CHAPTER -2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

The review of related literature implies locating, studying and evaluating relevant research
studies of published articles, going through related portions of encyclopedia and research
abstracts. Thus the review of literature becomes a link between the research proposed and the
studies already done. The present chapter deals with review or related literature. An attempt was
made to give a brief review of the available research studies that have already been conducted in
the areas related to the problem of the proposed study conducted in Abroad and India.
Attempts were made to review the research studies under the following three sub-sections: (i)
Environmental Education, (ii) Responsible Environmental Behaviour (iii) Environmental Well
Being.
2.1 Related Literature of Environmental Education
Environmental degradation is not something very new, but man has realized it too late.
Environmental Education emerged as a result of Man's consciousness about environment
protection and conservation. Various studies have been conducted in the area of environmental
education since the time education has been realized to be a strong means for bringing about
change in behavior and attitude of Man. Stockholm Conference which held in 1972 was the first
sign of awareness among the people throughout the world with regard to conservation of
environment. After this Conference scholars started conducting research in this area. But now
almost every aspect of Environmental Education including objectives, methods, curriculum,
teaching material and evaluation has been touched. United Nations', concern over environmental
problem was the beginning in the area of Environmental Education which provided impetus to
works in this field of study.
Byrant and Hungerford (1979) found that kindergarten children are capable of forming
concepts concerning environmental subjects.
Rajput, Saxena and Jadhao (1980) conducted a research on environmental approach of
teaching at primary level. The objectives of the project were to study the existing awareness
towards the scientific and social environment in children. To identify the available community
resources, which can be gainfully, utilize for teaching. The study was conducted in there distinct
phases in 1st phase the M.P. state curriculum for class 3rd and 4th was redesigned to build scope
for environmental approach of teaching. The 2nd phase comprised development of environmental
awareness test. 3rd phase was the experimentation phase where the effect of implementing the
redesigned curriculum was assessed on environmental awareness and achievement in Science. In
2nd phase, draft was administered on 140 children from class 3rd and 4th subsequently on 200
children from the same classes but from two other schools and 3rd time on 275 children from
another two schools. The 57 items had a reliability of 0.80.

The experiment in phase three was conducted on 197 students from two schools in Bhopal, 102
students belonging to class 4th and 95 students belonging to class 3rd. 57 students from class 4th
and 47 from class 3rd were in the experimental group and the rest in the control group mean,
standard deviation and the t-test were applied for data analysis and hypothesis verification. Only
one of the four groups was significantly different on environmental awareness at protest stage
where as at the post-test stage two experimental groups were significantly better than control
group. The difference between the experimental group and the control on a traditional
achievement test was not significant.
Gupta, Grewal and Rajput (1981) studied the environmental awareness among children of
rural and urban schools and non-formal educational centres. The objectives of the study were To
Know the components of environment in which children from rural and urban (U) areas were
lacking and the areas in which the students from both the streams were lacking and the areas in
which the students from both the streams were well acquainted. To compare the environmental
awareness of children studying in formal education (F) or school going children and children
were studying in non-formal education (NFR). To suggest means for developing environment
based curriculum or universalisations of elementary education. The Study was conducted on 115
students of standard 4th, 20 from rural schools, 35 from urban school and 60 for non-formal
educational centre. An environmental questionnaire by Rajput and his associates was
administered on the sample difference were tested for significance by t-test. It was found that,
The difference between FR and FU on environmental awareness was significant and in favour of
FR. The difference between NFR and FU was also significant on environmental awareness and
in favour of NFR. The difference between NFR and FR on environmental awareness was not
significant.
Tewksbury and Harris (1982) study on the methodologies used in environmental education and
it was found that 91% of the teachers used discussion method, 74% used audio visual aids, 64%
outdoor studies, 60% with small group projects, nearly 40% teachers used materials guides and
29% guest lecturers computer assisted instruction comes lowest with 2% teachers using it.
Gupta (1986) made study of attitude of teachers towards environmental education. Teachers
were found to have a favourable attitude towards environmental education.
Euler (1988) conducted a study on effectiveness of Environmental Education programme on
environmental knowledge and attitude of students of sixth grade in urban areas and found that
teachers begin to address the many environmental problems and issues faced by the society
through Environmental Education programmes and affect the knowledge and attitude of society.
Sodhi (1989) conducted a perceptual study to introduce environmental education in the
curriculum of teacher education. To study how the perceptions of principals/teacher educators
were student/teachers of colleges of education of Punjab vary towards the introduction of
environmental education in the curriculum of teacher education. Then the investigator visited
personally. It constituted 10 Principals, 80 teacher educators and 496 student teachers. For the
study, environmental awareness inventory and a self-made questionnaire were used. The finding
of the study was, 50% Principals were highly aware and 50% are less aware. Majority of
Principals were aware and do see the need to introduce environmental education. Teacher
educators were aware but do not perceive the need of environmental education. Male teachers
were aware but female teachers perceive the need of environmental education. Both male and
female, science and non- science teachers/students did not differ much in their perceptions
regarding the need of environmental education.

Shahanawaj (1990) worked on environmental awareness and attitude of secondary and higher
secondary school teachers and students at Udaipur district. He found a very high level of
awareness on the part of teachers and this was more in the urban than rural groups.
Bhatia (1990) studied developing environmental awareness among students through
instructional strategies. It was an experimental study and in this single group design experimental
method was used. A self-prepared “Environmental Awareness Questionnaire” was administered
to 39 students. The students were exposed to treatment in the form of self-instructional material,
lectures and other pictures and charts for 2 weeks. The major findings of the study were, The
students level of awareness has improved with treatment.9 out of 10 students were aware that
survival of humanity depends upon clean environment. No student is in low category. Girls are
more aware than boys in pre-post treatment.
Floyd (1994) studied the status of environmental education in the secondary schools of the state
of Maine. The purpose of the study was to assess the status of environmental education in
secondary schools of the State of Maine. A mail survey was used to ascertain the information
from 44 self-identified senior secondary school environmental educators. Following influences
were made from survey, environmental educators believed there was a considerably discrepancy
between the desired status of environmental education and the existing status. Environmental
education should be taught as both an interdisciplinary offerings and as a separate course.
Curricula should include more problem solving and community action techniques. More teacher
training should be necessary both in pre-service and in- service courses in environmental
education. Money, teacher time, priority and guidelines were the major barriers to teaching
environmental education.
Prajapat (1996) conducted a study on the effect of programme developing awareness towards
environment among the pupils of standard IV and concluded that the pre acquired initial
environmental awareness played important role in enhancement of environmental awareness of
the students of IV standard. Students of experimental group were found more enthusiastic than
the Students of controlled group, and the most remarkable effect of the programme was that the
students of both the groups were more enthusiastic and zeal towards receiving the education
through programme instead of textbooks.

