Pupils’ environmental awareness and knowledge: A springboard for action in primary schools in Kenya’s Rift valley

Abstract

This study was carried out with 276 standard eight pupils in eleven primary schools in the rural town of Narok in Kenya’s Rift Valley. It evaluated their awareness of key environmental issues in their local area and their knowledge about the causes, effects and solutions pertaining to these environmental issues. A descriptive research design was used and data was collected using the Pupils’ Environmental Education Questionnaire (PEEQ). The study found that most pupils were aware of the key environmental issues in their local area and they also understood the causes of some of these environmental issues. The study further found that pupils had ideas about solutions to some of the environmental issues. This data was used as a springboard for exploring ways by which environmental education (EE) in primary schools might capitalise on pupil knowledge, and hence progress towards environmental action taking; and how this might occur through primary school pupils being nurtured into the role of informed decision-makers and action-takers. The study also recommends that EE should be taught both theoretically in class and practically in the environment, providing solutions to local environmental issues. Further, it suggests that primary school teachers’ in-service training should include interactive teaching pedagogies to enhancing active teaching and learning of EE. It recommends that Ministry of Education should develop and implement an EE policy which empowers schools (teachers and pupils) and surrounding communities to collaborate in taking action to conserve their immediate environments. Key words: Environmental issues, environmental awareness