary students taught through the video programme learnt more of the concept on environmental
pollution than those who were taught by the lecture method. The higher secondary students improved their
achievement on environmental pollution after viewing the video programme. Singh (1995) made an attempt to study
the impact of video-instructional package on the environmental awareness of school going children of Gujarat,
Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The researcher found that the video - instructional package was found significantly
51

effective for the students of classes VII and VIII. The majority of the students liked and enjoyed learning
through video -instructional package.

Rastogi et al (1999) made an attempt to investigate the effectiveness of audiotape


a n d transparencies on the environmental awareness of undergraduate students. The researchers revealed that
the use of audiotape and transparencies was highly effective in raising the level of awareness of students. Chetan
(1996) reported positive effect of video-aided instructional programmes on the achievements of students in selected
concepts of science. Chandra and Pandey (1996) and Karandhikar (1997) also reported a positive impact of video-
films on the achievement of students.

Patankar(2000) suggested the films, video cassettes on tiger projects. The different types of birds
may be shown to the students to develop in them an interest for the environmental conservation. Gihar (2002).
Kukreti et al., (2002), Kukreti et al., (2004) and Kukreti & Gihar (2004) in their studies also found significant and
positive effect of video- programmes on the environmental knowledge. consciousness, awareness, attitude and sense
of responsibility towards environmental protection and conservation.

Patel (1997) investigated the effect of environmental multimedia package on the sample of 110
students, studying in IX class. The findings of the study indicate a significant relationship between multimedia
package and environmental awareness of the students. The researcher also concluded that the multimedia package
was found more effective than the traditional lecture method in creating environmental awareness in students.

Sibley (1974) studied the effect of simulation games on environmental attitude of six graders. Study revealed
that the simulation games based on environmental components, positively affected the attitude of students
towards environment. Similarly, Kaswekar (1996) studied the effectiveness of multimedia package in the
development of population awareness among perspective primary teachers. The investigator reported that for
developing population awareness teaching through multimedia package was found significantly effective.

Bryant and Hunger Ford (1977) conducted a study in which they presented an instructional
programme to Kindergarten students on environmental problems. They asked the students to describe their own and
others’ responsibilities as a way of measuring students verbal commitment to action. The researchers
found that students appeared more environmentally conscious after the presentation of instructional
programme.

Sharma (1979), Sultan (1979) and Bhargava (1981) studied the effect of instructional material on developing
environmental attitude of the students. All these researchers found a significant and positive co-relationship
between instructional material and environmental attitude of the students.

Jaus (1984) assessed the short and long term impact of environmental instructional programmes on the
attitudes of the third graders. The researcher found that in comparison to pre-test scores the group of students scored
30% higher scores in the post-test. Dutt (1998) revealed that to create awarenes? interest in students regarding
52

environmental i; planned instructional material with specific lean,.., b goals should be prepared and given to the
students in schools.

Desh Bandhu etal., (1982), Seneviratne (1982), Rahardjo (1982), Khoshoo (1991), Kukreti (1993), Swamy
(1998) and Kukreti et al (2004) etc have recognized the effective role of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)
in creating environmental awareness among masses. Desh Bandhu et al (1982) revealed that NGOs have a vital role
to play in creating environmental awareness at all levels. Chelliah (1982) indicated that in Malaysia, there are several
NGOs in the country whose interest in environmental issues and action oriented programmes are effective
well established and recognized.

Khoshoo (1991) expressed that the role of NGOs is indeed considerable as also critical to the success in the
area of environmental education. NGOs can play a very distinctive role in sensitizing people about environment.
Similarly, Kukreti (1993) indicated that Voluntary organizations are in the best position in creating environmental
awareness, understanding and values among the masses because these agencies are familiar with the local
environmental problems and they are very much close to local people. He also suggested that the Voluntary
organization which shows the best results in expansion of environmental education should be motivated by the
government through providing rewards. Kukreti and Gihar (2002) also expressed that NGOs can play a
significant role in creating environmental awareness among students by making video programmes on
different aspects of environment.

Some educationalist and eminent persons have suggested that mass media could be used as an
effective tool to spread environmental awareness among people (Kwik. 1982; Rathore, 1982; Chelliah. 1982; Sekar.
1982; Kukreti, 1993; Neelima, and Nair, 2001). Rathore (1982) suggested that mass media could play a useful
and effective role in global propagation of environmental metaphysics. Chunkao (1982) suggested that in
Thailand, radio and T.V. programs, newspapers, poster exhibition and demonstration, movies and
slide shoots and publications are widely being used as the tools of informal environmental education.
Kwik (1982) stated that cartoon and documentary films on the environment, specially designed for children
could be used to create environmental awareness and consciousness in the children not enrolled in formal
education. Desh Bandhu and Ramanathan (1982) reported that in the International Conference on
Environmental Education organized by Indian Environmental society (1981), the mass-
communication media was recognized as a powerful and active tool for spreading information about
environment. Brothers et al (1991) assessed the impact of TV news programmes on the
p u b l i c environmental knowledge and found positive results of the programme. Kukreti (1993)
indicated that mass media such as radio, TV, newspapers periodicals, feature films, and documentaries etc could be
used effectively in the extension of environmental education among masses. Further the researcher also revealed that
in the remote and backward areas where the formal and non-formal education is not widely spread, the
environmental education could be imparted through environmental programmes telecasted and broadcasted on TV
and radio. Singh (2004) in her study suggested that the programmes of UGC countrywide classroom, related to
53

environment might play a significant role in enriching environmental awareness of students. The teachers should
motivate the students to watch such E TV programmes.

Chelliah (1982), Rahardjo (1982), Swamy (1998), Thakur (1999) and Vyas (2003) etc., emphasized the vital
role of science clubs/forums and science exhibition in creating environmental awareness. Rashid (1982) suggested
that “school nurseries” program particularly in rural areas may be very effective in creating the feeling of love for
trees among the school children.

Some special programmes like-nature education programme (Rashid, 1982), earth education
programme (Van Mitre, 1990), lectures, talks and discussions on environmental issues (Chelliah, 1982; Patankar,
2000; and Vyas, 2003), projects (Mohd, 1982; Patel, 1986; Patankar, 2000; saxena, 2003 and Pardiwala, 2005),
special refresher programmes (Desh Bandhu et al., 1982), learning-by-doing rather than being taught (Pardiwala,
2005), environmental short-term or long-term training programmes (Musa, 1982; Mohd, 1982; Vyas, 2003),
readings and debates (Patankar,2000), seminar, conferences, and symposium on environmental issues
(Chunkao,1982), nature walk (Chelliah, 1982), slide and film shows (Kwik, 1982; Chellaih,1982; and Patankar,
2000), nature and community awareness programmes (Pardiwala, 2005), environmental games (Kwik,
1982; Mohd,1982; Patankar, 2000), rural child-to-child programme (Pardiwala, 2005) and mass
environmental literacy programme, environmental conservation campaigns, nature oriented co-curricular
programmes in schools (Bhattacharya,1982; Vyas, 2003; Pandey,2003) etc., were also suggested by the
eminent persons, environmentalists and educationist for generating environmental awareness and
consciousness.

Osb (1982), Desh Bandhu (1982), Swami (1998) have emphasized the mass movements on
environmental issues as effective tool for enhancing environmental awareness among people.

Armstrong and Impara (1992) found positive impact of environmental education programmes on knowledge
and attitude of the students. Patel et al., (1995) indicated that the administration of the special Environmental
Awareness Programme (EAP) on secondary school teachers was found significantly effective in enriching their
environmental awareness. Dutt (1998) revealed that for inculcating awareness of environmental issues, among
students, an album on nature could be prepared with the help of students, which emphasi/.es the beauty and wonders
of nature.

Fatma (2004) suggested that nearby the cities and township special environmental education centers should be
established in which environmental education might be given to people in natural conditions. Pardiwala
(2005) revealed that, “unfortunately, the much- needed bonding between people and nature can not be taught or
learned through a text book within the four walls of a class-room. Human beings must be taught the art of living
environmentally sustainable lives right from early childhood”.

Conclusion
54

After reviewing thesis, dissertations periodicals, journals, surveys on education from the library of NCERT,
NIEPA, Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University, ICSSR and ERIC data base, the
investigator found that no research work has been done exactly on the same topic in India and abroad.

Therefore, the present study to the best of the investigator knowledge is a first step towards finding out the
awareness and attitude of preservice, inservice teachers and teacher educators towards environmental problems.
55

CHAPTER3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Designof theStudy

Introduction

“A research design is the arrangement of conditions for collection and analysis of data in a manner than aims to
combine the relevance to the research purpose with economy in procedure to support or refute a knowledge
claim.”

(Mertens, 1998)

Research design is the blue print of procedure with the help of which the researcher carry out the research
work. It is a plan of action, a plan for collecting and analyzing data in an economic, efficient and relevant
manner. A research design could be constructed either to test a hypothesis or to study the cause and effect
relationship in a situation. Adequately planned and executed design helps in permitting us to rely on both our
observation and inferences. In other words, research design is a logical model of proof that allows
the researcher to draw influences concerning causal relations among variables under investigation. It also
tells us whether the obtained interpretation can be generalised to larger population or to different
situation. Selection of a particular design is based upon the purpose of research, the type of
variables to be manipulated and the limiting factor under which it is conducted.

This chapter furnishes a brief outline of the research design followed in the present study.

Objectives

General Objectives

1) To study and compare the awareness of environmental problems among preservice and inservice teachers
with respect to

a) interaction between group, discipline and qualification

b) qualification (postgraduate/ graduate)

c) discipline (science/ social science/ humanities)

d) group (preservice and inservice)

2) To study and compare the attitude towards environmental problems among preservice and
inservice teachers with respect to

a) interaction between group, discipline and qualification

b) qualification (postgraduate / graduate).


56

c) discipline (science/ social science/ humanities)

d) group (preservice and inservice)

3) To study the awareness or environmental problems among teacher educators with respect to

a) interaction between discipline and qualification

b) qualification (postgraduate/ Ph.D)

c) discipline (science/ social science/ humanities).

4) To study the attitude towards environmental problems among teacher educators with respect to

a) interaction between discipline and qualification

b) qualification (postgraduate/ Ph.D).

c) discipline (science/ social science/ humanities).

5) To study the relationship between awareness and attitude towards environmental problems.

Specific Objectives

1 . To study the awareness of environmental problems among preservice, inservice teachers & teacher
educators.

2. To study the attitude towards environmental problems among preservice, inservice teachers
& teacher educators.

3. To study the effect of discipline, qualification and their various interaction on the awareness of
environmental problems among preservice and inservice teachers.

4. To study the effect of discipline, qualification and their various interaction on the attitude towards
environmental problems among preservice and inservice teachers.

5. To study the effect of discipline, qualification and their various interaction on the awareness of
environmental problems among teacher educators.

6. To study the effect of discipline, qualification and their various interactions on the attitude towards
environmental problems among teacher educators.

7. To compare the awareness of environmental problems between preservice and inservice teachers.

8. To compare the attitude towards environmental problems between preservice and inservice teachers.

9. To study the interaction effect of the types of teachers (preservice and inservice) their
discipline and qualification on the awareness of environmental problems.
57

10. To study the interaction effect of the types of teachers (preservice and inservice), their
discipline and qualification on the attitude towards environmental problems.

11. To study the relationship between awareness and attitude towards environmental problems.

Null Hypothesis

1) There is no significant effect of interaction between discipline and qualification on the mean awareness
performance of preservice and inservice teachers in environmental pollution awareness test.

2) There is no significant effect of discipline on the mean awareness performance of preservice and inservice
teachers in environmental pollution awareness test.

3) There is no significant effect of qualification on the mean awareness performance of


preservice and inservice teachers in environmental pollution awareness test.

4) There is no significant effect of interaction between discipline and qualification on the mean attitude
performance of preservice and inservice teachers in environmental pollution attitude scale.

5) There is no significant effect of discipline on the mean attitude performance of preservice and inservice
teachers in environmental pollution attitude scale.

6) There is no significant effect of qualification on the mean attitude performance of preservice and inservice
teachers in environmental pollution attitude scale.

7) There is no significant effect of interaction between discipline and qualification on the mean awareness
performance of teachers educators in environmental pollution awareness test.

8) There is no significant effect of discipline on the mean awareness performance of teachers educators in
environmental pollution awareness test.

9) There is no significant effect of qualification on the mean awareness performance of


teachers educators in environmental pollution awareness test.

10) There is no significant effect of interaction between discipline and qualification on the mean attitude
performance of teachers educators in environmental pollution attitude scale.

11) There is no significant effect of discipline on the mean attitude performance of teachers
educators in environmental pollution attitude scale.

12) There is no significant effect of qualification on the mean attitude performance of teachers educators in
environmental pollution attitude scale.

13) There is no significant difference between the mean awareness performance of


preservice and inservice teachers in environmental pollution awareness test.
58

14) There is no significant difference between the mean attitude performance of preservice
and inservice teachers in environmental pollution attitude scale.

15) There is no significant interaction effect of the type of teachers (preservice and inservice), their discipline
and qualification on the awareness of environmental problems.

16) There is no significant interaction effect of the type of teachers (preservice and inservice), their discipline
and qualification on the attitude towards environmental problems.

17) There is no significant relationship between awareness and attitude towards environmental problems .

Sample

Preservice Teachers

Three hundred preservice teachers pursuing one year full time B.Ed program were selected from the teacher
training institution of Delhi university, Jamia Millia Islamia and GGSIP university in the following manner.

• Delhi University : Hundred pre service teachers (34 from Science, 33 from Social Science & 33 from
Humanities )were selected.

• IASE, Jamia Millia Islamia: Hundred preservice teachers (33 from Science, 34 from Social Science and
33 from Humanities) were selected.

• GGSIP University: Hundred preservice teachers( 34 from Humanities.33 from science and 33 from
Social Science) were selected from 3 teacher training institutions under GGSIP University.