Patel and Rao (1997) have found that environmental education programmers help in
enhancing environmental awareness. Environmental education programmers need to be
conducted for the teachers, to make them aware of and conscious about environment and its
related problems. In both in service and pre-service education programmers, environmental
education should form an integral part. Moreover, special attention needs to be paid to the
language and social teachers, and teachers working in rural schools.
Prateek (1998) conducted a study on the Environmental Awareness among Secondary School
Students and found that urban students were more environmentally aware than rural ones and
both boys and girls were conscious about the environment but students did not consider their
moral responsibility towards the environment. It indicated that students of Arts and Social
Science groups were less environmentally conscious than students of Commerce and Science
group.
Sharma (1999) studied that attitude of high school students towards environmental education.
He conducted a study and found that attitude of urban high school students was more favourable
than rural students. The attitude of girls was found to be more favourable than boys. It was
suggested that rural students need more exposure to understand environmental problems.
Rosalyn (2000) in her study on environmental education in the United States, the results
indicated that most schools have few requirements related to environmental education and
majority of environmental education schools is not institutionalized.
Ravindranath (2001) represented a paper in an attempt to draw out national plan and strategy
for equipping teachers in environmental education through distance mode of education using
the advanced techniques which the country has developed and tried out in the last few years. For
convenience, the paper is divided into three sections:Section-1, While outlining, the need for
effective training in Environmental Education, focused the scope of using distance mode of
training as viable strategy for training of the teachers and other key personnel in this
field.Section-11, describes some for the technologies used in the country for distance mode of
education and training. Section-111 presents details of the course content, Environmental
Education competencies to be developed in teachers and how several techniques of distance
mode of training such as self-instructional, satellite and tale-linked instructions could be used for
training teachers.
Simmons (2001) investigated the changes in sixth grade students' and their parents'
environmental knowledge, attitudes, motivation, and behaviour following an Environmental
Education program (EEP) over a school year. Results indicated that at the end of the school year,
children who were of High Achievement Motivation group show more environmental
knowledge, Positive environmental attitudes, and more responsible behaviour towards the
environment as compare to children of Low Achievement Motivation group. Parents of children
in the EEP group were significantly more dissatisfied with local environmental conditions as
compared to parents of children in the control group. No other significant differences between
groups were observed for other measured child and parental variables. Recommendations are
presented to guide future studies evaluating an EEP.
Ballantyne et. al (2001) uses a case study approach to find out the impact of two school
environmental education programmes, from the perspective of participating students, their
teachers and their parents. A total of 152 students among which 79 students are from primary
schools and 73 from secondary schools, 3 teachers and 62 parents contributed their perception
about the impact of the programmes. Each programme is described in detail and students’
responses compared across the two programmes and across different class groups participating in
each programme. It is concluded that both programmes were successful in engaging students in
thinking and learning about environmental issues, although some programme features were more
likely than others to lead to impacts beyond the bounds of the classroom. Recommendations are
made regarding those features that need to be included in school environmental education
programmes in order to maximise student and family learning outcomes.
Bartosh (2003) conducted a study on environmental education improving students achievement
and the findings revealed that: (i) Schools that undertake systematic environmental education
programs consistently have higher test scores on the state standardized tests over comparable
non-environmental education schools. (ii) School with environmental programs, teachers tend to
use natural areas more; have more environmental education professional development and
training; have more support from parents, community and administration and see more value in
environmental education.
Salequzzaman and Davis (2003) in their study of environmental education and environmental
management in Bangladesh revealed that: (i) Environmental education and development of local
expertise is needed for massive changes in behaviour with respect to the environment. (ii)
Graduates from the environmental disciplines should have a significant role in the
environmentally sustainable of Bangladesh.
Volk and Cheak (2003) studied the effects of an environmental education program on students,
parents, and community and concluded that the students who participated in environment
education program significantly outscored the students who didn’t participate in environment
education program on the critical thinking skills test.
Vaughan (2003) conducted a study on the effect of environmental education on school children,
their parents and community members and the study revealed that parents learned from children
and both groups transmitted course information to community members.
Hsu (2004) conducted a study on the Effect of Environmental Education on responsible
environmental behaviour and associated environmental literacy variables in Taiwanese college
students. The results indicated that the environment education course did significantly promote
the students', responsible environmental behaviour, locus of control, environmental
responsibility, intention to act, perceived knowledge of environmental issues, and perceived
knowledge and skills in using environmental action strategies.
Smith-Sebasto and Cavern (2005) found the impact of adding pre and post trip in class
activities to the residential Environmental Education program at the New Jersey School of
Conservation (NJSOC). Seventh-grade students (N = 169) from a suburban, northern New Jersey
school district participated in a 3-day, 2-night experience. The Environmental Adaptation,
Environmental Trust, and subscales of the Children’s Environmental Response Inventory
developed by Bunting and Cousins (1983, 1985) were used to assess the impact of the NJSOC
program and the supplemental activities on students’ attitudes toward the environment.
Statistically significant results were found only for students who received both the pre- and
posttrip activity and only for the Environmental Adaptation subscale.
Harjai (2007) studied effect of experiential learning strategies for teaching environmental
education to students of two schools of Ropar. In fifty action oriented lessons students learnt by
the use of media, outdoor experiences and fun based hands on experience, he concluded that
students taught EVS by experiential learning strategies exhibited better environmental awareness
and environmental sensitivity as compared to students of control group taught by traditional
learning method.
Kaur (2007) conducted a study of environmental knowledge, sensitivity, attitudes and action
strategies in relation to locus of control of Prospective and Inservice teachers on 400 Prospective
and in-service teachers from different schools and colleges of Education of Chandigarh and
found that In-service teachers exhibited better total environmental knowledge, better total
environmental sensitivity and better total environmental action strategies than prospective
teachers. A significant interaction between teacher type and locus of control with respect to total
environmental knowledge, total environmental sensitivity and total environmental action
strategies was also established.

Kumar and Patil (2007) the study was conducted with the aim of studying the level of
favourable attitude of the students towards environment in relation to their environmental
education. For this purpose 120 postgraduate students were selected and were administered the
environmental pollution attitude scale. It was found that students with environmental education
background had better environmental attitude. It was also found that there is no significant
difference between male and female students in their attitude towards environmental pollution
and related issues.
Dixit and Aggarwal (2009) carried out a research on the environmental awareness of
prospective elementary teachers in relation to their gender, habitat and caste. Stratified random
sampling was done for the selection of the sample and results in environmental awareness of
prospective elementary teachers indicated a positive direction.
Budvytyte (2011) conducted a study in Lithuania on environmental education at secondary
school system and the results showed that: (i) Environmental education has been gradually
integrated into Lithuania‟s national curriculum and teaching practices during the recent years but
it is not fully applied. (ii) Environmental Education in Lithuania has the potential to influence
pupils to behave pro-environmentally.
Prabawa-Sear and Baudains (2011) investigated high school students‟ views on their attitudes
and behaviour towards environment. The researcher also interrogated their views on the things
that act as motivators and barriers in developing environmental behaviour. Data was collected
from students who participated in classroom based programme on environmental education using
two scales of likert type designed by the researcher. The results support the relation between
environmental attitudes and behaviour. The high school students also commented on significant
barriers which bar them from developing environmental behaviours and they also gave their
views on how effective environmental education strategies and programmes can be designed and
presented in secondary schools.

