Climate Change: Relationship between Knowledge and Perception in Students of an Agricultural-Based University in Ecuador

Gloria Anabel Cornejo, Pablo Lamiño () and Bernardo Trejos ()
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Gloria Anabel Cornejo: Department of Environmental Science and Development, Panamerican Agricultural School, Zamorano, Tegucigalpa 11101, Honduras
Pablo Lamiño: Department of Agricultural Education and Communication, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32603, USA
Bernardo Trejos: Department of Environmental Science and Development, Panamerican Agricultural School, Zamorano, Tegucigalpa 11101, Honduras

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 13, 1-16

Abstract: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has confirmed that climate change is an unequivocal fact, presenting significant challenges due to its adverse impacts. Understanding climate change is crucial for agricultural students, as climate variability and extreme weather events directly affect agriculture. This study examined agronomy students’ perceptions and knowledge of climate change at a technical university in Cotopaxi, Ecuador. An online structured questionnaire was used to gather data on students’ perceptions and knowledge. The questionnaire had two sections, i.e., perception and knowledge. The perception section employed a Likert scale covering the following six components: skepticism, perceived benefit, economy, environmentalism, perceived risk, and negative effects. The knowledge section included true/false questions across four dimensions, i.e., causes, effects, concepts, and human relationships. The results indicated that most students had a medium level of perception (55.85%) and knowledge (54.25%) regarding climate change. A low but significant correlation was found between perception and knowledge (rs = 0.12, p = 0.02). Based on these findings, the researchers recommend incorporating specific climate change courses to better prepare students for sustainable agricultural development in a changing climate.

Keywords: agricultural education; environmental education; climate crisis; resilience; college students (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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