Inservice Teachers

Three Hundred inservice teachers teaching at the secondary and senior secondary level in the schools of Delhi
Government were selected for the present study in the following manner. There are elevens districts and twenty eight
zones in Delhi .Out of eleven districts, five districts were selected randomly ie North ,North East, South, South West
and Central Delhi .From each district ,one zone was selected randomly. From each zone, ten schools were selected
randomly and from each selected school, six teachers were selected purposefully out of which two teachers each
from science, social science and humanities were selected.

Teacher Educators

All the teacher educators teaching one year full time B.Ed, program in the teacher training institutions of Delhi
University, GGSIP University and Jamila Millia Islamia were selected for the study.

Tools Used

The tools used in the study are mentioned as under:


59

a) Environmental Pollution Attitude Scale

b) Environmental Pollution Awareness Test

a) Environmental Pollution Attitude Scale

To study the attitude of the selected group, the investigator used Environmental Pollution Attitude Scale
developed, designed, validated by Dr. M. Rajamanicam and published by Institute of Community Guidance and
Research, Chennai, India in 1998.

Introduction of the scale

The environmental pollution attitude scale was originally designed, developed and validated in 1995 for
assessing an individual’s or a group’s attitude towards environmental pollution. It has 30 statement dealing with all
possible forms of environmental pollution. It is a five point scale having five response categories. The score ranges
from 30 (lowest) to 150 (highest). The highest score indicates favourable attitude and the lowest score indicates
unfavourable attitude towards environmental pollution. The reliability of the scale is 0.84 and the validity of
the scale is 0.92. The test was standardized on 465 individuals between the age group of 20 to 55 years belonging to
student and employed categories.

Description of the scale

The EPAS consist of 30 statements referring to some aspects of environmental pollution. There are 15 positive
statements towards the environmental pollution and 15 negative statements against the environmental pollution.The
positive statement indicates that there is environmental pollution and the negative statements express that there is no
environmental pollution. In every statement, one idea either in favour of or against environmental pollution is
expressed. Under each statement five response such as strongly agree, agree, unable to decide, disagree
and strongly disagree are provided. The participant has to express his opinion about the idea given in each
statement by underlining only one of the five responses with which he/ she agrees. The responses may be assigned
with scores according to the procedure given in the key. The total score of all the statements constitutes the individual
score. The high score indicates the favourable and the low score indicates the unfavourable attitude
towards environmental pollution.

Administration of the scale

The EPAS can be administered on an individual or on a group at the same time, thus serving the purpose of
individual / group test .The total time limit for recording all the responses is 25 to 30 minutes .

Method of Scoring

The EPAS scale items can be scored with the help of scoring key in the follows manner.

Table 3.1
60

Method of Scoring the Environmental Pollution Attitude Scale


Statements Response Score
Positive Statement Strongly Agree i5
Agree 4

Unable to decide 3

Disagree 2
Strongly disagree 1
Negative Statement Strongly agree 1
Agree 2
Unable to decide 3
Disagree 4

Strongly disagree 5

The total score of all items constitute the individual’s score in this scale. The highest Possible score in this scale
is 150 and the lowest possible score is 30. The highest and the lowest score indicates the favorable and unfavorable
attitude towards environmental pollution respectively. The scores in between the highest and the lowest indicates
various degrees of favorable and unfavorable attitude towards environmental pollution.

Range of Scores and Norms

The scores of Environmental pollution Attitude Scale lies between 30 to 150. The range of scores and
norms of Environmental Pollution Attitude Scale are mentioned in the table as under:

Table 3. 2

Range of Scores and Norms Environmental pollution Attitude Scale

S.No. Ranges of Scores Nature of Attitude Weight age

1 136-150 Extremely Favorable Attitude 5

2 106-135 Moderately Favorable Attitude 4

3 76-105 Neutral Attitude 3

4 46-75 Moderately Unfavorable Attitude 2

5 30-45 Extremely Unfavorable Attitude 1

b) Environmental Pollution Awareness Test

A test is a context designed to elicit predecided response which can be classified by acceptable or otherwise
with reference to some accepted standard or absolute criteria (Mertens,1998).
61

Content of the test

After exploring the contemporary literature on environmental pollution from various sources such as Books,
Journals, Articles,Central Pollution Control Board reports, national newspapers and leading dailies, T.V. reports; the
investigator prepared a blue Print of the test content to present the status of test items before and after pre try out has
been mentioned as under:

Table 3.3

Blue Print of Environmental Pollution Awareness Test

Content of test Status of Test Items


Types of Pollution its sources,
impact on environment
and remedial solution Before Pre try out After pre try out

Air Pollution 25 14

Water pollution 9 8

Soil Pollution 7 4

Noise Pollution 7 4

Radio active pollution 9 4

Solid waste Pollution 9 6

Environmental Law 9 Nil

Total 75 40

The investigator keeping in view the nature of the topic, the objective of test and the sample group decided
to construct the multiple choice type test. The investigator consulted books on measurement and
evaluation to gather information related to construction of multiple choice type questions, its advantages and
limitations.

To study the environmental awareness, eighty multiple choice test items were framed on the basis of
information from various sources such as books, journals, articles, central pollution control board reports,
newspapers and the contemporary literature were also explored in collecting the ideas for constructing
the items of environmental pollution awareness test.

These test items were cyclostyled in the form of booklet and sent to thirty experts belonging to the field of
education, environmental science, measurement and evaluation. They were requested to review the test items
keeping into consideration the principle’s of measurement and evaluation, subject matter and editorial quality.
62

On the basis of experts comment, some test items were dropped and some of them were modified to avoid any
ambiguity. After experts comment, the investigator again reviewed the test item by following Harper’s check list
(1990) for reviewing and editing of multiple choice test items which is mentioned below.

A) General criteria

1. Is the items measuring significant context

2. Can the item be attempted correctly by about half (30% to 80%) of the candidate

3. Can the answer be deduced by means of clues

4. Is the item culturally neutral.

5. Is the item overloaded with words

6. Is the item dependent on other items in the test.

7. Is it a track or catch questions.

B) Checking the options

1. Can individual guess the answer from the options alone.

2. Are all options clearly exclusive.

3. Is there repetition of words in options, which can be included in the stem.

4. Is essential difference between options clear

5. Are options written in logical order.

C) Check the stem

1. Is the task or problems well set in the stem

2. Can the stem be worked more concisely and clearly.

3. Is the stem worded positively. If not is the negative word capitalized or underlined for emphasis.

D) Check the key

1. Is there any one correct or best answer

2. Is the key distinct or partially correct

3. Can the key be improved to make it more clear or correct

E) Check the distractors

1. Are all the distracters completely incorrect or partially correct


63

2. Can any distractor be taken as right best answer

3. Are certain words like all, never, always etc. are used which clearly indicated that it is wrong or cannot be
the correct answer.

4. Is there any error in the wording that make it obviously unlikely answer

According to Vaughan (1966), the number of test items which should be constructed for try out is always
larger than the number needed for the finished test. After self reviewing of the test items as well as experts
comment on the test, the investigator finalized 75 test items for pre try out.

Scoring

A test item is a scoring unit (Ebel, 1950). A scoring key was also prepared by the investigator to score
responses on the master sheet.

Weight age and the Range of Scores

A weight age of one mark was assigned to each correct response and zero to each incorrect response. The
minimum score in the test will be 0 and the maximum score in the test will be 40 as The Environmental Pollution
Awareness Test consist of forty items so the scores for Environmental Pollution Awareness Test will be in between
(0 to 40).

Sample for Pre Tryout

The test before pre try out was designed in the form of booklet with covering letter and answer sheet
attached to it. The covering letter explained the respondent the \ purpose of research, the importance of
their participation in it and an assurance to maintain their confidentiality throughout the research work.
The answer sheet included two pages. The first page explained the complete set of instructions to
attempt the test and directions to mark the responses. The second page of the answer sheet had number of questions
from one to seventy five and against each question number, four responses were indicated out of which one was
correct and others were the distractors. The respondents were asked to tick or blacken the response (any one) which
they feel is the correct or the best. The test was administrated on a sample of sixty preservice and sixty
inservice teachers in an informal atmosphere. The respondents were free to clarify their confusion related to
the test, its items and the directions. Pre try out was conducted on the sample of sixty preservice teachers and sixty
inservice teachers selected in the following manner:

• Pre service teachers : Sixty preservice teachers(20 from Science ,20 from Social Science and 20 from
Humanities discipline ) pursuing one year full time B.Ed program were selected from the teacher training institutions
of Delhi University, Jamia Millia Islamia and GGSIP University

• Inservice teachers: Sixty inservice teachers teaching at secondary and senior secondary
level in the schools of Delhi Government were selected in the following manner. Out of eleven districts, five districts
64

were chosen randomly. Out of five districts ,one zone in each district was chosen randomly. From each zone.two
schools were chosen randomly and from each school, six teachers were selected purposefully ,two each from
Science, Social Science and Humanities.

After pre tryout on a sample of 120, the raw data’s were subjected to item analysis to study the item difficulty,
item discrimination value, reliability and validity of the test and analysis of the distractors.

Item Analysis

According to Grounlund and Linn (1990), item analysis is conducted to ensure.

• the level of difficulty of the items is appropriate.

• the test is reliable.

• the clarity of the task of each item

• the straight forwardness of the test

• the cultural fairness of each item where the influence of other item of the test is minimized and where
successful completion of one item is not dependent on successful completion of another item.

It is a statistical technique which is used for selecting and rejecting the items of a test on the basis of their
difficulty value and discriminative power. Item analysis is concerned with the two characteristic of an
item.

a) Difficulty value

b) Discrimination power

a) Difficulty value

The difficulty value of an item is defined as the proportion or percentage of the examinees
who have answered the item correctly (Guilford, 1954). The acceptable limit of difficulty index is 25% to 75%.It can
be calculated by the following method

H+L/2N x 100

where , H = number of correct responses in high achievers group.

L= number of correct responses in low achievers group.

N= number of students in higher/ lower group (A group)

b) Discriminative power
65

Index of discrimination is that ability of an item on the basis of which the discrimination is
made between the superior and inferiors (Blood, 1972).The acceptable limit of discrimination index is 0.2-
0.8. It can be calculated by the following method.

H-L/N

where , H = number of correct responses in high achievers group (usually 27% of the total cases).

L= number of correct responses in low achievers group (usually 27% of the total cases).

N= number of students in higher/ lower (a group).

Discriminative power is of two types

(i) Item reliability

(ii) Item validity

(i) Item reliability:

It is the degree to which an item distinguishes between high and low groups on the basis of the same test scores
(Loveinger, 1954). It is taken as point biserial correlation between an item and the total test score multiplied by item
standard deviation.

(ii) Item validity

It is the degree to which an item distinguishes between high and low groups on the basis of some other
criterion test scores other than the test prepared (Loveinger, 1954).It is taken as point biserial correlation between an
item and a criterion score multiplied by the item standard deviation.

Item analysis by point biserial technique

It is used when one variable is on continuous scale and other on the discrete scale-right or
wrong. It item analysis the subject scores are on continuous scale and item scores are right or
wrong on the other scale and item scores are right and wrong on the other scale. For the right
response, one mark is assigned and for the wrong response zero mark is given.

In item analysis, scoring is done in two ways of the same answer sheets. Subject wise
scoring on continuous scale and item wise scoring on true dichotomy i.e. right and wrong ( 1 or 0)

The formula for the point biserial correlation is


r
pbis = Mp – Mq /× √pq)

(point biserial r is a coefficient of correlation).

Where, Mp = mean of the subjects scores who have answered the item correctly.
66

Mq = mean of the subjects scores who have answered the item correctly or wrongly.

p = proportion of the subject who have answered the item correctly.

q = (1-p) is proportion of the subjects who have answered the item correctly or wrongly

 = Standard deviation of total scores of the subject

The point biserial technique directly provides difficulty and discrimination index of an item.

Distractor Analysis

Distractors are the stuff of multiple choice test items, where incorrect alternatives are offered and students have
to select the correct alternatives. Here a simple frequency count of the number of times a particular
alternative is selected will provide information on the effectiveness of the distractor. If it is selected many
times then it is working effectively. If it is seldom or never selected then it is not working effectively and it should be
replaced.

In the present research study, item analysis was performed by point biserial technique to study the difficulty
value and discrimination power of the test items.

The difficulty index ranges from 25-75% and the index of discrimination ranges from 0.2-0.8. Most of the
items selected were in between the range of 0.4 to 0.6 as index of discrimination and with difficulty value between
40% to 60% .

Reliability

Reliability means consistency of scores obtained by same individual when re-examined with
the test an different sets of equivalent items or under other variable existing conditions.

(Anastasi 1968).

Reliability of the test was calculated by using split half method. In this method the whole test is split into two
halves taking even numbered items in one halve and odd numbered items in second halve. The scoring of
each item of the test is done separately for these two halves and coefficient of correlation is
calculated which indicates the reliability of the half test. The reliability of the whole test is calculated by using
Spearman- Brown formula.

FORMULA
r
tt = 2rhh

1+rhh

Where rhh = Correlation Between two halves of the test.


67

The reliability of Environmental Pollution Awareness Test was calculated in the following
manner.

The test items were numbered from 1 to 40. The odd numbered items were made into a scale and the even
numbered items were made into another scale. Thus twenty items in one scale and twenty items in the other
scale.The scores of the items were correlated. Reliability of the test was worked out by using split
half method and calculated by Spearman Brown Formula. The reliability value of test is 0.68.

Validity

It is extent to which a test measures what it purports to measure

(Chronbach,I970)

The validity of the tool is another prerequisite for a measuring instrument apart from the reliability. Validity is
inferred from the test score. It is generally referring to the appropriatness of inferences from the test scores. The
question is how faithfully the scores represent the area of measurement and also to which extent it is
related to another or some other test of similar type. Therefore the validity is determined with the extensity of
the test in measuring a variable to the level of another test which measures the same variable
significantly. The is supposed to reveal the characteristic that a person is presumed to possess.

Content validity of the test was done by sending the test items it to thirty experts in the area of measurement
and evaluation, environmental studies, education, environmental education. Out of eighty test items framed by the
investigator, seventy five were finalised after experts judgement with modifications for pre try out. After pre try out,
the raw datas were subjected to item analysis. After item analysis, forty test items out of seventy five were finalized
for the final try out.