Shivkumar and Vamadevappa (2011) conducted a study on “Environmental attitude among

the secondary school students.” The study was conducted in Karnataka where Devangere district
was selected to carry out the research programme. The research study was designed to access the
environmental attitude of high school students, in relation to their gender (Boys/Girls), type of
Locality (Urban/Rural) and school type (Government/Private). 1440 students of class IX who
were studying in urban and rural locality and in different types of schools formed the sample of
study. The sample was selected using stratified random sampling. The results of the study
revealed that:

 The gender of the students had no role in developing attitude towards environment.
  Urban background students has better environmental attitude in comparison to their
counterparts i.e. rural background students. Thus type of locality had a role in developing
attitude towards environment.
 Type of school also play a dominant role in developing environmental attitude as from
the research findings it was clear that private schools students have more favourable
environmental attitude than government schools students.
 There also existed significant interaction effect between Gender and locality on
environmental attitude of the secondary level students.
 However there was no significant interaction effect between Gender and school type on
environmental attitude of the secondary level students. But, Locality and school type
showed significant interaction effect on environmental attitude of the secondary level IX
class students.

Mahesh and Sharma (2012) conducted a study on environmental education in secondary

schools in Pune City and found that: (i) 85% teachers have expressed that there is scope in
improvement in existing teaching learning process of the subject. (ii) 68% of EVS teachers from
SSC Board had received training as compared to 100% teachers from CBSE and IB. (iii)
Average teaching time for the subject was 2 hours per week.
Thakur (2012) conducted a study on Environmental awareness among 200 senior secondary
school students from four schools of Chandigarh and found that Students of government and
private schools exhibited comparable environmental awareness. Science students exhibited very
high degree of environmental awareness than students of humanities, among which Male science
students exhibited higher degree of environmental awareness than female science students but
overall no significant difference was found between male and female students.
Cheng et al. (2013) investigating elementary school students‟ technology acceptance by applying
digital game-based learning to environmental education, the results showed that digital game-based
learning system is suitable for both genders at all levels of experience. The 4 th grade students
perceive ease of use, perceived usefulness, attitudes toward use and intention to use reveal a high
degree of positive environmental education and significant correlation.
Kant and Sharma (2013) investigated the environmental awareness of secondary school
students in relation to their intelligence. The result of the study indicated that there exists
significant difference between Environmental awareness of students belonging to rural and urban
background, moreover the significant positive relationship between intelligence and
environmental awareness was found.
Ghosh (2014) conducted a study on Environmental Awareness and Environmental attitude
towards environmental education among the secondary school male and female students and
found strong and positive relationship between Environmental Awareness and attitude towards
environmental education among the students.
Kumar (2015) conducted study on Environmental Education programmes and practices in
schools and found the positive response of the teachers about the practices followed in schools to
reduce the Environmental Degradation.
Erdogan (2015) conducted a research to study the effect of Summer Environmental Education
Programme (SEEP) on environmental literacy of elementary level students. The purpose of
research was to assess students‟ environmental knowledge, skills, affect and behaviour which are
regarded as the important predictors of environmental literacy. Sample consisted of 45 students
(25 boys and 20 girls) studying in 4th to 8th grade. Various tools which included environmental
knowledge test, children‟s responsible environmental behaviour scale, affective disposition
towards environment scale and scientific process skill for environment test were used to collect
data by assessing various components before and after SEEP. t-tests were used for analyzing the
data. Results indicated significantly increased in all the components i.e. environmental
knowledge, intention, sensitivity, attitudes and environmentally responsible behaviour. Although
students cognitive skills and saving behaviour too increased but the gain was not significant.

Ardoin et al. (2018) conducted study on academic and environmental benefits of environmental
education for kindergarten through twelfth grade (K-12) students. To consider the empirical
underpinnings of those program descriptions, focusing on outcomes of environmental education
programs with K-12 students. In the sample of 119 articles, 121 unique outcomes are identified
that most articles reported positive findings from the programs under study.
Liu & Guo (2018) studied the correlation between environmental knowledge and environmental
value based on environmental education. The research results show significant and positive
correlations between environmental education and environmental knowledge. According to such
results, suggestions are proposed, expecting to find out the effect of environmental education on
people's environmental knowledge and environmental value and have relevant environmental
units find specific ways to strengthen the citizens' responsible environmental behaviors.
Boca & Saraçli, (2019) examine the relationship among perception, attitude, and environmental
behavior of the university students enrolled in different specialization fields. A total of 358
students participated in this survey conducted at the North Center University of Baia Mare. To
collect data to measure students' environmental education, perception, students' attitudes, and
behavior a Likert scale was used. In this study, it was revealed that students receiving academic
education are involved in activities regarding environmental protection using the new product
and "greener" alternative energy. As a result of the t-test performed, it was put forward that there
was no difference in their level of perception regarding the importance of environmental
education. As a result of the correlation analysis, a positive relation was identified between the
perception, attitude, and behavior variables.
Chen, (2020) studied the effects of environmental education on place attachment and responsible
environmental behaviour. The results show positive effects of environmental education on place
attachment as well as positive effects of place attachment on responsible environmental
behaviour. According to the results to propose suggestions, it is expected to enhance students’
motivation and interests through environmental education for acquiring place knowledge and
emotional attachment and to cultivate students’ responsible environmental behavior.
Assaf & Gan (2021) highlighted the creativity of the educators who used a variety of teaching
methods, involving active/ passive learning and the direct/indirect experience of nature, using
nature for observation, investigation and in-depth personal, social and environmental learning
based upon the findings. The study's contribution stems from its exploration of the crisis from
the perspective of environmental education in the context of social-ecological systems. Key
findings present challenges and opportunities that were faced by environmental educators in
Israel and that led to the development of diverse teaching methods for contending with the crisis.
The study recommends incorporating diverse activities in nature, implementing outdoor teacher
training for all teachers and creating professional teacher networks.
A survey of the research studies indicates that environmental education: enhances critical-
thinking, responsible environment behavior (Kaur, 2009); made students more active problem
solvers; act as independent decision makers; think critically and creatively; ask thought-
provoking questions; understand connections and interrelationships; and transfer learning to
other aspects of their lives (Harjai 2007); made students significantly outscore the students who
didn’t participate in environment education program on the critical thinking skills test (Volk and
Cheak, 2003); found strong and positive relationship between Environmental Awareness and
attitude towards environmental education among the students(Ghosh, 2014). Liu & Guo (2018)
found the positive correlation between environmental knowledge and environmental value based
on environmental education.
2.2 Related Literature of Responsible Environmental Behaviour.
Responsible Environment Behaviour is defined as a demonstration or aspect of Environmental
empathy that includes activities which have been recommended to resolve problems in the
natural environment. It examines relationships between human behaviour and the natural and
built environment. It is defined as any active responsiveness to current environmental issues. A
high environmental awareness among the old and young people may motivate them to adopt
environmental friendly practices of living such as rational use of natural resources together with
minimal generation of wastes. Various studies have been conducted in the field of Environmental
Behaviour.
Sia, Hungerford and Tomera (1986) in their research indicated that the classroom instruction
has limited impact at improving the Responsible Environmental Behaviour in 5th graders. We
can enhance it through extended outdoor experiences.
Sivek and Hungerford (1989) attempted to assess eight selected variables affecting the
prediction of Responsible Environmental Behaviour:

Level of environmental sensitivity.

Perceived individual Locus of Control.
Perceived group Locus of Control.
Perceived knowledge of environmental action strategies.
Perceived skill in using environmental actions strategies.
Beliefs about/attitudes toward pollution.
Beliefs about/attitudes towards technology.
Psychological sex role classification.
They found that perceived skill in environmental action strategies was an extremely strong
predictor of Responsible Environmental Behaviour. Locus of Control, both individual and group,
was also significant component. The third significant factor was regarding environmental
sensitivity. They determined that major precursors for sensitivity include variables associated
with the out of doors and related activities.
Newhouse (1990) conducted a study on Environmental Responsible Behaviour of the college
students in relation to locus of control and found that individuals with a stronger internal locus of
control were more likely to participate in activities related to environmentally responsible
behaviour because they believed their actions could help in behavior change.
Whiston (1992) presented research on the relationship between college students attitude and
behaviour. It reviews models of environmental paradigms and relates them to an assessment of
college students’ attitudes and action with respect to responsible environmental behavior.
Attitudes such as satisfaction, optimism, commitment, urgency and increase in concern are tested
against a student’s level of reported action with respect to environmental issues. Its particular
significance is the way in which the attitudes may easily be suspended or contradicted in terms of
behaviour on self reported actions.
Ramsey (1993) used issue investigation and action training (IIAT) with eighth graders. His
findings were similar to 7th graders, that IIAT promoted the specific knowledge, skills, and
beliefs critical to Responsible Environmental Behaviour , one difference was the indication that
subject’s Locus of Control was significantly promoted, although earlier studies had shown the
group Locus of Control to be greater than individual Locus of Control.
Hammitt and Freimund (1994) studied the changes in Responsible Environmental Behaviour
for students in the National Outdoor leadership school (NOLS), a prominent outdoor education
organization. Results revealed that students’ reported behaviour was significantly more
environmentally responsible after NOLS. Students responded more positively after NOLS to
construct of a theoretical predictive model for Responsible Environmental Behaviour.
Whitefield (1994) conducted a study on the effect of environmental action oriented lessons on
environmental knowledge, attitude and behaviour of high school students and revealed several
educational implications action oriented lessons should be taught for greater period of time.
Environmental Education tests should be specific rather than general in natures students taking
action towards solving environmental problem need these behaviours reinforced continuously.
Educators can reinforce student’s behaviour by teaching environmental action skills, removing
barriers such as negative peer pressure and inconsistent messages about the state of the
environment.
Sherlock (1995) conducted a study on environmental attitude and behavior of 8th grade students.
In this, five case studies were presented which portrayed the live experience of the adolescence.
Information was collected through the use of personal journals. This thesis concluded need for
qualitative research in Environmental Education and gave recommendations for improving the
commitment to environmental action within adolescents.
Negra and Manning (1997) conducted a study on environmental behaviour, values and ethics of
park visitors, to analyze how these visitor characteristics affected park programming and found
three subgroups namely spiritually based stewardship, religiously based anthropocentrism, and
secular ethical extensionism.
Vaske and Kobrin (2001) believe that place attachment facilitates the development of
Responsible Environmental Behaviour. They operationalise place attachment as place
dependence which refers to a functional attachment to a specific place and place identity which
refers to an emotional attachment to that specific place. According to them a person will engage
in Responsible Environmental Behaviour towards a place (natural setting) if they have
emotionally meaningful ties to that place. Environmental Education (EE) programmes should
therefore be designed in such a way that they help learner form an emotional attachment to their
immediate environment and the broader or global environment.
Yeung (2002) examined the enquiry teaching approaches and found that they are considered as
more useful than didactic approaches for the development of environmentally responsible
behaviour. The hypotheses were that, taken together, enquiry approaches are more effective than
didactic approaches for the development of environmentally responsible behaviour in both the
short and long terms for students as a whole, and for students within the same range of academic
ability. A quasi-experimental control group design was used for selecting students and classes
from schools in the territory. A questionnaire survey and a series of interviews were conducted to
collect data about students' behaviour before and after they were taught a people-environment
topic with a didactic approach or an enquiry approach. The results suggest that the students on
the whole were not behaving as positively for the environment as their peers in other countries.
For both the higher- and the lower- to medium-ability classes, those who were taught with an
enquiry approach were behaving positively in more areas than those who were taught with a
didactic approach in both the short and long terms. This trend could be attributed to their greater
attention to critical thinking, positive behavioural changes, and the development of Internal
Locus of Control, while society as a whole was still largely apathetic to personal efforts for
improving environmental quality. To further enhance the effectiveness of enquiry for the
development of environmentally responsible behaviour, it is suggested that teachers should give
more attention to the elements of concern and empathy in the classroom.
Adams (2003) evaluated the effectiveness of the Globe environment Programme in promoting
environmentally responsible behaviour in the learners in one South African school. The Globe
environment Programme was proved to be supportive of not only promoting environmentally
concerned attitude but also environmentally responsible behavior. It was an Environmental
Education and science programme that has been implemented in more than 80 countries. It
follows the guidelines identified at Tbilisi conference held in 1977.
Mayers (2003) found that ecological ethics were strongly preferred to the non-ecological ethics
and the need to protect the environment was strong for human well being. Jolly et al. (2004)
revealed that the environmental officers reported the highest level of environmental values and
all the respondent participated more regularly in environmental action at home than at work. It
was found that there was a similar environmental concerns and problem awareness.
Martin (2003) examined the effectiveness of outdoor school yard programme on students’
environmental attitude, knowledge, behaviours and comfort levels. The study was conducted to
examine the effects of regular outdoor school environmental education activities on
environmental knowledge, attitudes, behaviours and comfort levels of IVth and Vth grade
students. Results showed that Vth grade students of treatment group showed statistically
significant differences as compared to control group in terms of environmental knowledge and
comfort levels. No significant differences were found between the IVth grade intervention and
control group. Significant differences in gender were found in Vth grade intervention and control
group with females acquiring significantly higher scores in the measure of environmental
attitudes and behaviour than males.
Sarkar (2006) developed a framework for understanding the approaches adopted by firms to
address their environmental responsibilities when confronted with a variety of pressures. This
framework is used to analyze the economic rationale behind a firm's environmental strategy from
the view of the environmental manager. Therefore, the focus of the study is on the private costs
incurred and benefits obtained by the firms. The public nature of environmentally conscious
