The Influence of Interpretation, Commitment and Nature Conservation Knowledge on Pro-Conservation Behavior Among Malaysian Students

  • Authors

    • Muhamad Suhaimi Taat
    • Elver Fazley Charlie
    • Fiffy Hanisdah Saikim
    https://doi.org/10.14419/ijet.v7i4.38.27630

    Received date: February 20, 2019

    Accepted date: February 20, 2019

    Published date: December 3, 2018

  • Conservation, Interpretation, Commitment, Nature conservation knowledge, Pro-conservation behavior

  • Abstract

    Human behavior has caused negative impact on our environment. The exploration, exploitation and destruction of our planet occurred merely to satisfy the desires of human being. Thus, to sustain a better future particularly in terms of healthy lifestyles and maintain environmental sustainability, the human behavior towards conservation must be changed. Therefore, this quantitative research involved secondary students in order to identify and explore the level and influence of students’ interpretation, commitment, knowledge and pro-conservation behavior. The respondent consists of 500 students from selected urban secondary schools in Sabah, Malaysia. Questionnaire adapted from previous researches was the instrument used to collect the data. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. The results revealed that there was significance influence of student’s knowledge and commitment on pro-conservation behavior. The research findings revealed that the students’ interpretation, commitment, nature conservation knowledge and their behavior were important and needed more attention from various parties in order to develop their lifelong attitude towards environment and biodiversity conservation. Hence, the environmental organizations need to design and organize a lot of conservation programmes in schools in order to promote conservation and build positive impact on the students’ behavior towards environment and biodiversity conservation.

