The effect of an environment-based educational program on adolescents' pro-environmental behaviors and ecological footprint awareness: a quasi-experimental study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the effect of an Environment-Based Education Program applied to adolescents on their pro-environmental behavior and ecological footprint awareness. METHODS: This research, conducted in a quasi-experimental design with a pre-test-post-test control group in non-randomized samples, was carried out with 10th-grade students attending a vocational high school in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. The study included 52 students in the intervention group and 52 students in the control group. The Environment-Based Education Program, consisting of three weeks and three sessions, was applied to the students in the intervention group. Data were collected using a Personal Information Form, the Pro-Environmental Behavior Scale, and the Ecological Footprint Awareness Scale. Chi-square, dependent samples t-test, and independent samples t-test were used in the analysis of the data. RESULTS: After the applied Environment-Based Education Program, it was found that the mean total scores on the Pro-Environmental Behavior Scale of the intervention group increased in the post-test compared to the pre-test, and the difference was statistically significant (p<0.001). No significant difference was found between the intervention and control groups in ecological footprint awareness scores (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: The Environment-Based Education Program applied to adolescents was found to increase their pro-environmental behaviors. In light of these results, environmental education programs should be organized periodically for adolescents, and school visits should be planned by public health nurses.