activities of firms is looked at, but only in the managerial context. In addition to exogenous
pressures such as regulations and changing consumer preferences, various motivating and de-
motivating factors for environmentally responsible behaviour have been identified using a case
study approach. Factors inhibiting the pollution prevention initiatives are identified and
highlighted. Four in-depth case studies of steel and paper producing firms, covering both the
public and private sectors have been conducted. Within-case and cross-case analysis has yielded
several useful insights like people should be responsible towards the environment which have
been translated into appropriate policy recommendations.
Kaur (2007) conducted a study of environmental knowledge, sensitivity, attitudes and action
strategies in relation to locus of control of Prospective and In-service teachers on 400
Prospective and in-service teachers from different schools and colleges of Education of
Chandigarh and found that In-service teachers exhibited better total environmental knowledge,
better total environmental sensitivity and better total environmental action strategies than
prospective teachers. It was also found that there was a significant interaction between teacher
type and locus of control with respect to total environmental knowledge, total environmental
sensitivity and total environmental action strategies.
Shepherd (2007) found that most teaching and assessment in higher education focus on
cognitive skills of knowledge and understanding rather than effective outcomes of values,
attitudes and behaviors.
Kalantari (2007) studied on the investigating factor affecting environmental behaviour of urban
residents. The study revealed that: (i) There was no significant difference between men and women
in terms of environmental attitudes, preparedness to act and feeling of stress. (ii) Women and men
opinion were different in respect of environmental legislation. (iii) Women emphasized that current
environmental legislations are sufficient for environmental protection; environmental problems could
be solved if the laws were enforced completely. (iv) Most of the men believed that these legislations
were not adequate and government should pass more laws to make ordinary people and business to
protect the environment. (v) The study also showed that there was significant difference between
men and women in respect of environmental behavior. Women were generally more concerned than
men.
Latha (2007) studied environmental awareness environmental attitude and environmental action
behaviour of elementary teacher trainees and concluded that there was no significant difference
in Environmental Action Behaviour between the male and female Elementary Teacher Trainees.
A significant difference was found in Environmental Action Behaviour between the Elementary
Teacher Trainees with Science and Arts background. No Significant difference found in
Environmental Action Behaviour between the Elementary Teacher trainees with and without
experience. No Significant difference found in Environmental Action Behaviour between the
Elementary Teacher Trainees with PUC and Graduation levels of education. No Significant
difference found in Environmental Action Behaviour among the Elementary Teacher Trainees
with different levels of Academic Achievement.
Kaur and Mehra (2009) conducted a study on the Effectiveness of outdoor education
programme for enhancing critical thinking social skills and responsible Environmental behaviour
among fifth grade students and found that students taught environmental education by the
outdoor environmental education programme exhibited better mean gains on critical thinking,
social skills and responsible Environmental behavior as compared to students of control group
who were taught environmental education by traditional method.
Upham (2009) reviewed primarily theories and studies from the environmental psychology and
(more briefly) the environmental sociology literature. He also make some reference to the multi-
disciplinary risk perception and science and technology studies literatures. He found that there is
no simple relationship between attitudes, engagement and behaviour change. A very wide range
of contextual factors like habit and routine influences the attitude and constrain behaviour. If
engagement is undertaken for the purpose of changing attitudes and/or encouraging behaviour
change, then these wider factors will also need to be addressed.
Erdogan (2009) studied on fifth grade student’s environmental literacy and the factors affecting
students‟ environmentally responsible behavior revealed that students had moderate level of
environmental literacy and responsible behavior.
Oguz (2010) found that a majority of the students are aware of the fact that education is needed
to raise awareness issues though fewer students seem to develop environmentally responsible
behaviour in their daily lives. However, most of the students are aware of the negative impacts of
environmental problems on living organisms.
Thapa (2010) reported a study on “The Mediation Effect of Outdoor Recreation Participation on
Environmental Attitude-Behavior Correspondence”. It was found that overall attitudes exhibited
stronger direct relationships with behaviors, when compared to the effect of participation on
behaviors. The influence of activity participation on attitude-behavior correspondence was not
significantly demonstrative. The association between participation in outdoor recreation and
environmentalism was complex, and there was a need for additional research to better understand
the relationship.
Lake, Flanagan and Osgood (2010) presented a descriptive analysis of trends in the
environmental attitudes, beliefs and behaviour of high school seniors from 1976 to 2005. Across
a range of indicators, environmental concerns of adolescents show increases during the early
1990s and declines across the remainder of the three decades. Declining trends in reports of
personal responsibility for the environment, conservation behaviors, and the belief that resources
are scarce are particularly noteworthy. Across all years, findings reveal that youth tended to
assign responsibility for the environment to the government and consumers rather than accepting
personal responsibility. Recent declines in environmental concerns for this nationally
representative sample of youth signal the need for a renewed focus on young people’s views and
call for better environmental education and governmental leadership.
Levine and Strube (2012) conducted a study on environmental attitudes, knowledge and
behaviours among college students indicated that: (i) Men were found to be more knowledgeable
than women about environmental issues and (ii) Older students had more favorable implicit and
explicit environmental attitudes.
Mathivanan and Pazhavivelu (2013) studied on environmental ethics and participation in
environmental activities among higher secondary students and found that the higher secondary
students have high environmental ethics and higher level of participation in environmental
activities.
Prakash (2014) the finding of the study revealed that 36.38 % of environment awareness may be
attributed to the environment responsible behaviour and environment protecting attitude. It may
be concluded that parent's occupation and income environmental responsible behaviour are
potent factors for developing environmental awareness among senior secondary students.
Gaurav (2015) researched on the environmentally responsible behaviour of elementary level
students in relation to gender and family size. 200 Government school elementary level students
constituted the sample of the study. Results indicated significant differences in environmentally
responsible behaviour of elementary level students in relation to gender with female students
being more environmentally responsible than male students. Significant differences were also
found in relation to family size with small families showing more environmentally responsible
behaviour than large families.
Liefländer et al. (2015) evaluated environmental knowledge dimension convergence to assess
effectiveness of education programme on water issues which aimed at implementing and using
the knowledge dimensions. Change in knowledge level of students and merger of knowledge
dimensions on the increase of students‟ knowledge level was also evaluated. This research was
carried on 4th and 6th grade (elementary level) students. This study involved pre, post retention
test design. Results indicated that as a result of education programme there was a significant
increase in learning of the students in all the knowledge dimensions.