Data Collection

In the presen^ research there were three categories of sample and the procedure of data collection was different
for different categories.

Preservice Teachers

The investigator took permission from head of the concerned institutes and obtained a list of preservice
teachers from the office. The preservice teachers were briefed about the research work and one week
was fixed for data collection. The tools were administered on the selected sample on fixed schedule.AH the
necessary instructions were given to them and doubts were clarified for recording of the responses.

Inservice Teachers

The investigator took permission from the Directorate of Education, old secretariat, shamnath marg and
collected a school master list containing information about educational districts, zones and schools for
data collection from teachers teaching at secondary and senior secondary level in the schools of Delhi
68

Government. The educational districts, zones and schools were selected randomly but the teachers from each
school were selected purposefully .

Tools were administered on the selected sample of inservice teachers. It was not possible to
collect data from inservice teachers on one fixed day even in one school so, the data collection process
streached for a long period. All the doubts and the instructions related to the tools were made clear to the
sample by the investigator and test was administered in an informal atmosphere.

Teacher Educators

The investigator took permission from Head of the concerned institute and obtained a list of teacher educators
from the office. The tools were administered on the sample as Per fixed schedule with them. The investigator
clarified all the doubts related to the tool and all the instructions were given to them for recording of the responses.

Delimitation

1. The study was confined to the preservice teachers pursuing one year full time B.Ed, program from the
teacher training institutions of Delhi University, Jamia Millia Islamia and GGSIP University, Delhi.

2. The study was delimited to the teacher educators teaching one year full time B.Ed program in the teacher
training institutions of Delhi University, Jamia Millia Islamia and GGSIP University.

3. The study was confined to the inservice teachers teaching at secondary and senior
secondary level in the schools of Delhi Government.

4. The study was confined to environmental pollution problems only

CHAPTER 4
STATISTICAL MEASURES
Analysis and Interpretations

Introduction

The mass of data collected through the administration of tools on the selected sample as such has no meaning
unless these are analysed and interpreted for drawing sound conclusion and generalizations. Data Analysis means
studying the tabulated material in order to determine the inherent facts. It inVolves breaking up the facts, breaking up
of complex factors into simpler parts and putting them into new arrangements for the purpose of interaction.The first
step in the data analysis is its organization. Organization of data includes editing, classifying and tabulating the
information. Editing implies checking of gathered data for accuracy and usefulness. Classification refers to divisions
of data into different categories. Tabulations denotes the recording of the classified categories.(Cresswell &
Cresswell,2002)
69

The statistical measures used in the present study were Mean, SD, t test, F test (2 and 3 Way ANOVA),
Coefficient of Correlation.

Mean (X)

It is a measure of the central tendency or of the average numerical value of a set of scores. It is calculated by
adding all scores and dividing the sum by the number of scores. It is calculated by the following formula:

For ungrouped scores

(X) = x
N

Where (X) = Mean

 = Sum of

X = Scores in a distribution

N = Number of Scores

For grouped scores

X = fx
N
Where (X) = Mean

 = Sum of

X = Scores in a distribution

N = Number of Scores

fx = Total Frequency

Standard Deviation

It is a measure of variability, dispersion or spread of a set of scores around their mean value. Mathematically,
the standard deviation is the square root of the mean of the squared deviations of the scores from the mean of the
distribution of scores. The more closely the scores in a distribution cluster about the mean, the smaller the standard
deviation. It is denoted by the letter  of the Greek alphabet and was first suggested by Karl Pearson as a measure
of dispersion in 1893, The formula for  when scores are ungrouped is

σ = ∑Χ2
N
The formula for a when data are grouped into a frequency distribution is
70

σ = ∑ fΧ2
N
t test

The t lest is used to determine whether two means are significantly different at a selected
probability level. In other words, for a given sample size the t indicates how often a difference

(x1 – x2) as large or larger would be found when there is no true population difference.

The strategy of the t-test is to compare the actual mean difference observed (x1 – x2) with the
difference expected by chance. The t test involves forming the ratio of these two values. In other words, the
numerator for a t test is the difference between the sample means (x1 – x2) and be expected if the null hypothesis
were true - the standard error of the difference between the means. The denominator is a function of both sample size
and group variance. The t- ratio determines whether the observed difference is sufficiently larger than a
difference which would be expected by chance.

The formula for t - test is as follows:

t= (x1 – x2)
2
S1 S2
+ 2
N1 N2

x1= M e a n o f e x p e r i m e n t a l
s a m p l e
x2 = Mean of control sample
N1 = No. of cases in experimental sample

N2 = No. of cases in control sample

S12 = Variance of experimental sample

S22 = Variance of control sample.

The calculated t value is compared with the table t value to determine the degree of significance.

F test (ANOVA)

Analysis of variance is used to determine whether there is a significant difference between two or means
at a selected probability level .The concept underlying ANOVA is that the total variation or
N can be attributed to two sources variance between groups and variance within groups. It
variance of scores
forms F ratio with group differences as the numerator and an error terms as the denominator.

F ratio = variance between the groups /variance within the groups

The calculated F value is compared with the table F value to determine the degree of significance.
71

Factorial Design

Many experiments are concerned with the influence of two or more independent variables,
usually called factor, on a dependent variable. The number of ways in which a factor is varied is called
the number of levels of the factor. Thus, a factor which is varied in two ways would be said to have two levels and a
factor which is varied in three ways would be said to have three levels. With two or more factors each with two or
more levels, a treatment consists of a combination of one level for each factor. When the treatment consist of all
possible different combinations of one level from each factor, and we have an equal number of observations for each
treatment, the experiment is described as complete factorial experiment with equal replications. In the present
research. ANOVA (3 and 2 Way) has been performed to study the interactions between the variables under
consideration.

Correlation

Whenever two variables of the same group are so related that the increase or decrease of one variable
corresponds to the increase or decrease to another or conversely, they are said to be correlated.

Types of Correlations

• Positive Correlation:

It means that the increase of one variable corresponds to the increase of another variable, or
the decrease of one variable corresponds to the decrease of another variable. A perfect positive
correlation is +1.00.

• Negative Correlation:

It means that the increase of one variable corresponds to the decrease of another or the decrease of one variable
corresponds to the increase of another variable. A perfect negative correlation is-1.00.

• Zero correlation:

When the relationship between two sets of variable is a pure chance relationship. A complete lack of
relationship is 0.

Co-efficient of Correlation

Correlation is the relationship between two or more paired variables or two or more sets of data. The degree of
relationship is measured and represented by the coefficient of correlation.

Correlation can be calculated by the following methods

• Karl Pearson Method

• Rank Correlation Method


72

• Coefficient of contingency method.

• Phi-Coefficient method.

• Karl pearson coefficient of correlation has been used in the present study to find out
relationship between the variables. The coefficient of correlation can be calculated by the formula.
Ν ∑ ΧΥ − ∑ Χ ∑ Υ
r=
[ Ν ∑ Χ − ( ∑ Χ) 2 ][ Ν ∑ Υ2 − ( ∑ Υ) 2 ]
2

Where r = coefficient of correlation

x = Sum of X scores

y = Sum of Y scores

 = sum of

N = Number of paired scores

X2 = Sum of squared X scores

Y2 = Sum of squared Y scores

XY = Sum of the products of paired X and Y scores.

Objectives

General Objectives

1) To study and compare the awareness of environmental problems among preservice and inservice teachers
with respect to

a) interaction between group, discipline and qualification

b) qualification (postgraduate/graduate)

c) discipline (science/ social science/ humanities)

d) group (preservice and inservice)

2) To study and compare the attitude towards environmental problems among preservice
and inservice teachers with respect to

a) interaction between group, discipline and qualification

b) qualification (postgraduate / graduate).

c) discipline (science/ social science/ humanities)

d) group (preservice and inservice)


73

3) To study the awareness of environmental problems among teacher educators with respect to

a) interaction between discipline and qualification

b) qualification (postgraduate/ Ph.D)

c) discipline (science/ social science/ humanities).

4) To study the attitude towards environmental problems among teacher educators with respect to

a) interaction between discipline and qualification

b) qualification (postgraduate/ Ph.D).

c) discipline (science/ social science/ humanities).

5) To study the relationship between awareness and attitude towards environmental problems.

Specific Objectives

1. To study the awareness of environmental problems among preservice, inservicc teachers & teacher
educators.

2. To study the attitude towards environmental problems among preservice, inservice teachers & teacher
educators.

3. To study the effect of discipline, qualification and their various interaction on the awareness of
environmental problems among preservice and inservice teachers.

4. To study the effect of discipline, qualification and their various interaction on the attitude towards
environmental problems among preservice and inservice teachers.

5. To study the effect of discipline, qualification and their various interaction on the awareness of
environmental problems among teacher educators.

6. To study the effect of discipline, qualification and their various interactions on the attitude towards
environmental problems among teacher educators.

7. To compare the awareness of environmental problems between preservice and inservice teachers.

8. To compare the attitude towards environmental problems between preservice and inservice teacher.

9. To study the interaction effect of the types of teachers (preservice and inservice) their
discipline and qualification on the awareness of environmental problems.

10. To study the interaction effect of the types of teachers (preservice and inservice), their
discipline and qualification on the attitude towards environmental problems.

11. To study the relationship between awareness and attitude towards environmental problems
74

Objective 1: To study the awareness of environmental problems among preservice


teachers, inservice teacher and teacher educators.

Table 4.1

The Mean Performance of Preservice, Inservice Teachers and Teacher Educators in


Environmental Pollution Awareness Test

Teachers N Mean SD

Preservice Teachers 300 16.94 7.62

Inservice Teachers 300 15.36 6.47

Teacher Educators 90 11.21 2.38

To achieve the above objectives, the mean and SD were computed by using the scores of preservice teachers,
inservice teachers and teacher educators. According to table 4.1 the mean and SD of preservice teachers, inservice
teachers and teacher educators were 16.94 and 7.62, 15.36 and 6.47, 11.21 and 2.38 respectively.The mean score of
preservice teachers , inservice teachers and teacher educators were (M= 16.94), (M = 15.36) and (M= 11.21)
respectively in the environmental pollution awareness test and does not reached the average environmental
awareness (M = 20) as the total test items were forty with a scoring of 0,1 so it can be concluded that
preservice teachers , inservice teachers and teacher educators were below average in their
awareness of environmental problems .

Objective 2: To study the attitude towards environmental problems among preservice


teachers, inservice teachers and teacher educators.

Table 4.2

The Mean Performance of Preservice, Inservice Teachers and Teacher Educators in Environmental
Pollution Attitude Scale.

Teachers N Mean SD

Preservice Teachers 300 100.31 19.33

Inservice Teachers 300 97.95 19.31

Teacher Educators 90 92.28 12.40

To achieve the above objectives, the mean and SD were computed by using the scores of preservice teachers,
inservice teachers and teacher educators. According to table 4.2 , the mean and SD of preservice teachers, inservice
teachers and teacher educators were 100.31 and 19.33, 97.95 and 19.31, 92.28 and 12.40 respectively. The mean
score of preservice teachers (M= 100.31), inservice teachers (M= 97.95) and teachers educators (M = 92.28) fell in
the score range (76-105) of environmental pollution attitude scale which represented neutral attitude towards
75

environmental problems . It can be concluded that preservice teachers, inservice teachers and teacher educators were
neutral in their attitude towards environmental problems .

Objective 3: To study the effect of discipline, qualification and their various


interaction on awareness of environmental problems among preservice and inservice teachers.

Null Hypothesis

1) There is no significant effect of interaction between discipline and qualification on the


mean awareness performance of preservice and inservice teachers in environmental pollution awareness test.

2) There is no significant effect of discipline on the mean awareness performance of preservice and inservice
teachers in environmental pollution awareness test.

3) There is no significant effect of qualification on the mean awareness performance of


preservice and inservice teachers in environmental pollution awareness test.

Table 4.3

The Effect of Discipline, Qualification and their Interaction on the Mean Performance of Preservice
and Inservice Teachers in Environmental Pollution Awareness Test.

Summary of 3 x 2 way ANO VA


Sources of Variance Sum of Mean Square df F ratio
Squares
Interaction between 118.101 59.050 2 1.19
discipline and
qualification (3 x 2)
Discipline (3) 55.297 27.649 2 0.56
qualification (2) 620.40 620.401 1 12.58**

significant at 0.01 level = 6.69

To achieve the above objective 2 x 3 way ANOVA was performed The F ratio was computed on the
basis of preservice and inservice teachers scores discipline and qualification wise.

3a) The table 4.3 reflects than there was no significant interaction between discipline and qualification in the
awareness of environmental problems among preservice and inservice teachers as the F ratio (1.19) was less than the
F table value (4.65) at 0.05 level. The null hypothesis 1 was accepted at 0.05 level of significance and it can be
concluded that discipline and qualification did not interacted with each other to make an impact on the awareness of
environmental problems among preservice and inservice teachers. The observed interaction can be attributed to the
chance factor or the sampling error. However Padhan (1995) found an interaction between discipline and
qualification in the environmental awareness of preservice teacher trainees of teacher training institutions located in
Bhopal.
76

3b) The table 4.3 reveals that there was no significant effect of discipline on the awareness of environmental
problems among preservice and inservice teachers as the F ratio (0.56) was less than the F table value (4.65) at 0.05
level. The null hypothesis 2 was accepted at 0.05 level of significance. The mean value of science teachers (M =
17.28) was higher than social science teachers (M= 15.75) followed by humanities teachers (M = 15.49) but was not
statistically significant. Hence, it can be concluded that difference in the subject background did not
made any difference in the awareness of environmental problems among preservice and inservice teachers and
the observed difference can be attributed to the chance factor or the sampling error.

The above findings were similar to the findings of Nwosu (1986) and Cortes (1985) who found that
difference in the subject background did not made any difference in the environmental awareness of teacher
trainees of Nigeria and Phillipines but in discord with the findings of Ayishabi (1995) who found that subject
background made a difference in the environmental awareness of science and non science students^ of degree level.
It was supported by Padhan (1995) who found that difference in the subject background made a difference in the
environmental awareness of preservice teachers.