  • References

    1. Aini, M.S., Fakhru’l-Razi, A., Laily Hj. P., and Jariah, M. 2003. Environmental Concerns, Knowledge and Practices Gap among Malaysians Teachers. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education. Vol. 4(4): 305-313
    2. Aini, M.S., Nurizan, Y. and Fakhrul’l-Razi, A. 2007. Environmental Comprehension and Participation of Malaysian Secondary School Students. Environmental Education Research. Vol. 13(1): 17-31.
    3. Allen N and Meyer J. 1990.The Measurement and Antecedents of Affective, Continuance, and Normative Commitment to the Organ-ization. Journal of Occupational Psychology. Vol. 63: 1-18
    4. Aminrad, Z., Zakariya, S.Z.B.S., Hadi, A.S. and Sakari, M. 2013. Relationship between Awareness, Knowledge and Attitudes to-wards Environmental Education among Secondary School Students in Malaysia. World Applied Sciences Journal. Vol.22 (9): 1326-1333.
    5. Atiqul Haq, S. M., Vanwing, T. and Hens, L. 2010. Perception, En-vironmental Degradation and Family Size Preference: A Context of Developing Countries. Journal of Sustainable Development. 3 (4).
    6. Bun Lee. E. 2008. Environmental Attitude and Information Sources Among African American College Students. The Journal of Envi-ronmental Education. Vol. 40(1): 29-42.
    7. Chua Yan Piaw. 2011. Kaedah dan Statistik Penyelidikan: Kaedah Penyelidikan. Kuala Lumpur: McGraw-Hill.
    8. Davenport, T. and Prusak, L. 1998. Working Knowledge. Harvard Business School Press: Boston.
    9. Drucker, P. F. 1993. Post-Capitalist Society. Butterworth-Heinemann. Oxford.
    10. Ehrlich, P.R. and Kennedy, D. 2005. Millennium Assessment of Human Behavior. Science. Vol. 309(5734): 562-3.
    11. Emanuel. R and Adams. J.N. 2011. College Students’ Perceptions of Campus Sustainability. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education. Vol. 12(1): 79-92.
    12. Folke, C. 2003. Social-Ecological Resilience and Behavioral Re-sponses. In Biel, A., Hansoon, B. and Martenensson, M. (Eds), In-dividual and Structural Determinants of Environmental Practice. Vol 1: 226-42.
    13. Ghosh, K. 2014. Environmental Awareness among Secondary School Students of Golaghat District in the State of Assam and their Attitude towards Environmental Education. IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science. Vol. 19 (3): 30-34.
    14. Harun, R., Lim, K. H., and Othman, F. 2011. Environmental Knowledge and Attitude among Students in Sabah. World Applied Sciences Journal. Vol. 14: 83-87, 1818-4952.
    15. Haryono, A., Soemarno., Djati, M.S., and Setyoleksono, A. 2014. Learning Attitude and Awareness against Students in Cultured En-vironmental Success in Probolinggo. Journal of Environment and Earth Science. Vol.4, No.16: 2224-3216.
    16. Hsu, S. J., and Roth, R. E. 1988. An Assessment of Environmental Literacy and Analysis of Predictors of Responsible Environmental Behavior held by Secondary Teachers in the Hualien Area of Tai-wan. Environmental Education Research. Vol. 4(3): 229-248.
    17. Kant, S and Sharma, Y. 2013. The Environmental Awareness of Secondary School Students With Reference to Their Intelligence. BPR Technologia: A J. Sci. Tech. & Management. Vol. 2(1): 33-39.
    18. Kuhlemeier, H., van den Bergh, H., and Lagerweij, N. 1999. Envi-ronmental Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behavior in Dutch Second-ary Education. The Journal of Environmental Education. Vol.30 (2): 4-11.
    19. Mainieri, T., Barnett, E., Valdero, T., Unipan, J., and Oskamp, S. 1997. Green Buying: The Influence of Environmental Concern on Consumer Behavior. Journal of Social Psychology. Vol. 137: 189-204.
    20. Mohd. Majid Konting. 1990. Kaedah Penyelidikan Pendidikan. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.
    21. Monisha Nag. 2012. Pro-Environmental Behaviors In The Work-place: Is Concern For The Environment Enough? Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland: College Park.
    22. Negev, M., Sagy, G., Garb, Y., Salzberg, A., and Tal, A. 2008. Evaluating the Environmental Literacy of Israeli Elementary and High School Students. The Journal of Environmental Education. Vol. 2(39): 3-20.
    23. Nolan, James. 2005. Interpretation: Techniques and Exercises. Pro-fessional Interpreting in the Real World.
    24. Oguz, D., Cakcl, I. and Kavas, S. 2010. Environmental Awareness of University Students in Ankara, Turkey. African Journal of Agri-cultural Research. Vol. 5(19): 2629-2636.
    25. Rabiu Ali, A et al., (2015) Rabiu Ali, A., Toriman M. E., Gasim, M. A., and Juahir, H. 2015. The Effectiveness of Young Environmental Scientist Program among Secondary School Students in Terengganu, Malaysia. Journal of Humanities and Social Science. Vol. 20 (3): 72-77.
    26. Schultz P. W., and Kaiser F. G. 2012. Promoting Pro-Environmental Behavior. In Clayton S. (Ed.). Handbook of envi-ronmental and conservation psychology. New York: Oxford Uni-versity Press. 556-580.
    27. Sheridan, L., and Everitt, B. S. 2004. A Handbook of Statistical Analyses using SPSS. New York:Chapman & Hall.
    28. Sibbel, A. 2009. Pathways towards Sustainability through Higher Education. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Educa-tion. Vol.10 (1): 68-82.
    29. Skinner, B. F. 2014. Science and Human Behavior. The B. F. Skin-ner Foundation.
    30. Stern, P., Dietz, T., Abel, T., Guagnano, G., and Kalof, L. 1999. A Values-Belief-Norm Theory of Support for Social Movements: The Case of Environmentalism. Human Ecology Review. Vol. 6(2): 81-97.
    31. Stern, P. 2000. Towards A Coherent Theory of Environmentally Significant Behavior. Journal of Social Issues. Vol. 56(3): 407-424.
    32. Uitto, A., Juuti, K., Lavonen, J., Byman, R. and Meisalo, V. 2011. Secondary School Students' Interests, Attitudes and Values Con-cerning School Science Related to Environmental Issues in Finland. Environmental Education Research. Vol. 17(2): 167-186.
    33. Zuraidah, R., Nor Hashima, H., Wan Kalthom, Y. and Siti Aishah, M. 2012. Environmentally Conscious Behavior among Malaysian Consumers: An Empirical Analysis. Jurnal Pengurusan. Vol. 35(2012): 111 – 121.

  • Downloads

  • How to Cite

    Suhaimi Taat, M., Fazley Charlie, E., & Hanisdah Saikim, F. (2018). The Influence of Interpretation, Commitment and Nature Conservation Knowledge on Pro-Conservation Behavior Among Malaysian Students. International Journal of Engineering and Technology, 7(4.38), 1017-1021. https://doi.org/10.14419/ijet.v7i4.38.27630