Adya (2016) conducted a study on the effect of Computer Mediated and Activity based
interventions on environmentally responsible behaviour of elementary level students in relation
to socio demographic factors and found that there were significant improvements on
environmentally responsible behaviour scores from pre-test to post-test of elementary level
students exposed to different interventions i.e. computer mediated and activity based
interventions.
Ernst, Blood & Beery (2017) conducted a study on the Student Climate and Conservation
Congress (SC3) is a joint educational effort between the United States Fish and Wildlife Service
and the Green Schools Alliance that aims to develop the next generation of conservation leaders
through fostering action competence in youth. Data from SC3 participants was used to
investigate four predictors of adult environmental behavior (environmental attitudes, locus of
control, sense of personal responsibility, intention) to explore their predictability of
environmental action and intention toward future involvement in environmental action in student
environmental leaders. Of the four variables explored, pre-program levels of environmental
attitudes was a significant predictor of environmental action. Additionally, changes in levels of
environmental attitudes significantly predicted environmental action, with an increase in
environmental attitudes being associated with a decrease in environmental action. Pre-program
levels of environmental attitudes and sense of personal responsibility, and an interaction between
the two, potentially was predictors of intention toward future involvement in environmental
action. Changes in pre- and post-program levels of environmental attitudes, locus of control, and
sense of personal responsibility did not significantly predict intention toward future involvement
in environmental action, nor did environmental action.
Palupi & Sawitri, (2018) examines the importance of pro-environmental behavior in
adolescents (high school and university students) by conducting literature review from previous
studies on pro environmental behavior. Pro-environmental behavior is the behavior of
individuals that contributes towards environmental preservation. Based on previous studies,
measurement of pro-environmental behavior were investigated on several theories, namely
theory of planned behavior (TPB) and value, belief, norms (VBN) by using aspects of pro
environmental behavior. Young people with critical thinking, and good environmental education,
are expected to behave more environmentally friendly for creating a sustainable future.
Abdullah et al., (2019) found the impact of knowledge, attitude, consumption values and
destination image on tourists’ responsible environmental behaviour intention. The results
empirically revealed that environmental knowledge and destination image significantly
influenced the tourists’ intention to behave in an environmentally responsible manner. Thus, in
fostering a more responsible behavior among tourists, more emphasis can be placed on
enhancing their knowledge while capitalizing on the destination’s image.
Rosa & Collado, (2019) found positive link between direct experiences in nature and people's
environmental attitudes and behavior. This has led researchers to encourage more frequent
contact with nature, especially during childhood, as a way of increasing pro-environmentalism.
However, the association between experiences in nature and EA/EB is complex, and specific
guidelines for people's everyday contact with nature cannot be provided.
Yusliza et al., (2020) examines the role of environmental commitment, environmental
consciousness, green lifestyle, and green self-efficacy in influencing pro-environmental
behaviour. Data were obtained through a survey of 72 students at one of the training centers in
Malaysia. The hypothesized relationships were tested using partial least squares (PLS)
methodology. Results showed that environmental commitment, environmental consciousness,
green lifestyle, and green self-efficacy positively influenced pro-environmental behaviour,
thereby providing new insights to existing literature on environmental sustainability.
A perusal of above research studies indicates that formal environmental education: emphasizing
action training did promote students' responsible environmental behavior (Ramsey et al, 1981;
Ramsey and Hungerford, 1989; Ramsey, 1993); achieved at least 0.05 significance levels for
overt environmental behaviour, individual locus of control, group locus of control,
environmental action knowledge (Latha (2007), perceived knowledge of environmental action
skills, perceived skills in the use of environmental action skills and environmental sensitivity for
four classes of eighth grade students which received 18 weeks of the experiential instructions
(Ramsey, 1993); Altruism and environmentalism appeared to be the internal variables that
independently influenced pro-environmental behavior (Corraliza, 2000);significant
improvements on environmentally responsible behaviour scores from pre-test to post-test of
elementary level students exposed to different interventions i.e. computer mediated and activity
based interventions (Adya (2016). Abdullah et al., (2019) found the impact of knowledge,
attitude, consumption values and destination image on tourists’ responsible environmental
behaviour intention Thus Review shows that most of the studies conducted on the positive
change in attitude and behaviour of primary class students towards the Environment.
2.3 Related Literature of Well Being
Well-being is a condition of an individual or group consisting cognitive and affective
component. A high level of well-being means positive condition, while low well-being is
associated with negative condition. It is a broad ranging concept affected in a complex way by
the person’s physical health, psychological state, personal beliefs, social relationships and their
relationship to salient features of their environment. Various studies have been conducted in the
area of well being.
Kunhikrishan and Stephen (1992) conducted a study of locus of control and sense of Well-
Being on the students in 20-25 age groups. It was found that internal control was positively
related to general Well-Being in male students but not significantly related to female students.
Chopra et al. (1997), measured neuroticism, Well-Being and Self-Esteem of high and low
procrastinators and found significant effect on general Well-Being and Self-Esteem.
Sehgal (1998), investigated gender difference in health, Well-Being stress and copying of adult
students. The results revealed that THIRE IS no significant gender differences emerged on
psychological Well-Being. As regarding health status male score are higher than their
counterparts. Female scores are high on emotion focused copying and male are higher on
problem focused.
Konu (2001) explored factors associated with general subjective Well-Being of school students.
Data were gathered from 87341 eighth and ninth graders from 458 secondary schools in different
parts of Finland. Grade and socioeconomic status showed a weak correlation with general
subjective Well-Being among Males & females. The study indicated that the school context had
major influence on pupils general subjective Well-Being. The result also revealed significant
gender differences in Well-Being.
Gupta (2001) revealed support for the discriminatory validity and utility of using separate
measures of optimism and pessimism to predict individual differences in life satisfaction metrics
and symptoms of depression. Furthermore, significant predictive relationships with these criteria
metrics were found even after controlling for the effects of positive and negative emotions.
Greenspoon and Saklofske (2001) showed that psychopathology (PTH) and subjective well-
being (SWB) are not simply opposing poles of a single continuum, however, the structures are
not yet integrated. The sample includes 407 children in grade 3–6. Predictors have assessed the
areas of temperament, personality, self-concept, control position, and interpersonal relationships.
The results provide strong early evidence for the validity and potential utility of a dual-factor
system.
Gross et al. (2002), investigated the relationship between Well-Being and social aspect of
internet use of 130 school students in California. It was also found that the closeness of instant
message communication partners was associated with daily socil anxiety and loneliness in
school.
Joseph (2005) suggested that equally divided performance will reflect satisfaction across life
spheres. The destructive effect of entertainment satisfaction on the relationship between life
satisfaction and the GPA provided unexpected support for an integrated view of life, and also
only. It turns out that the relationship between domain attitudes, holistic attitudes and long-term
performance may be more complex than he suggests.
Shah and Marks (2004) found that older women are more likely to show signs of reduced
mental well-being than men; older people who are unemployed have double the odds of reduced