3c) The table 4.3 reflects that there was a significant effect of qualification on the awareness of environmental
problems among preservice and inservice teachers as the F ratio (12.58) was higher than the F table value (6.69) at
0.01 level of significance. The null hypothesis 3 was untenable at 0.01 level. Therefore it can be concluded that
difference in the qualification made a difference in the awareness of environmental problems among preservice and
inservice teachers.

3.c.i) Comparison of the awareness of environmental problems between preservice graduate and
preservice postgraduate teachers.

Null Hypothesis

3.c.i) There is no significant difference between the mean awareness performance of preservice
graduate and preservice postgraduate teachers in environmental pollution awareness test.

Table 4.4

Comparison between the Mean Performance of Preservice Graduate and Preservice Post Graduate
Teachers in Environmental Pollution Awareness Test.

Qualification N Mean SD df t

Postgraduate 130 17.72 7.47

Teachers

298 1.98*

Graduate 170 15.99 7.81


77

Teachers

 Significant at 0.05 level = 1.97

To achieve the above objective mean and SD were calculated on the basis of preservice
teachers score qualification wise. The mean and SD of graduate and postgraduate preservice teachers were 17.72 and
7.47, 15.99 and 7.81 respectively. The t test was computed to compare the mean performance of preservice graduate
and postgraduate teachers. The table 4.4 reflects that there was a significant difference between the awareness of
preservice graduate and postgraduate teachers about environmental problems . As the t value (1.98) was higher than
the t table value (1.97) at 0.05 level. The null hypothesis 3.c.i was rejected at 0.05 level of significance. The
preservice teachers differed in their awareness of environmental problems qualification wise. The postgraduate
preservice teachers (M= 17.72) surpassed graduate preservice teachers (M= 15.99) in their awareness and it can be
concluded that the higher the qualification the better was the awareness of environmental problems
among preservice teachers. The above findings was supported by Padhan (1995) who reported that preservice
postgraduate teachers surpassed preservice graduate teachers in their environmental awareness.

3.c.ii) Comparison of the awareness of environmental problems between inservice graduate and
inservice postgraduate teachers.

Null Hypothesis

3.c.ii) There is no significant difference between the mean awareness performance of inservice
graduate and inservice postgraduate teachers in environmental pollution awareness test.

Table 4.5

Comparison between the Mean Awareness Performance of In service Graduate and In service Post
Graduate Teachers in Environmental Pollution Awareness Test.

Qualification N Mean SD df t

Postgraduate 211 16.03 6.82

Teachers

298 2.70**

Graduate 89 13.82 5.58

Teachers

** significant at 0.01 level = 2.59

To achieve the above objective mean and SD were calculated on the basis of inservice teachers score
qualification wise. The mean and SD of graduate and postgraduate inservice teachers were 13.82 and 5.58, 16.03 and
6.82 respectively. The t test was computed to compare the mean performance of inservice graduate and
78

inservice postgraduate teachers. The table 4.5 reflects that there was a significant difference between the
awareness of inservice graduate and postgraduate teachers about environmental problems . As the t
value (2.70) was higher than the t table value (2.59) at 0.05 level. The null hypothesis 3.C.ii was rejected at 0.05 level
of significance. The inservice teachers differed in their awareness of environmental problems
qualification wise. The postgraduate inservice teachers (M=16.03) surpassed graduate inservice teachers (M=
13.82) in their awareness and it can be concluded that the higher the qualification the better was
the awareness of environmental problems among inservice teachers. The above findings was supported by
Padhan (1995) who reported that preservice postgraduate teachers surpassed preservice graduate teachers in their
environmental awareness.

3.c.iii) Comparison of the awareness of environmental problems between presevice graduate and
inservice graduate teachers

Null Hypothesis

3.c.iii) There is no significant difference between the mean awareness performance of presevice
graduate and inservice graduate teachers in environmental pollution awareness test,

Table 4.6

Comparisons of the Mean Awareness Performance of Preservice and Inservice Graduate Teachers in
Environmental Pollution Awareness Test.

Graduate N Mean SD df t

Preservice 170 15.99 7.81

Teachers

257 2.61**

Inservice 89 13.82 5.58

Teachers

** Significant at 0.01 level = 2.59

To achieve the above objective, t test was computed on the basis of the mean and SD value of preservice and
inservice graduate teachers. The table 4.6 reveals that there was a significant difference between the preservice
graduate and inservice graduate teachers in their awareness of environmental problems as the t value (2.61) was
higher than the t table value (2.59) at 0.01 level. The null hypothesis 3.c.iii was untenable at 0.01 level. It can be
concluded that preservice graduate teachers (M=15.99) surpassed inservice graduate teachers (M=13.82) in their
awareness. It can further be interpreted, the graduate teachers before service were most aware of the environmental
79

problems than the inservice graduate teachers.There was no previous finding in support of or in contrast with the
above findings.

3.c.iv) Comparison of the awareness of environmental problems between inservice post graduate and
preservice post graduate teachers.

Null Hypotheses

3.c.iv )There is no significant difference between the mean awareness performance of inservice
postgraduate and preservice postgraduate teachers in environmental pollution awareness test

Table 4.7

Comparison of the Mean Awareness Performance of Preservice and Inservice Post Graduate
Teachers in Environmental Pollution Awareness Test.

Postgraduate N Mean SD df
t

Preservice 130 17.72 7.47

Teachers

339
2.11*

Inservice 211 16.03 6.82

Teachers

* Significant at 0.05 level= 1.97

To achieve the above objective t test was computed on the basis of mean and SD value of
preservice postgraduate and inservice postgraduate teachers. The table 4.7 reveals that there was a significant
difference between preservice postgraduate and inservice postgraduate teachers in their awareness of environmental
problems as the t value (2.11) was higher than the t table value (1.97) at 0.05 level. The null hypothesis 3.c.iv was
untenable at 0.05 level. It can be concluded that preservice postgraduate teachers (M = 17.72) surpassed inservice
postgraduate teachers (M=16.03) in their awareness and it can further be interpreted that postgraduate teachers before
service were more aware of environmental problems than inservice postgraduate teachers. There was no previous
findings in support of or in contrast with the above findings.
80

Objective 4: To study the effect of discipline, qualification and their various interaction on the attitude
towards environment problems among preservice and inservice teachers.

Null hypothesis

4) There is no significant effect of interaction between discipline and qualification on


the mean attitude performance of preservice and inservice teachers in environmental pollution
attitude scale

5) There is no significant effect of discipline on the mean attitude performance of


preservice and inservice teachers in environmental pollution attitude scale

6) There is no significant effect of qualification on the mean attitude performance of preservice and
inservice teachers in environmental pollution attitude scale

Table 4.8

The Effect of Discipline, Qualification and their Interaction on the Mean Performance of Preservice and
Inservice Teachers in Environmental Pollution Attitude Scale

Summary of 3x2 way ANOVA

Sources of Variation Sum of Mean df F ratio

squares squares

Interaction between 1002.81 501.090 2 1.50


discipline and
qualification (3x2)

Discipline (3) 415.834 207.917 2 0.62

Qualification (2) 1781.101 1781.101 1 5.36*

* Significant at 0.05 level = 3.86

To achieve the above objectives 2 x 3 way ANOVA was performed. The F ratio was computed on
the basis of preservice and inservice teachers score discipline and qualification wise.

4a) The table 4.8 reflects that there was no significant effect of interaction between discipline and qualification
on the attitude of preservice and inservice teachers towards environmental problems as the F ratio (1.50) was less
than the F table value (3.01) at 0.05 level of significance. The null hypothesis 4 was rejected at 0.05 level and it can
be concluded that discipline and qualification did not interacted with each other to make a significant impact on the
attitude of preservice and inservice teachers towards environment prablems. The observed interaction effect can be
attributed to the chance factor or the sampling error. There were no previous findings to support or in discord with the
above findings.
81

4b) The table 4.8 reveals that there was no significant effect of discipline on the attitude of
preservice and inservice teacher towards environmental problems as the F ratio (0.62) was less than the F table value
(3.01) at 0.05 level. The null hypothesis 5 was accepted at 0.05 level. The mean value of science teachers (M=
100.32) was higher than the social science teachers (M = 99.38) followed by humanities teachers (M= 97.68) but
was not statistically significant. Subject background did not made any difference in the attitude of preservice and
inservice teachers towards environmental problems . The observed effect can be attributed to the chance factor or the
sampling error. The above findings was in contrast with the findings of Ayishabi (1995) who reported that
science students had positive and non science students had neutral attitude towards environmental
problems studying at degree level.

4c) It can be interpreted from table 4.8 that there was a significant effect of qualification on the
attitude of preservice and inservice teachers towards environmental problems as the F ratio (5.36) was higher than
the F table value (3.86) at 0.05 level of significance. The null hypothesis 6 was untenable at 0.05 level. It can be
concluded that difference in the qualification made a difference in the attitude of preservice and inservice teachers
towards environmental problems.

4.c.i) Comparison of the attitude of preservice graduate and pre service postgraduate teachers towards
environmental problems.

Null Hypothesis

4.c.i) There is no significant difference between the mean attitude performance of preservice graduate
and pre service postgraduate teachers in environmental pollution attitude scale.

Table 4.9

Comparison between the Mean Attitude Performance of Preservice Graduate and Preservice Post
Graduate Teachers in Environmental Pollution Attitude Scale

Qualification N Mean SD df
t

Postgraduate 130 101.46 13.66 298


1.98*

Graduate 170 97.56 23.26

*Significant at 0.05 level = 1.97

To achieve the above objective mean and SD were computed on the basis of preservice
teachers score qualification wise. According to table 4.9 ,the mean and SD of preservice graduate and postgraduate
teachers were 97.56 and 23.26, 101.46 and 13.66 respectively. The t test was applied to compare the mean
82

performance of two groups. There was a significant difference between the mean performance of preservice graduate
and postgraduate teachers as the t value (1.98) was higher than the t table value (1.97) at 0.05 level. The preservice
postgraduate teachers (M= 101.46) surpassed preservice graduate teachers (M = 97.56) in their attitude towards
environmental problems. The null hypothesis 4.c.i was untenable at 0.05 level and it can be concluded that higher
the qualification the better was the attitude of preservice teachers towards environmental problems.

4.c.ii) Comparison of the attitude of inservice graduate and inservice postgraduate teachers towards
environmental problems .

Null Hypothesis

4.c.ii) There is no significant difference between the mean attitude performance of inservice of inservice
graduate and inservice postgraduate teachers in environmental pollution attitude scale.

To achieve the above objective mean and SD were computed on the basis of inservice teachers score
qualification wise. The mean and SD of inservice postgraduate and graduate teachers were 99.20 and 17.56,
96.34 and 21.42 respectively. For the comparison of mean performance between the two groups, t test was
computed.

Table 4.10

Comparison between the Mean Performance of In service Graduate and In service Post Graduate Teachers
in Environmental Pollution Attitude Scale

Qualification N Mean SD df
t

Postgraduate 211 99.20 17.56 298


1.28

Graduate 89 96.34 21.42

The table 4.10 reflects that there was no significant difference between the attitude of inservice postgraduate
and graduate teachers towards environmental problems as the t value (1.28) was less than the t table value (1.97) at
0.05 level .The null hypothesis 4.c.ii was accepted at 0.05 level of significance. The Mean value of
inservice postgraduate teachers (M= 99.20) was higher than the inservice graduate teachers (M= 96.34) but was
not statistically significant. It can be concluded that difference in the qualification did not made any difference in the
attitude of inservice teachers towards environmental problems .

4.c.iii) Comparison of the attitude of inservice graduate and preservice graduate teachers towards
environmental problems.

Null Hypothesis
83

4.c.iii) There is no significant difference between the mean attitude performance of inservice graduate and
preservice graduate teachers in environmental pollution attitude scale.

Table 4.11

Comparison between the Mean Performance of Pre service Graduate and In service Graduate
Teachers in Environmental Pollution Attitude Scale

Graduate N Mean SD df
t

Preservice 170 97.56 23.26

Teachers

257
0.53

Inservice 89 96.34 21.42

Teachers

To achieve the above objective mean and SD of inservice graduate and preservice graduate teachers were used
to compute t test. The table 4.11 reveals that there was no significant difference between the attitude of
preservice graduate and inservice graduate teachers towards environmental problems as the t value (0.53) was
less than the t table value (2.59) at 0.05 level. The null hypothesis 4.c.iii was accepted at 0.05 level. The mean value
of preservice graduate teachers (M= 97.56) were greater than inservice graduate teachers (M = 96.34) but was not
statistically significant. It can be concluded that the attitude of graduate teachers before service did not differed from
the attiude of inservice graduate teachers towards environmental pollution problems . There was no previous finding
in support of or in contrast with the above findings.

4.c.iv) Comparison of the attitude of inservice postgraduate and preservice postgraduate teachers
towards environmental problems .

Null Hypothesis

4.c.iv) There is no significant difference between the mean attitude performance of inservice
postgraduate and preservice postgraduate teachers in environmental pollution attitude scale.

Table 4.12
84

Comparison between the Mean Performance of Pre service PostGraduate and In service
PostGraduate Teachers in Environmental Pollution Attitude Scale

Post Graduate N Mean SD df


t

Preservice 130 101.46 13.66

Teachers 339
1.32

Inservice 211 99.20 17.56

Teachers

The table 4.12 reflects that there was no significant difference between the attitude of preservice postgraduate
and inservice postgraduate teachers towards environmental problems as the t value (1.32) was less than the t table
value (2.59) at 0.05 level. The null hypothesis 4.c.iv was accepted at 0.05 level. The mean value of
preservice postgraduate teachers (M=101.46) were greater than inservice graduate teachers (M = 99.20) but was
not statistically significant. It can be concluded that the attitude of postgraduate teachers before service
did not differed from the attitude of inservice postgraduate teachers towards environmental problems .
There was no previous finding in support of or in contrast with the above findings.

