Environmental Consciousness and Pro-Environmental Behavior on Waste Management of Secondary School Students

Abstract

The young generation is considered as one important group that is driving societies to more sustainable development. This study focuses on personal attributes—environmental consciousness and pro-environmental behavior—in the context of youth. The purposes of this study are (a) to analyze the levels of environmental consciousness and pro-environmental behaviors on waste management of secondary school students and (b) to analyze the components of environmental consciousness attributed to Thai youth. This study employed a cross-sectional survey design. The research sample was 414 secondary school students. Overall, the results showed that the overall environmental consciousness of secondary school students is at a high level, whereas the overall pro-environmental behavior on waste management of secondary school students is at a moderate level. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the components of students’ environmental consciousness attributes comprise are personal responsibility, attitude towards the environment, environmental awareness in daily life, and environmental information. Besides, the results confirmed that environmental awareness in daily life is the most important attribute of environmental consciousness in the context of Thai youth.