mental well-being and people in rural areas have slightly lower odds of having reduced mental
well-being than those in urban areas.
Julian (2004) provided evidence of the fragmentation of the internal and interpersonal
dimensions of happiness as well as the fundamental and measurable contribution of each aspect
of each aspect to the structure of happiness.
Kaur (2007) studied Well-Being and stress among Secondary School students. The results had
showed that the Secondary School students perusing their studies in professional, arts and
science disciplines did not differ significantly in their Well-Being. the Secondary School
students had above average level of happiness a positive indicator of Well-Being, and had
experienced lesser levels of negative stress the science student had higher level of positive stress
from arts and professional students.
Gill (2007) investigated psychological Well-Being among School students of Haryana in relation
to their copying behavior and the results had shown that college students had above average level
of Well-Being and average level of copying behavior. The female students in science stream had
shown significant better level of Well-Being than male students in science stream. There were no
significant differences between male and female School student's Well-Being. There were no
significant difference between arts and science School student's Well-Being.
Zang et al. (2007), examined the relationship between idiocentrism, allocentrism, psychological
Well-Being, Self-Esteem, depression, and social support the suicidal ideation among 283
American College students and 343 Chinese College students. Idiocentrism was correlated with
high Self-Esteem high depression and low social support, but the relationships were more likely
to be significant for women than for men in both cultures. Allocentrism was primarily related to
social support. As predicted, high levels of suicidal ideation were correlated with more,
idiocentrism but only for women. Allocentrism was related to lower levels of suicidal ideation in
both cultures, but the relationship was small.
David et al. (2008), investigated the association of psychological Well-Being and levels of
cognitive function in a sample of 11,234 Won-Institutionalized adults. The results revealed that a
higher Level of Psychological Well-Being were associated with better cognitive function.
Jadhav and Havalappanavar (2009), investigated the effect of yoga intervention on state and
trait anxiety and subjective Well-Being. 50, Ist year students were selected from naturopath and
yogic science, course from Ujire and Moodbidre of Karnataka. Spielberger’s state trait anxiety
inventory and Nagpal and Sell’s subjective Well-Being inventory were administered in the
beginning of the academic year and second time after a gap of 1 year. Results revealed a
significant decrease in both state and trait anxiety levels and positive change in the subjective
Well-Being of the students.
Prentsa (2009), explored the relationship between adolescent’s perception of their physical
qualities and their psychological Well-Being and unwillness. It was seen that, taking into account
physical self identity, male adolescents have higher psychological Well-Being than female
adolescents.
Ren (2009), explored Well-Being among regional college students from Shandong Province.
The result revealed that there were significant differences in regional college student’s subjective
Well-Being in relation to location and gender while there was no obvious difference in arts or
science students. Urban student had slightly higher Well-Being then rural ones and female
students had higher Well-Being then that of male students.
Singh (2009), investigated the effect of type of family and gender on self-efficacy and Well-
Being of adolescents. 100 adolescents from joint and nuclear families were participated. Result
revealed a significant effect of type of family and gender owns self-efficiency. It was found that
neither family type nor gender had significant effect on the measure of Well-Being.
Kalia and Sahoo (2010) examined empirically the effect of gender, birth order and academic
achievement on general Well-Being of post graduate students. Samples of 391 post graduate
students were selected randomly from M.D. University of Rohtak. The findings indicated that the
main effect of birth order and achievement on general Well-Being is significant; later born
students are higher on general Well-Being than first born students; high achieving students are
higher on general Well-Being than low achieving students; interaction between gender and birth
order, gender and academic achievement and birth order and academic achievement did not
affect general Well-Being; and interaction among gender, birth order and academic achievement
of the students did not affect general Well-Being.
Salami (2010) examined how emotional intelligence, self-efficacy and psychological Well-
Being contributed to students behaviors and attitudes. 242 students from a college of education,
in Kwara State, Nigeria responded to a set of questionnaires consisting of measures of emotional
intelligence, self-efficacy, psychological Well-Being and students behaviors and attitudes.
Hierarchical regression analyses conducted for each dependent variable showed that emotional
intelligence, self-efficacy, psychological Well-Being and students behaviors and attitudes.
Hierarchical regression analyses conducted for each dependent variable showed that emotional
intelligence, self-efficacy, happiness and life satisfaction over and above depression predicted
students behaviors and attitudes. This research indicated the need to emphasize positive
psychology in improving the positive elements in students proactively rather retroactively trying
to solve problems that emerge in order to improve the quality of higher education.
Trainor et al. (2010) examined the validity of the reported link between Well-Being and leisure
participation of 947 adolescents from 19 schools in Adelaide of South Australia. Results indicate
that personality variable were better predictors of Well-Being of adolescents than spare time use.
It was also found that engagement in less structured leisure activities was associated with poorer
psychological Well-Being and substance use.
Khumalo et al. (2012), explored the association of socio-demographic variables in and African
context using two models, namely the general psychological Well-Being model and mental
health continuum model. A sample of 459 male and female Setswana-speaking adults from rural
and urban areas in the North-West Province of South Africa was participated. Findings indicated
that socio-demographic variables play a role in determining holistic psychological Well-Being in
a South African Setswana-speaking community. Urban living, employment, education and being
married were associated with higher psychological Well-Being. Rural or Urban environmental
setting accounted for the greatest variance in psychological Well-Being measures. Age and
gender were not significantly associated with Well-Being.
Tisdale and Marcie (2012) examined the relationship between middle school aged children
perceptions of their social environment with self-reports of well-Being. Data were collected
during, in person interviews with adolescents in dual-earner and single working parent families.
Findings suggested that child gender, perceptions of the school environment and parents coming
home from work in a good mood significantly predict the variability in adolescent, self-reports of
Well-Being. The school environment was found to have the strongest predictive power over
variations in adolescent's well-Being.
Malik, Nordin and Sirun (2013) reported that the majority of final year students of the Faculty
of Education had moderate life satisfaction levels. Hence, the finding may suggest that the
attainment of high life satisfaction may be a reflection of good mental health and well-being.
Happier undergrads are more likely to create better jobs, have good interpersonal relationships
with others, and have healthier mental states and tolerance to stress and more challenging
situations.
Mehmet (2013) The purpose of this research is to examine the relationship between Internet
addiction and psychological well-being. Participants were 479 university students who
completed a questionnaire package that included the Online Cognition Scale and the Scales of
Psychological Well-Being. The relationships between Internet addiction and psychological well-
being were examined using correlation and multiple regression analysis. According to results,
psychological well-being was predicted negatively by diminished impulse control,
loneliness/depression, social comfort, and distraction. Students with higher levels of Internet
addiction are more likely to be low in psychological well-being. The results indicated that
psychological well-being was affected by Internet addiction negatively; and provided a better
understanding on the relationship between psychological well-being and Internet addiction.