Objective 5: To study the effect of discipline, qualification and their various interactions on the
awareness of environmental problems among teacher educators.

Null Hypothesis

7) There is no significant effect of Interaction beftveen discipline and qualification on the


mean awareness performance of teachers educators in environmental pollution awareness test

8) There is no significant effect of discipline on the mean awareness performance of teachers


educators in environmental pollution awareness test

9) There is no significant effect of qualification on the mean awareness performance of


teachers educators in environmental pollution awareness test

Table 4.13

The Effect of Discipline, Qualification and their interaction on the Mean Performance of Teachers Educators in
Environmental Pollution Awareness Test.

Summary ofANOVA
85

Sources of Variance Sum of squaresMean square df F ratio

Discipline x 5.916 2.958 2 0.52


qualification (3x2)

Discipline (3) 2.735 1.367 2 0.24

Qualification (2) 33.051 33.051 1 5.88**

** Significant at 0.01 level = 4.85

To achieve the above objective the F ratio was computed on the basis of teacher educators
mean score discipline and qualification wise.

5a) The table 4.13 reveals that there was no interaction between discipline and qualification in
the awareness of environmental problems among teacher educators as the F ratio (0.52) was less than the F table
value (3.11) at 0.05 level of significance. The null hypothesis 7 was accepted at 0.05 level and it can be
concluded that discipline and qualification did not interacted with each other to make asignificant impact on the
awareness of environmental problems among teacher educators. The observed interaction effect can be attributed to
the chance factor or the sampling error.

The above finding was in contrast with the findings of padhan’s study (1995) which revealed that discipline
and qualification interacted with each other to have an impact on the environmental awareness of preservice teachers.
The preservice postgraduate science teachers surpassed social science graduate and post-graduate teachers followed
by humanities graduate and postgraduate teachers in their environmental awareness.

5b) The table 4.13 reflects that the teacher educators belonging to science, social science and
humanities discipline did not differed in their awareness of environmental problems as the F value (0.24) was less
than the F table value (3.10) at 0.05 level. The null hypothesis 8 was accepted at 0.05 level. Although the mean
value of teacher educators of science discipline (M = 11.36) was higher than teacher educators of
social science discipline (M = 11.31) followed by teacher educators of humanities discipline (M = 11.27) but these
mean differences were not significant statistically. Hence, it can be concluded than difference in the subject
background did not made any difference in the awareness of environmental problems among teacher educators. The
observed difference can be attributed to the chance factor or the sampling error.

The above finding was supported by the findings of Nwosu (1983) and Cortes (1987) study on preservice
teacher trainees of Nigeria and Phillipines ,where subject background did not made any difference
in the environmental awareness among preservice teachers. But the findings of padhan (1995) and Ayishabi
(1995) were in contrast with the above finding. Padhan (1995) found than preservice teacher trainees differed in their
environmental awareness discipline wise. Ayishabi (1995) reported than science students were more aware of
environment than social science students followed by students of literature studying at degree level.
86

5c) The table 4.13 reflects that the teacher educators differed in their awareness of environmental problems
qualification wise as the F value (5.88) was higher than the F table value (4.85) at 0.01 level of significance. The null
hypothesis 9 was rendered untenable at 0.01 level and it can be concluded that qualification had a significant effect
on the awareness of environmental problems among teacher educators.

5.c.i) Comparison of the awareness of environmental problems among teacher educators holding Ph.D
degree and postgraduate teacher educators.

Null Hypothesis

5.c.i) There is no significant difference between the mean awareness performance of teachers educators
holding Ph.D degree and post graduate teacher educators in environmental pollution awareness test.

Table 4.14

Comparison between the Mean Performance of Teachers Educators holding Ph.D Degree and Post
Graduate Teachers Educators in Environmental Pollution Awareness Test.

Teacher N Mean SD df
t

Educators

Ph.D 31 11.66 2.20

88
2.42*

Post graduate 59 10.35 2.57

* Significant at 0.05 level= 1.98

To achieve the above objective mean and SD of teachers educators holding Ph.D degree and
post graduate teacher educators were calculated .The mean and SD of teacher educators were 11.66
and 2.20, 10.35 and 2.57 respectively. The t test was computed on the basis of above scores for group awareness
comparison. The table 4.14 reflects that the teacher educators holding Ph.D degree (M = 11.66) surpassed
postgraduate teacher educators (M = 10.35) in their awareness of environmental problems as the t
value (2.42) was higher than the t table value (1.98) at 0.05 level. The null hypothesis 5.c.i was rejected at
0.05 level. It can be concluded that difference in the qualification made a difference in the awareness of
environmental problems among teacher educators and the higher the qualification the better was the awareness of
87

environmental problems. The above findings was supported by padhan (1995) who reported that
postgraduate preservice teachers surpassed graduate preservice teachers in their environmental awareness.

Objective 6: To study the effect of qualification ,discipline and their various interaction on
the attitude towards environmental problems among teacher educators.

Null Hypothesis

10) There is no significant effect of interaction between discipline and qualification on the
mean attitude performance of teachers educators in environmental pollution attitude scale

11) There is no significant effect of discipline on the mean attitude performance of teachers
educators in environmental pollution attitude scale

12) There is no significant effect of qualification on the mean attitude performance of teachers
educators in environmental pollution attitude scale

Table 4. 15

The Effect of Discipline, Qualification and their Interaction on the Mean Performance of Teachers
Educators in Environmental Pollution Attitude Scale .

Summary of ANOVA

Sources of variance Sum of Mean square df F ratio


Squares

Interaction between discipline 292.485 146.243 2 0.99

& qualification (2 x 3)

Discipline (3) 394.719 197.360 2 1.34

Qualification (2) 513.944 513.944 1 3.50

To achieve the above objective 3x2 way ANOVA was performed and the F ratio was computed on the basis
of teacher educators score discipline and qualification wise.

6a) The table 4.15 reflects that there was no interaction between discipline and qualification to
make a significant effect on the attitude of teacher educators towards environmental problems as the F ratio (0.99)
was less than the F table value (3.11) at 0.05 level. The null hypothesis 10 was accepted at 0.05 level..
The observed interaction effect can be attributed to the chance factor or the sampling error. There was no previous
findings in support of or in discord with the above findings.

6b) From the table 4.15, it can be interpreted that teacher educators do not differed in their attitude towards
environmental problems discipline wise as the F ratio (1.34) was less than the F table value (3.11) at 0.05
88

level. The null hypothesis 11 was accepted at 0.05 level. Although the mean value of teacher educators
belonging to science discipline (M = 95.26) was higher than teacher educators of social science discipline (M =
92.63) followed by humanities background teacher educators (M = 90.96) but this was not statistically significant. It
can be concluded that difference in the subject background did not made any difference in the attitude
of teacher educators towards environmental problems . The observed difference can be attributed to the chance
factor or the sampling error.The above findings was in contrast with the findings of Ayishabi (1995) where
students of science discipline had favourbale attitude and non science students were neutral in their attitude
towards environmental issues studying at degree college.

6c) The table 4.15 reflects that the teacher educators did not differred in their attitude towards environmental
problems qualification wise as the F ratio (1.34) was less than the F table value (3.50) at 0.05 level. The null
hypothesis 12 was accepted at 0.05 level. The mean value of teacher educators holding Ph.D degree (M = 94.33)
was higher than postgraduate teacher educators (M = 90.38) but the difference was not statistically significant and it
can be concluded that difference in the qualification did not made any difference in the attitude of teacher educators
towards environmental problems . The observed difference can be attributed to the chance factor or the sampling
error. No previous findings was available in support of or in discord with the above findings.

Objective 7: To compare the awareness of environmental problems between preservice and inservice
teachers.

Null Hypothesis:

13) There is no significant difference beftveen the mean awareness performance of preservice and
inservice teachers in environmental pollution awareness test

Table 4.16

Comparison between the Mean Performance of Preservice and Inservice Teachers in Environmental
Pollution Awareness Test.

Teachers N Mean df t

Preservice 300 16.94 598 2.76**

Inservice 300 15.36

** Significant at 0.01 level = 2.58

To achieve the above objective t test was applied. The mean value of preservice and inservice teachers were
used to compute t test. The table 4.16 reflects that there was a significant difference between the mean
performance of preservice and inservice teachers in environmental pollution awareness test as the t value
(2.76) was higher than the t table value (2.58) at 0.01 level. The null hypothesis 13 was untenable at 0.01 level.
Hence it can be concluded that there was a significant difference between preservice and inservice teachers in their
89

awareness of environmental problems and it can further be interpreted that preservice teachers (M = 16.94) surpassed
inservice teachers in their awareness of environmental problems. The above findings was in contrast with the
findings of Prahraj (1991) who reported that inservice teachers surpassed preservice teachers in the
awareness of environmental problems.

Objective 8: To compare the attitude towards environmental problems between preservice and
inservice teachers.

Null Hypothesis

14) There is no significant difference between the mean attitude performance of preservice and inservice
teachers in environmental pollution attitude scale

Table 4.17

Comparison between the Mean Performance of Preservice and Inservice Teachers in Environmental
Pollution Attitude Scale.

Teachers N Mean df t

Preservice 300 99.24 598 1.20

Inservice 300 97.40

To achieve the above objectives t test was applied, the mean value of preservice and inservice teachers were
used to compute t test. The table 4.17 reflects that there was no significant difference between the mean performance
of preservice and inservice teachers in environmental pollution attitude scale as the t value (1.20) was less than the t
table value (2.97) at 0.05 level. The null hypothesis 14 was accepted at 0.05 level. The mean value of preservice
teachers (M = 99.24) was higher than the mean value of inservice teachers (M = 97.40) but was not statistically
significant. Hence it can be concluded that there was no significant difference between the attitude of
preservice and inservice teachers towards environmental problems and the observed difference can be
attributed to the chance factor or the sampling error. The above findings was supported by Prahraj
(1991) who reported no difference in the attitude of preservice and inservice teachers towards environmental
pollution problems .

Objective 9: To study the interaction effects of the types of teachers (preservice and inservice), their
discipline and qualification on the awareness of environmental problems.

Null Hypothesis

15) There is no significant interaction effect of the type of teachers (preservice and inservice), their
discipline and qualification on the awareness of environmental problems

Table 4.18
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The Interaction Effect of the Type of Teachers (Preservice and Inservice), their Discipline and Qualification
on the Awareness of Environmental Problems.

Summary of ANOVA
Source of variation Sum of Mean df F ratio
squares squares
Interaction between Group (2) x 253.099 126.549 2 2.56
discipline (3) x qualification (2)

To achieve the above objective 2x3x2 way ANOVA was performed’The F ratio was computed on the basis
of preservice and inservice teachers mean score discipline and qualification wise. The table 4.18 reflects that there
was no interaction between the type of teachers (preservice and inservice), their discipline and qualification to make a
significant effect on the awareness of environmental problems as the F ratio (2.56) was less than the F table
value (3.01) at 0.05 level. The null hypothesis 15 w a s accepted at 0.05 level and it can
be concluded that the type of teachers, their discipline and qualification did not interacted with each other to
make an impact on the awareness of environmental problems. The observed interaction effect can be attributed to the
chance factor or the sampling error. However, Padhan (1995) found an interaction between discipline and
qualification. The preservice science postgraduate teachers surpassed preservice science graduate, social
science post graduate and humanities graduate and postgraduate teachers in their environmental awareness. This
was in discord with the findings of present study.

Objective 10: To study the interaction effects of the type of teachers (preservice and inservice teachers),
this discipline and qualification on the attitude towards environmental problems.

Null Hypothesis

16) There is no significant interaction effect of the type of teachers (preservice and
inservice), their discipline and qualification on the attitude towards en vironmental problems

Table 4.19

The Interaction Effect of the Type of Teachers (Preservice and Inservice), their Discipline and Qualification
on the Attitude towards Environmental Problems.

Summary of ANOVA

Source of variation Sum of Mean df F ratio


squares squares

Interaction between Group(2) x 939.402 469.701 2 1.41


discipline (3) x qualification (2)
91

To achieve the above objective 2x3x2 way ANOVA was performed. The F ratio was computed on the
basis of preservice and inservice teachers score discipline and qualification wise. It is reflected from table
4.19 that there was no interaction between the type of teachers (preservice and inservice teachers), their
discipline and qualification on the attitude towards environmental problems as the F ratio (1.41) was less than the
F table value (3.01) at 0.05 level. The null hypothesis 16 was accepted at 0.05 level and it can be concluded
that the type of teachers (preservice and inservice teachers), discipline and qualification did not interacted
with each other to make a significant impact on the attitude towards environmental problems. The
observed interaction effect can be attributed to the chance factor or the sampling error. There was no previous
findings in support of or in discord with the above findings.

Objective 11: To study the relationship between awareness and attitude towards environment
problems.

Null Hypothesis

17a) There is no significant relationship between awareness and attitude towards environmental problems
among preservice teachers.

17b) There is no significant relationship between awareness and attitude towards environmental problems
among inservice teachers.

17c) There is no significant relationship between awareness and attitude towards environmental problems
among teacher educators.

17 d) There is no significant relationship between awareness and attitude towards en viron mental
problems.

Table 4.20

The Relationship between Awareness and Attitude towards Environmental Pollution Problems

Group N r Significance

Preservice Teachers 300 0.37 0.01

Inservice Teachers 300 0.17 0.01

Teacher Educators 90 0.16 0.12

Total 690 0.29 0.01

For the above objective coefficient of correlation was computed by applying Karl Pearson method. The score
of preservice, inservice teachers and teacher educators were used to find out the relationship between
awareness and attitude towards environmental problems.
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a) The table 4.20 reflects that there was a positive and significant correlation between awareness and attitude
towards environmental problems among preservice teachers as the correlation coefficient (r = 0.37) was significant
at 0.01 level thus rejecting the null hypothesis 17 a.

b) The table 4.20 reflects that there was positive and significant correlation between awareness and attitude
towards environmental problems among inservice teachers as the correlation coefficient (r = 0.17) was significant at
0.01 level thus rejecting the null hypothesis 17 b.

c) The table 4.20 reflects that there was a correlation between awareness and attitude towards environmental
problems among teacher educators but the correlation coefficient (r = 0.16) was not statistically significant at 0.05
level thus accepting the null hypothesis 17 c. The observed relationship can be attributed to the chance factor or the
sampling error.

d) The table 4.20 reflects that the correlation coefficient between awareness and attitude towards
environmental problems was computed on the basis of preservice ,inservice teachers and teacher educators score and
a significant and positive correlation between awareness and attitude was found .The null hypothesis 17d was
rejected at 0.01 level as the coefficient of correlation (r = 0.29) was significant at 0.01 level.

It can be concluded that awareness and attitude were related and dependent upon each other and the awareness
of environmental problems have positively influenced the attitude of perservice teachers, inservice teachers and
teachers educators. The preservice, inservice teachers and teacher educators were below average in their
environmental awareness which might have lead to their neutral attitude towards environmental problems .The
above findings supported the previous findings of Prahraj (1991) who found a positive and moderate correlation
between environmental knowledge and environmental attitude among preservcie teachers and inservice teachers
teaching at secondary level.
CHAPTER 5
SUMMARY
(CONCLUSION, EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATION & SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER
RESEARCH)

Introduction

“Whatever we take from the earth may that have quick growth again :o: purifier may we not injure thy
vital or thy heart.”

Atharva Veda

Mother earth is the home of all mankind, animal kingdom and plant life. It is incumbent on
man to take from earth what he can give back to it quickly by planting, growing, rearing & supplying, what he had
taken from it .Again it is man’s duty to keep the earth, which is his eternal home, clean and purify what
he had already polluted. Man must not injure the vitals he cannot replenish as God has not gifted man with the
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power to create stock even to the slightest extent. So, protection of flora and fauna for posterity is the bounden
duty of the present and future generation of mankind.

The mad rat race among the nations over the globe for development jeopardized the health of man itself
.Progress in agriculture and industry is taken as general criterion of development of any country. Competition and
technology has paved the way for scientific development accompanied with natural destruction. Man’s
understanding of environment in the recent years specially with reference to green house effect, global warming,
deforestation, desertification has proved that environment, however vast it may appear to be cannot be taken for
granted.

“Ironically the hazards of pollution are the outcome of industrial development. Step by step, the precious
gift of nature is being destroyed and the human life is being shortened by the polluted air we
breathe and unhealthy water we drink.” (Brown, 1994).It would not be wrong to say that we are living in
the age of environmental crisis. Environmental problems which were once viewed largely as the
domestic problems are now viewed as challenges for all nations because of their impact upon climatology and
biology of earth. Hence, immediate measure is needed to readjust our ecosystem before it becomes irreparable.

Environmental problems is a global problems and needs combined human effort. We can cope up with the
problems by creating environmental awareness among people at all levels ie..farmers,educationists,
industrialists,politicians and bureaucrats so that they should take environment into account in their
decision making process. Education is essential for generating widespread awareness of environmental
problems & provide the new paradigm of thoughts that human welfare and survival now requires. Without
proper educational effort, the awareness - action - analysis chain will not move effectively and smoothly.

Educationist realized their responsibility towards environment and took up the matter in early sixties.The term
environmental education was for the first time used in the environmental conference held at Keele
university, Britain in 1965. Since then educational front at national and international level is
being utilized to deal with environmental problems .

International level

Stockholm Conference (1971) ,Belgrade Workshop (1975),TibiIisi Conference (1977)


focused on the environmentalisation of education at all levels. These conferences considered the training of
personnel, including pre service, in service teachers and all others connected with education &
environmentally linked matter as a priority activity so as not to create economic, social & ecological
debts for future generation.

National level

A concern for environment is not at all a new concept for Indians . Indian literature and scriptures reflects the
environment consciousness of our ancestors. The rock edicts of Ashoka are the first ever governmental direction
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towards environmental protection in the recorded history. In the formal system 01 of education, Basic Education
launched by Gandhiji was perhaps the first serious attempt at relating school education to local environmental needs.

Kothari commission (1964), NCERT (1975) ,NPE (1986),NCERT (NCFSE, 2000) focused on the
understanding of environment in totality and tried to infuse the environmental concerns in various
subjects at different levels of education.

The Supreme Court of India (2004) directed all the states and educational agencies in the country to
introduce environment as a compulsory subject in all classes in schools upto higher secondary level
from the Academic Session (2004-2005) with the help of Central Pollution Control Board .

NCTE discussion document (2004) emphasized on the importance of environmental education for
preservice teachers and inservice teachers and its inclusion in the teacher training program.

Although the importance of introducing environmental education has been accepted as a policy, its real impact
in the schools and the teacher training colleges remains to be seen. There is a genuine feeling that inspite of
international and national efforts, the environmentalisation of school curriculum and teacher training program has
been far from satisfactory. There may be constellation of factors operating behind it but the most important factor is
the inadequacy of personnel trained in EE. In the teaching learning process, teacher is the sole arbitrator of curriculum
and the central figure in the classroom.

School and teacher training colleges plays an important role in environmental education and
the effectiveness of such education depends upon teachers .Unfortunately there is dearth of teachers and
teacher educators in our country to handle environmental problems as they lack awareness, expertise and
perfect training in environmental education. For imparting sound environmental education, the teacher should not
only be aware of environmental problems but must possess basic knowledge of Ecology ie.. .the environmental
science of survival.

Need of the Study

Gandhiji said, “There is enough in the nature for man’s need but not enough for man’s greed.” The
whole world attention is now focused on the state of environment .Despite considerable global efforts made by
representatives from all the sections of the society,the conservation of natural resources has failed to
keep pace with the environmental degradation. The latest information splashed in the Earth II Summit report
reveals a planet still in the need of intensive care. Every nation has right to develop, enrich its
economy but that should not be at the cost of environment. There should be compatibility between economy and
ecology.

Poverty, Population and Pollution are the three p’s pressurizing planets life support system by creating
environmental crisis globally threatening our ability to achieve sustainable development.The action of an individual
or society that has an impact on other societies contribute to global environmental issues. The basic question
95

underlying all the global environmental issues is a question of awareness and attitude. It is fundamentally concerned
with the kind of people we are ,our awareness about environment and the attitude we hold towards environment to
make world a better place to live in .

In the name of development we have started distancing ourselves from nature .Due to rapid industrialization
and urbanization we have lost our relationship with environment .At this juncture when the nature is
fighting a lost battle against its degradation and experiencing a broken relationship with mankind, what on
earth are we doing by being a part of it? We can revive this relationship through environmental education.
Environmental education to mind is not just awareness; it is far more. lt is development of attitude to make world a
better place to live in,to be aware of what is happening around and above all to act without fear.

The need of hour is to prepare future citizens to lead sustainable lifestyle and place ecosystem concepts as the
intellectual centre of all disciplines (Disinger, 1993).Though sustainable development is a national international
issue, it becomes locally defined through actions and decisions within cities, neighborhood and communities
which falls under the realm of society. School is the epitome of society.

If we want to secure the future of our environment, we have to create awareness in the mind of those who
are the future of our nation. As rightly said by Late Pandit Jawaharla! Nehru that the future of India is
shaped in her classrooms where teacher is the central figure. Teachers are the pillars on whom the future
of nation lies by precept and example.

The Tibilisi conference identified teacher as the key factor in the education of people about environmental
problems .Teachers behavior do have an impact on students classroom behavior. It is highly probable that
teachers influence extends beyond the classroom .Therefore it is implicit in activities aiming for changed students
behavior that teachers be the model of desired behavior by action or by word.

“Whatever we want to achieve emotionally in our pupils should already be present in our teachers”.
(Habrich & kohler,1981).

With the above statement the role of the teachers becomes manifold cutting across all the boundaries of
qualifications, discipline and specializations .They should be able to discharge the role of Green Educator in today’s
scenario to spread Green Message to everybody especially young be broadened in its scope to encompass problems
that falls under the realm of environment thus exposing the children to the holistic picture of environment and
sensitizing them with the slogan of conserve or perish.

Hence in this study the investigator has made an attempt to find out the awareness and attitude of pre service, in
service teachers and teacher educators towards environmental problems .

Title of the study

“Awareness and Attitude of Preservice Teachers, Inservice Teachers and Teacher Educators
towards Environmental Problems ”.
96

Objectives

General Objectives

1) To study and compare the awareness of environmental problems among preservice and inservice teachers
with respect to

a) interaction between group, discipline and qualification

b) qualification (postgraduate/ graduate)

c) discipline (science/ social science/ humanities)

d) group (preservice and inservice)

2) To study and compare the attitude towards environmental problems among preservice and
inservice teachers with respect to

a) interaction between group, discipline and qualification

b) qualification (postgraduate / graduate).

c) discipline (science/ social science/ humanities)

d) Group (preservice and inservice)

3) To study the awareness of environmental problems among teacher educators with respect to

a) interaction between discipline and qualification

b) qualification (postgraduate/ Ph. D)

c) discipline (science/ social science/ humanities).

4) To study the attitude towards environmental problems among teacher educators with respect to

a) interaction between discipline and qualification

b) qualification (postgraduate/ Ph. D).

c) discipline (science/ social science/ humanities).

5) To study the relationship between awareness and attitude towards environmental problems.

Specific Objectives

1. To study the awareness of environmental problems among preservice, inservice teachers & teacher
educators.

2. To study the attitude towards environmental problems among preservice, inservice teachers & teacher
educators.
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3. To study the effect of discipline, qualification and their various interaction on the awareness of
environmental problems among preservice and inservice teachers.

4. To study the effect of discipline, qualification and their various interaction on the attitude towards
environmental problems among preservice and inservice teachers.

5. To study the effect of discipline, qualification and their various interaction on the awareness of
environmental problems among teacher educators.

6. To study the effect of discipline, qualification and their various interactions on the attitude towards
environmental problems among teacher educators.

7. To compare the awareness of environmental problems between preservice and inservice teachers.

8. To compare the attitude towards environmental problems between preservice and inservice
teacher.

9. To study the interaction effect of the types of teachers (preservice and inservice) their discipline and
qualification on the awareness of environmental problems.

10. To study the interaction effect of the types of teachers (preservice and inservice), their discipline and
qualification on the attitude towards environmental problems.

11. To study the relationship between awareness and attitude towards environmental problems.

Sample

Preservice Teachers

Three hundred preservice teachers pursuing one year full time B.Ed program were selected from the teacher
training institution of Delhi university, Jamia Millia Islamia and GGSIP university in the following manner.

• Delhi University : Hundred pre service teachers (34 from Science, 33 from Social Science & 33 from
Humanities )were selected.

• IASE, Jamia Millia Islamia: Hundred preservice teachers (33 from Science, 34 from Social Science and
33 from Humanities) were selected.

• GGSIP University: Hundred preservice teachers( 34 from Humanities,33 from science and 33 from
Social Science) were selected from 3 teacher training institutions under GGSIP University.

Inservice Teachers

Three Hundred inservice teachers teaching at the secondary and senior secondary level in the schools of Delhi
Government were selected for the present study in the following manner. There are elevens districts and twenty eight
zones in Delhi .Out of eleven districts, five districts were selected randomly ie North ,North East, South, South West
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and Central Delhi. From each district, one zone was selected randomly. From each zone, ten schools were selected
randomly and from each selected school, six teachers were selected purposefully out of which two teachers each
from science, social science and humanities were selected.

Teacher Educators

All the teacher educators teaching one year full time B.Ed, program in the teacher training institutions of Delhi
University, GGSIP University and Jamila Millia Islamia were selected for the study.

Tools Used

The tools used in the study are mentioned as under:

a) Environmental Pollution Attitude Scale

b) Environmental Pollution Awareness Test

a) Environmental Pollution Attitude Scale

To study the attitude of the selected group, the investigator used Environmental Pollution Attitude Scale
developed, designed, validated by Dr. M. Rajamanicam and published by Institute of Community Guidance and
Research, Chennai, India in 1998.

Introduction of the scale

The environmental pollution attitude scale was originally designed, developed and validated in 1995 for
assessing an individual’s or a group’s attitude toward environmental pollution. It has 30 statement dealing with all
possible forms of environmental pollution. It is a five point scale having five response categories. The score ranges
from 30 (lowest) to 150 (highest). The highest score indicates favourable attitude and the lowest score indicates
unfavourable attitude towards environmental pollution. The reliability of the scale is 0.84 and the validity of the scale
is 0.92. The test was standardized on 465 individuals between the age group of 20 to 55 year belonging to student and
employed categories.

b) Environmental Pollution Awareness Test

Introduction of the Test

After exploring the contemporary literature on environmental pollution from various sources such as Books,
Journals, Articles, Central Pollution Control Board Reports, national newspapers and leading dailies, T.V. reports; the
investigator constructed the test items on different types of pollution, its sources, its impact on environment and the
remedial solution to combat the environmental pollution problems . The Environmental Pollution Awareness Test
consist of a total of forty items with four alternatives out of which one is the correct response and
others are distractors. The test has content validity and reliability value of 0.68 calculated by split half method using
Spearman Brown Formula .A weight age of one mark was assigned to each correct response and zero to each
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incorrect response. The minimum score in the test is 0 and the maximum score in the test is 40 as the
environmental pollution awareness test consist of forty items so the range of scores for environmental pollution
awareness test will be in between ( 0 to 40 ).

Data Collection

In the present research there were three categories of sample and the procedure of data collection was different
for different categories.

Preservice Teachers

The investigator took permission from head of the concerned institutes and obtained a list of preservice
teachers from the office. The preservice teachers were briefed about the research work and one week
was fixed for data collection. The tools were administered to the selected sample on fixed schedule.All the necessary
instructions were given to them and doubts were clarified for recording of the responses.

Inservice Teachers

The investigator took permission from the Directorate of Education, old secretariat, Shamnath Marg and
collected a school master list containing information about educational districts, zones and schools for
data collection from teachers teaching at secondary and senior secondary level in the schools of Delhi
Government. The educational districts, zones and schools were selected randomly but the teachers from each
school were selected purposefully .