Trevor (2015) conducted a study on well-being enhancing elements in the workplace and school
contexts. A representative sample of 163 undergraduate university students in an Australian
university completed an online survey measuring the key constructs. Environmental influences
assessed included financial resources, physical security, opportunity to use new skills, externally
generated goals, variety, environmental clarity, interpersonal contact, and valued social position.
The results concluded that university contributes significantly to undergraduate students’ well-
being by providing a valued social role, externally generated goals, and variety. Students’
perception of their physical security was also an important influence on their well-being. These
results are consistent with the literature on well-being and employment. The implications of
these findings for enhancing undergraduate university students’ well-being are discussed.

Remi (2017) conducted a project on Well being and Hygiene at a government school and found
out that private schools had money to provide clean and Hygiene toilets to their students and
staff but the government schools found it difficult to raise funds and provide access to clean
Toilets to their students. Government doing its part to provide clean toilets in Government
schools, but maintenance and sustenance becomes an issue. The foundation in project taken
reported that Government schools had poor basic facilities which were directly related to health
and hygiene of students which leads to poor well being of students.

Hernández-Torrano et al., (2020) mapped the literature on mental health and well-being of
university students using metadata extracted from 5,561 journal articles indexed in the Web of
Science database for the period 1975–2020. More specifically, this study uses bibliometric
procedures to describe and visually represent the available literature on mental health and well-
being in university students in terms of the growth trajectory, productivity, social structure,
intellectual structure, and conceptual structure of the field over 45 years. Key findings of the
study are that research on mental health and well-being in university students: (a) has
experienced a steady growth over the last decades, especially since 2010; (b) is disseminated in a
wide range of journals, mainly in the fields of psychology, psychiatry, and education research;
(c) is published by scholars with diverse geographical background, although more than half of
the publications are produced in the United States; (d) lies on a fragmented research community
composed by multiple research groups with little interactions between them; (e) is relatively
interdisciplinary and emerges from the convergence of research conducted in the behavioral and
biomedical sciences; (f) tends to emphasize pathogenic approaches to mental health (i.e., mental
illness); and (g) has mainly addressed seven research topics over the last 45 years: positive
mental health, mental disorders, substance abuse, counseling, stigma, stress, and mental health
measurement.

2.4 Emergence of the Problem

Environmental Educators agree that respect for the environment, the teaching of values as related
to the environment and encouraging Responsible Environmental Behaviour should be the
integral parts of any Environmental Education curriculum. Actually involving students in their
communities and in solving local environmental problems encourages them to become more
active at global level. Knowledge alone cannot influence the protection of environment. Action
is intimately related to how people value their knowledge and how much they feel they can
control surroundings, and what happens within those surroundings (Hines, Hungerford &
Tomera, 1987). A thorough investigation of previous researches in this area revealed that if
elements of environmental education embeded in other subjects like science or social science,
they do not change environmental attitude and they do not increase environmental
awareness(Yount and Horton, 1992, Brown, 1996 and Chapman & Sharma, 2006) but when
environment education course is taken separately, it increases the environmental awareness and
also help in increasing attitude and decision defensibility (McClure and Bell, 1990). Reviews
related to different Environmental education programmes including activity oriented instruction
in Environmental education helps in forming concepts concerning environmental subjects
(Bryant and Hungerford, 1979), conservation programs which develop positive attitude towards
environment (Ryan 1991), many active learning strategies like problem solving, cooperative
students projects, role playing etc which cultivates critical thinking (Meyers, Chet & Jones,
1993). Studies related to Active Learning Programme shows that action training (HAT)
providing training directed at environmental issue analysis, investigation and resolution
promoted Responsible Environmental Behaviour. (Ramsey & Hungerford, 1989) and active
participant involvement in Active Learning Programme was also determined to be positively
related to improving environmental behavior (Zelezny,1999). However researcher like Simpson
(1985) found that change in environmental attitude and behaviour following a short-term outdoor
education experience, is inconclusive. He cited a study by Crompton and Seller (1981) which
reported the contradictory findings concerning 5-day residential outdoor education programs.
Because of contradictory findings researcher felt the need to explore further. Moreover most of
these studies related to environmental behaviour of school students have been
conducted in foreign settings and in India these are mostly conducted on environmental attitude,
pro-environmental behaviour, environmental awareness and sensitivity (Chapman and Sharma,
2006, Harjai, 2007) and on the people owing private firms like steel and paper producing firms to
understand the different measures adopted by them for behaving responsibly towards the
environment (Sarkar, 2006, Abraham, 2008).
A perusal of above research studies indicates that formal environmental education: emphasizing
action training did promote students' responsible environmental behavior (Ramsey et al, 1981;
Ramsey and Hungerford, 1989; Ramsey, 1993); achieved at least 0.05 significance levels for
overt environmental behaviour, individual locus of control, group locus of control,
environmental action knowledge (Latha (2007), perceived knowledge of environmental action
skills, perceived skills in the use of environmental action skills and environmental sensitivity for
four classes of eighth grade students which received 18 weeks of the experiential instructions
(Ramsey, 1993); Altruism and environmentalism appeared to be the internal variables that
independently influenced pro-environmental behavior (Corraliza, 2000);significant
improvements on environmentally responsible behaviour scores from pre-test to post-test of
elementary level students exposed to different interventions i.e. computer mediated and activity
based interventions (Adya (2016).
From the above Literature, we can conclude that various studies have been conducted in the field
of Environmental Education and Environmental Behaviour. But the studies showing the impact
of Environmental Education Programme on Responsible Environmental Behaviour and Well
Being are very less. . So, based on the review of available related literature and on the research
questions, the investigator made a humble effort to study the Impact of Environmental Education
Programme on Responsible Environmental Behavior and Well Being of Adolescents.