Tools were administered on the selected sample of inservice teachers. It was not possible to
collect data from inservice teachers on one fixed day even in one school so, the data collection process
streached for a long period. All the doubts and the instructions related to the tools were made clear to the
sample by the investigator and test was administered in an informal atmosphere.

Teacher Educators

The investigator took permission from Head of the concerned institute and obtained a list of teacher educators
from the office. The tools were administered on the sample as per fixed schedule with them. The investigator clarified
all the doubts related to the tool and all the instructions were given to them for recording of the responses.

Delimitation

• The study was confined to the preservice teachers pursuing one year full time B.Ed.
Program from the teacher training institutions of Delhi University, Jamia Millia Islamia and GGSIP
University.

• The study was delimited to the teacher educators teaching B.Ed program in the teacher
training institutions of Delhi University, Jamia Millia Islamia and GGSIP University, Delhi.
100

• It was confined to the inservice teachers teaching at secondary and senior secondary level in
the schools of Delhi Government

• It was confined to environmental pollution problems only.

Data Analysis

The statistical measures used in present study were Mean, SD, t test, F test (2 and 3 Way
ANOVA ), Coefficient of Correlation .

Major Findings

1) The preservice teachers (M=16.94), inservice teachers (M=15.36) and teacher educators
(M=11.21) were below average in their awareness of environmental problems.

2) The preservice teachers (M=100.31), inservice teachers (M=97.95), teacher educators


(M=92.28) were neutral in their attitude towards environmental problems.

3) The discipline and qualification does not interacted with each other to have a significant
effect on the awareness of environmental problems among preservice and inservice teachers.

4) The discipline had no significant effect on the awareness of environmental problems


among preservice and inservice teachers. The mean value of science teachers ( M= 17.28) was higher than social
science teachers (M= 15.75) followed by humanities teachers (M= 15.49) but was not statistically significant.

5) There was a significant effect of qualification on the awareness of environmental problems among
preservice and inservice teachers. The postgraduate teachers (M=16.39) surpassed graduate teachers
(M=16.01) in their awareness of environmental problems. The preservice postgraduate teachers (M-17.72)
surpassed preservice graduate teachers (M=15.99), the inservice postgraduate teachers (M=16.03)
surpassed inservice graduate teachers (M=13.82) ,the preservice postgraduate teachers (M= 17.72) surpassed
inservice postgraduate teachers (M=16.03) and preservice graduate teachers (M=15.99) surpassed inservice
graduate teachers (M=13.82) in their awareness of environmental problems .

6) The discipline and qualification does not interacted with each other to have a significant
effect on the attitude towards environmental problems among preservice and inservice teachers.

7) The discipline had no significant effect on the attitude towards environmental problems
among preservice and inservice teachers. The mean value of science teachers (M= 100.32) was
higher than social science teachers (M= 99.38) followed by humanities teachers (M= 97.68) but not
statistically significant.

8) There was a significant effect of qualification on the attitude towards environmental problems among
preservice and inservice teachers. The preservice postgraduate teachers (M= 101.46) surpassed preservice grduaute
teachers (M=97.56) in their attitude towards environmental problems but the inservice
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postgraduate teachers (M=99.20) and inservice graduate teachers (M=96.34), preservice graduate
teachers (M=97.56) and inservice graduate teachers (M=96.31), preservice postgraduate teachers (M=101.46) and
inservice postgraduate teachers (M=99.20) do not differed in their attitude towards environmental
problems.

9) The discipline and qualification did not interacted with each other to have a significant
effect on the awareness of environmental problems among teacher educators.

10) The discipline did not have a significant effect on the awareness of environmental problems among teacher
educators. The Mean value of teacher educators belonging to science discipline (M= 11.36) was greater
than teacher educators of social science discipline (M=11.31) followed by teacher educators from
humanities discipline(M= 11.27) but not significant statistically.

11) There was a significant effect on qualification on the awareness of environmental problems among
teachers educators. The teacher educators holding Ph.D degree (M=11.66) surpassed postgraduate teachers educators
(M=10.35) in their awareness of environmental problems.

12) The discipline and qualification did not interacted with each other to have a significant
effect on the attitude towards environmental problems among teacher educators.

13) The discipline did not have a significant effect on the attitude towards environmental problems
among teacher educators. The mean value of teacher educators belonging to science discipline
(M=95.26) was greater than teacher educators of social science discipline (M=92.63) followed by teacher educators
from humanities disciplined (M= 90.96) but not significant statistically.

14) There was no significant effect of qualification on the attitude towards environmental problems
among teacher educators. The mean value of teacher educators holding Ph.D Degree (M=94.33) was
greater than post graduate teacher educators (M=90.38) but not significant statistically.

15) The preservice teachers (M=16.94) surpassed inservice teachers (M=15.36) in their awareness of
environmental problems.

16) The preservice teachers (M=99.24) do not differed from inservice teachers (M=97.40) in
their attitude towards environmental problems.

17) The type of teachers (preservice and inservice), their discipline and qualification did not interacted with
each other to make a significant effect on the awareness of environmental problems.

18) The type of teachers (preservice and inservice), their discipline and qualification did not interacted with
each other to make a significant effect on the attitude towards environmental problems.

19) There was a positive and significant relationship (r = 0.37) between awareness and attitude towards
environmental problems among preservice teachers. There was a positive and significant relationship ( r = 0.17)
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between awareness and attitude towards environmental problems among inservice teachers. There was no significant
relationship ( r = 0.16) between awareness and attitude towards environmental problems among teacher educators.
However, there was a positive and significant relationship ( r = 0.29) between awareness and attitude towards
environmental problems when preservice, inservice teachers and teacher educators were studied together.

Conclusion

1) The preservice teachers, inservice teachers and teacher educators were below average in
their awareness and had neutral attitude towards environmental problems.

2) The discipline and qualification did not interacted with each other to have a significant
effect on the awareness and attitude towards environmental problems among preserve and inservice
teachers.

3) The discipline had no significant effect on the awareness and attitude towards environmental problems
among preservice and inservice teachers. The difference in the subject background made no difference in the
awareness and attitude of preservice and inservice teachers towards environmental problems. The preservice and
inservice teachers belonging to science, social science and humanities discipline do not differed in their awareness
and attitude towards environmental problems.

4) The qualification had a significant effect on the awareness and attitude towards environmental problems
among preservice and inservice teachers. The preservice postgraduate teachers were more aware than preservice
graduate teachers, the inservice postgraduate teachers were more aware than inservice graduate teachers about
environmental problems. It can be concluded that the higher the qualification the better was the awareness of
environmental problems among preservice and inservice teachers.The preservice graduate teachers were
more aware than inservice graduate teachers, the preservice postgraduate teachers were more aware than
inservice postgraduate teachers about environment problems. It can be concluded that graduate
teachers before service were more aware than inservice graduate teachers about environment problems.The
preservice postgraduate teachers surpassed preservice graduate teachers in their attitude but inservice
graduate and inservice postgraduate teachers, preservice graduate and inservice graduate teachers , preservice
postgraduate and inservice postgraduate teachers do not differed in their attitude towards environmental problems.

5) The discipline and qualification did not interacted with each other to make significant
impact on the awareness and attitude among teacher educators towards environmental problems.

6) The discipline had no significant effect on the awareness and attitude among teacher
educators towards environmental problems. The teacher educators belonging to science, social science and
humanities discipline do not differed in their awareness and attitude towards environmental problems.

7) The qualification had significant effect on the awareness and attitude among teacher
educators towards environmental problems. The teacher educators holding Ph.D degree were more aware than
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postgraduate teachers educators in their awareness which indicated that the higher the qualification the better was the
awareness of teacher educators about environmental problems. However, teacher educators do not differed in
their attitude towards environmental problems qualification wise.

8) The type of teachers (preservice and inservice), their discipline and qualification do not interacted with each
other to make significant effect on the awareness and attitude towards environmental problems .

9) There was a positive and significant relationship between awareness and attitude towards environmental
problems among preservice and inservice teachers but no significant relationship was found between
awareness and attitude towards environmental problems among teacher educators. When studied together
(preservice, inservice teachers and teacher educators), a positive and significant relationship between awareness and
attitude towards environmental problems was found. The awareness and attitude were interdependent and positively
influenced each other. The preservice ,inservice teachers and teacher educators were below average in their
awareness which might have lead to their neutral attitude towards environmental problems.

Recommendations

The preservice teachers and inservice teachers and teacher educators under study were below average in
their environmental awareness and had neutral attitude towards environmental problems .

The supreme court of India has given a visionary direction that environment as a compulsory
subject should be taught at all levels of education from the Academic Session (2004-2005 ) in our country (The
Hindu, 2003). The NCERT for the school level, the UGC for the college level and the AICTE for the professional
level have been assigned the task of preparing a syllabus.

Keeping the findings of the present research and directions of The supreme court of India into consideration
the overhauling of the entire education system in general and teacher education in particular is recommended and
there is an immediate need to set up environment information system and environmental education
resource centre which can work in association with the teacher training institutions for giving an
environmental dimension to the teacher training programs for preservice teachers , inservice teachers and teacher
educators to promote the environmental awareness in them and shape their attitude desirable for protection
and conservation of environment

Environment Information System and Environmental Education Resource Centre

The Department of Environment through its constituents Environment and Ecology programme, Wild life
Preservation and Protection of Wild Birds and Animals, Botanical Survey of India, Water and Air Pollution
Prevention Programmes, Biosphere Reserve Programme can promote awareness and development of attitude for
protection and conservation of environment and the Department can be a parent resource center for environmental
education programmes in schools and teacher training institution. On these lines, environmental education
104

resource centre could be generated at apex educational agencies at national , state and district level teacher
training institution and curriculum development centers.

Networking

There is an isolation of school system and teacher education from system of higher learning. NCERT has
done some exemplary work in the area of environmental education in terms of preparing content, text
books, teacher guides, training packages incorporating the latest knowledge in a field as well as eVolving suitable
pedagogies in the latest decade. Yet its outreach is relatively limited in this area. They have made a dealt through
their Regional Colleges of Education or some State Council of Educational Research and Training or
State Institute of Education, but they have not reached all teacher educators, pre service and in service teachers.

The role of national level agencies handling curriculum development and doing research,
training and extension in teacher education has to be expanded with multi-tier net working to reach every teacher
through multiple strategies i.e. pre service, inservice teachers and teacher educators. In all, in India
alone, environmental education if it has to become a national movement, a national training movement of all
educational personnel has to be considered a top priority including preservice teachers, inservice
teachers and teacher educators. This training strategy has to be based on a multichannel communication
model with free flow of information, initiative and ideas from top to bottom and vice versa both within the
educational tiers and administrative ladder with suitable horizontal co-ordination within education
(among peers, teacher organization, teacher resources centers) and with other local and national agencies working in
the area of environmental education. While there are no formal opportunities to share the philosophical and
pedagogical approaches endemic to environmental education, the presence of center of environmental education
as a part of the college of education can be of immense importance.The center of environmental
education can set goals for training preservice teachers, inservice teachers and teacher educators in environmental
education. The set goals should expose the inservice teachers and teacher educators to current information
regarding environmental concerns and preservice teachers to environmental education approaches
as a part of their curriculum. In order to accomplish this goal, the center for environmental education can
strive to provide an intense training program to orient preservice teachers to curriculum and inservice
teachers, teachers educators to activities as well as personnel to support multiple role of a teacher as an
individual, a class room practitioner, a member of the school community and a member of society by
following ways.

• infusing environmental education content and teachniques in the teacher education program

• supporting the teacher education program with abundant resources available to pre service teachers,
inservice teachers and teacher educators.

Preservice Teacher Training Programme


105

The preservice teachers pursuing one year full time B.Ed program from the teacher training institutions of
Delhi University, Jamia Millia Islamia and GGSIP University were below average in their awareness and neutral in
their attitude towards environmental problems .

It is the responsibility of the teacher training institutions offering one year full time B.Ed program under Delhi
University, Jamia Millia Islamia and GGSIP University to enhance the environmental awareness and shape the
attitude of preservice teachers desirable for environmental conservation.

The NCTE discussion document (2004) has incorporated environmental education as one of the objectives of
secondary level preservice teacher education but it is just a blue print of policy.The vital issue which needs
immediate attention is how the message of environmental conservation can be translated into the curriculum
and how the curriculum can be transacted to achieve the desirable awareness and attitude among
preservice teacher towards environmental problems . A glance at the curriculum of preservice teacher education at
secondary level (B.Ed) followed by Delhi University, Jamia Millia Islamia and GGSIP University reveals a very
little space for environmental education. Here are few suggestions for the environmentalisation of curriculum and
teaching learning strategies to be adopted for enhancing the environmental awareness and shape the attitude of
preservice teachers desirable for environmental conservation.

Suggestions for Environmentalisation of B.Ed Curriculum and Its Transactional Strategies

i) Environmentalisation of B.Ed Curriculum

Environmental education should be made compulsory at secondary level preservice teacher education
program( B.Ed ) and this can be done by environmentalisation of B.Ed curriculum. The curriculum of secondary
level preservice teacher education program( B.Ed ) should be amended and should be based on the
following three components which are inter linked (Palmer and Neal, 1994).

i) Education about the environment as it is concerned with the knowledge of environment

ii) Education for the environment which is concerned with attitude and values for the environment

iii) Education through the environment using the environment as a resource for learning

Based on the above components either of these three approaches to the curriculum can be applied:

a) infusion into the existing curricula

b) insertion of new course into study.

c) Framing a third alternative can be specially effective in learning about global issues.

a) Infusion (multidisciplinary)

In the infusion approach the component of environmental education is infused into various,existing disciplines
like biology, chemistry, physics, geography, economics, political science, Hindi ,english etc. In the infusion
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approach ,the content and skills are integrated into existing courses so as to focus on that content without losing the
integrity of the courses themselves. For example an elementary mathematics pupil teacher class might
calculate the amount of solid waste that 30 students produce in a year or the issue of air borne toxins can be used
when studying about prevailing winds in an earth science class. Infusion is visible at elementary
level but becomes less towards secondary and higher secondary level where classes are
departmentalised and topically related. A class might choose the global issue of global warming and focussing then
the study on the changes in their own neighbourhood which have caused the decreased rainfall and influenced the
climatic change. (Ramsey & Volk , 1992)

b) Insertion (interdisciplinary)

In Insertion approach, relevent component of many disciplines are drawn to create a unit of environmental
education .A course in global issues or environmental issues which is developed on the issue investigation skills
format is an example of insertion. This approach with the teacher educator acting as the facilitator and adviser is more
effective at developing awareness and fostering positive attitude towards environmental conservations. (Ramsey &
Volk , 1990)

c) Framing

Framing moves beyond the arbitrary boundaries of traditional disciplines by creating a framework which
allows learning to be related and integrated within a student’s life. Using this approach, educators and pupil teacher
can investigate, interpret, explore, discovers and make decision about global issues. Science-
Technology Society Schools and Environmental School are approaches that embrace such change through
using traditional disciplinary skills to define technological, scientific and societal aspects of real
environmental problems . Examples of such projects include project WILD, PLT (Project learning tree) and
other short term programs which usually evoke very positive responses from both teachers and learners.

2) Transactional Strategies

Curricular Activities

• There are certain opportunities for environmental education in all subjects. There are occasions when the
subject educators can be explicitly environmental in their emphasis and in their contribution to learning.. When
teacher work as a scientist, mathematician or historian, they if willing can also venture out in other disciplines that
have also got a contribution to make to the things related to the environment. Teachers recognize the
boundaries of what they can do from their particular expertise, but they can also recognize and
acknowledge in their teaching, the contributions that the history teachers, the math teacher, the social studies
teacher etc could also make to those same environmental issues. When this recognition exists and there is a good will
in colleagues and in the institutional administration, there is an opportunity to organize environmental junctions. An
environmental junction is when there is a meeting of people from different disciplines that relate to an environmental
107

issue. So when a science class invites a history teacher or a math teacher to give their comments on the issue it has
been considering or when teachers from different discipline team teach or when a class sets out to present their
learning on an issue to another group in the institution, environmental junction is occurring.

• Lecture and Lecture Demonstration Method, Group Discussion , Role Play , Field Studies, Problems
Solving ,Workshops,Survey Projects,Biizz Sessions , Brainstorming etc can be used as transactional
strategies.

These methods can be used for free exchange of knowledge, ideas and opinions among trainer and
trainees. It can be used to examine issues in depth, explore alternative opinions and develop
communication skills, enhance improvement of knowledge, changing attitude and forming opinions.

• The field of environmental education out of teacher education institution is broad and eclectic.
Environmental education out of TTI education is usually defined as education that occurs in parks museum, forest,
sanctuaries, camps, communities and home when the experiences are not of a formal institution based program. It
also includes mass media including television, radio, newspaper and magazines which can be used at these sites.
Educators can provide students opportunity to participate in outdoor pursuits classes and program
which can provide opportunity to all for challenge, adventure and excitement. Perhaps most of all, the
outdoor experience offers all of us a chance to explore and shape attitude towards environment.

• Research studies suggest that attitudes of individuals are frequently modeled after the attitude of others.
Since in most of the teacher training institution; the students are expected to stay back for 6 to 7 hours a day
a coordinated institutional environmental program that focuses on preventing and solving environmental
problems at the institution site can provide an excellent model of attitudes for students to emulate. Elements that
should be include in the program include (a) set of policies (b) procedure for identification of problems (c) action
plants to alleviate problems (d) plans for monitoring actions (e) evaluation policies.

Co-Curricular A ctivities

• Environmental Education aims at making learner aware of the interrelationship between man and
environment and inculcating in them the rational attitude towards environmental pollution problems .
CCA plays a very important role in conveying the elements of education and environmental education
is not an exception. As we are aware that it takes a long time for any new educational concern to
become an integral part of institutional syllabi and text books and also all the components of environmental
education could not be integrated in the textbook of various subjects taught in the teacher education program
because of the limitations of subjects concerned. For the transaction of those leftover
components ,CCA has been an effective medium and even those components which are there in
the textbook, can be communicated much more effectively through CCA.
108

Suggested list of CCA Activities under different categories to be conducted at Teacher Training
Institution as a Component of Environmental Education .

Literary Art and Craft Dramatics and Music Specific Projects


Celebration Days/ Week
1 ) Essay Writing 1 )Drawing/Painting 1 )Drama l)Vi!lage/Block 1) World
2) Debate /District/ State
Environment
Day
3) Collage 2) Exhibition 2) One Act Level Field
Magazine/ Play Survey on 2) Wild Life
Week
Newspaper Environmental
4)Story 3)Puppet Show Problems . 3) World
Earth Day
Telling/Writing
5)Poem 4)FoIk Dance 2)ECOLOGY
4)Environmental
Recitation Laboratory/Club Education
Week
6) Thought of the 5)Group
Day Singing
5)Community
Service
Week

Suggestions for Training Program of Inservice Teachers and Teacher Educators

The inservice teachers teaching at secondary and senior secondary level in the schools of Delhi Government
and teacher educators teaching one year full time B.Ed program in the teacher training institutions of Delhi
University, Jamia Millia Islamia and GGSIP University were below average in their awareness and were
neutral in their attitude towards environmental problems .

1) The Governing bodies , institutions and organizations inVolved in the inservice training of teachers and
teacher educators cannot afford to sit silent at this juncture .It is the responsibility of the institutions such as NCERT,
SCERT, NIEPA, Academic Staff Colleges and Department of Education in the Universities to
promote environmental awareness and shape the attitude of inservice teachers and teacher
educators desirable for environmental conservation.

The above objective can be achieved by establishing the coordination and association with Government
established Centre of Excellence and other organizations engazed in environmental education such as Centre
for Environmental Education (CEE); Ahmedabad, CPR Environmental Education Centre, Chennai., Centre
for Ecological Science; Bangalore, Centre for Environmental Management; Delhi, Salim Ali Centre for
109

Ornithology and Natural History; Coimbatorc (SACON), Centre for Mining Environment
(CME);Dhanbad etc.
110

2) Modalities of Training

For in-service teacher training both independent and integrated approach can be used to train various categories
of teachers and teacher educators. The training activities of inservice teachers and teacher educators can be conducted
by adopting two broad modalities-

i) Independent; and ii) Integrated

i) Independent

Independent training programmes exclusively for environmental education can be organized at national
and state level. These training programmes can be of three different categories- (a) single- period, (b)
multi-period, and (c) school- complex/ school based.

a) Single-period

This training modality organizes programmes for specific group of teachers of the entire state within single-
period. A large number of teachers can be trained at different centers within the fixed time frame. The most striking
feature of this modality is that educational infrastructure of the entire state along with the relevant agencies inVolved
in environmental programmes can be associated with the training programmes at the lower levels. The Panchayati
Raj institution and members of local communities can be also inVolved and media can be widely used throughout
the state.

b) Multi-Period

This modality can organize training programmes for different categories of teachers throughout the year at
multiple points of time.

c) School- Complex /School based

This modality can organize training programmes for Principals/ Headmasters of selected schools and they in
turn orient the teachers of the school complex or of the particular schools.

ii). Integrated

Under this modality efforts can be made to make the training in environmental education an integral part of
the on-going teacher training programme. It can be done in two ways

(a) Teacher Training Programmes Based

By Teacher Training Programmes based means that any training programme organized by SCERT or SIE,
NCERT, NCTE should have component of environmental education.
111

(b) Teacher Training Institution Based

By Teacher Training Institution based means related institutions should incorporate the components of
environmental educational in their on-going programmes.

3) Training Strategies

Before the trainees actually arrive at the training center, it is imperative that the training strategies have been
fully worked out. It is equally necessary to consider the levels at which the training takesplace-national, regional or
local levels as this will influence the choice of training modalities and the duration and timing of training. The way
adults learn also varies quite a lot. Trainers should also take into consideration the institutional setting in deciding what
methodology to employ. Thus, in deciding which methodology/ methodologies to use, one can consider several
factors as described below.

• Socio- economic background of teachers.

• Academic background of teachers.

• Current level of awareness and attitude with reference to environmental problems .

• The urban or rural environment to which the target group belongs.

• Exploring the availability of resource persons or experts or educators for training.

• Assessment of resource available.where the teacher generally work and also the resources available outside
the place of work.

• Availability of the relevant instructional and reference material.

A range of modalities has been discussed here for training the teachers in environmental
education and it is upto the university to select a modality or a combination of modalities for effective
training,

i) Face-to-face Training

In this mode, training is given face-to-face either independently or in an integrated way. Under independent
category, the training programmes are organized for varied duration exclusively in environmental education, whereas
under the integrated category, the training programmes are dovetailed to the existing teacher training programmes.
Under his modality, if training is organized for different levels of functionaries in the descending order of hierarchy
and, therefore, is also called hierarchical face to- face training. Different strategies such as one tier or more than one
tier are used for training the teacher educators and teachers. Under integrated face-to-face training, environmental
education is made an integral part of the on going teacher training programme, being organized by any other
institution.
112

ii) Peer Group

In this modality, the principals or subject heads or coordinators in each secondary school are trained
through face-to-face modality and they, in turn, are given the responsibility for training teachers in their
own schools. Peer training also inVolves a pattern wherein the trainer and trainees are both teachers at
the same level. Each school is provided with training material and it prepare its own schedule of training the
teachers. Under this modality, supervisory team also visits the school and provides on the spot assistance, guidance as
well as evaluation of the programme.

iii) Mobile Training

In this modality, a mobile team consisting of trained, competent and experienced trainers
conduct teacher training programme in schools. These teams are equipped with a variety of instructional materials,
teaching aids, and equipments. The team member can be rotated during the course of the training. Thus,
minimizing the absence of members from respective posts for a long period.

iv) Module or Self- Learning Model

In this modality, the training material/modules are prepared at a central place and are provided to teachers
for independent and direct training. Being self- contained learning package, modular learning requires
minimum supervision, easy to administer and require the trainee to manage his or her own learning. The crucial need
in using the modular approach is to ensure teacher’s motivation. It can be supplemented with peer group training
modality.

v) Training via Correspondence

Under this modality, lessons and other learning materials are sent to the trainees through
postal service. A correspondence phase is supplemented with some kind of face-to-face training sessions, by the
peer or by the head of the institution.

vi) Training through Radio and Television

In this model, specific educational/ instructional programmes are developed for


radio/television transmission. These programmes are transmitted regularly on predetermined schedules, indicating
time and date. The schools are provided through radio and TV programmes and teachers are expected to listen/ view
the programme. The model can be supplemented with a peer training model and modular training
model.

There are also other modalities like field base preparation, team work, inviting teachers in
workshops and seminars. During such activities, teachers are exposed to environmental education. It is evident that
the modalities of training teachers vary in terms of approach, tasks and subtasks, supportive services, teaching
learning instruments, managerial efforts, cost and coverage of target group and expected intensity of
113

learning. A survey of literature reveals that countries are using one or a combination of more than one
modalities for training teachers in environmental education. In some case under one modality,
different strategies are adopted. For example, under face-to-face training modality in China, strategies like
independent training, integrated training, massive orientation, tier system, etc. are used.

Suggestions for Curriculum of Preservice Teacher Educators

1) NCTE discussion document (2004 ) must include environmental education as one of the objectives of
education for preservice teacher educators and their curriculum must explore the areas where the environmental
education can be infused along with the transactional strategies appropriate for it. The environmental education
should be compulsory for all the preservice teacher educators so that environmentally literate teacher educators
can be produced in future .The following ways and means can incorporate environment education in the
training of pre service teacher educators.

• A separate subject on environmental education may be offered in the post graduate


programme in education for teacher educators. This course may be taught by using the approach of content cum
methodology. The concepts of various units may be discussed by using appropriate techniques of teaching such as
observation, demonstration, experimentation, discussion etc.The related higher concepts of environmental
education may also be discussed in the course teaching.

• Various concepts of environmental education may be integrated with various subject areas offered in the
courses meant for teacher educators.

Suggestions for Further Research

The investigator after completing the research felt that the domain of environmental
education is vast and more work remains to be done. Efforts needs to be extended to encourage each component of
the broad educational system to accept as parts, of its mission the fostering of environmental education.

The investigator considers the following areas for further research:

• A study can be conducted on the awareness of and attitude towards environmental problems among
preservice, inservice teachers and teacher educators of teacher training colleges located outside Delhi.

• The present study was delimited to the preservice and inservice teachers of secondary
level teacher education program.A Study can be conducted on the awareness of and attitude
towards environmental problems among preservice, inservice teacher and teacher educators of
elementary level teacher education program.

• A study can be conducted on the awareness of an attitude towards environmental problems among the
teachers and students of primary ,secondary and higher secondary level.
114

• A study can also be conducted on the awareness of and attitude towards environmental
problems among the teacher and students of urban and rural schools.

• A study can also be conducted on the awareness and attitude towards environmental problems among
preservice teachers, inservice teachers and teacher educators of teacher training colleges located in urban and rural
area.

• A study can also be conducted on the awareness of and attitude towards environmental
problems among educational planners and administrators.

Research can also be conducted in other areas of environmental education suggested as under:

• A study can also be conducted on the trends and issues related to the preparation of teachers for
environmental education.

• A research work can also be conducted on the strategies to integrate environmental education
into teacher education programme.

• A critical study of constraints, approaches and course design in pre service


environmental teacher education can also be conducted.

• A study on reorienting environmental education for sustainable development in teacher education:


constraints and opportunities in India can also be conducted.

• A critical study on constraints and approaches in inservice environmental teacher education can also be
conducted.

• A critical analysis of the environmental education curriculum often of a comparative nature can be done.

• Development of new curriculum material reflecting an interdisciplinary approach in environmental


education can also be done.

• A study on the use education technology with special reference to the effect of slide preparation or VTR in
environmental education can also be conducted.

• A study can also be conducted on the inservice needs of teachers inVolved in environmental
education.

•A study can also be conducted on the values taught through environmental education.

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