An evaluation of a high school environmental education program of the Tansui River in Taiwan.

Abstract

Like many other places on the Earth, most rivers in Taiwan are polluted. Education programs are needed to raise the public's concern about rivers and motivate them to take action. The Tansui River Education Program (TREP) was designed for secondary students in the Tansui River watershed of Taiwan and was modeled after the Rouge River Water Quality and Community Problem Solving Program in Michigan. The pilot TREP was conducted in two high schools to evaluate the program effects on awareness, knowledge, attitudes, and empowerment. In addition, students' interest and teachers' feelings about TREP were examined. The experimental design included control and experimental groups, pre- and post-tests and a questionnaire. A paired t-test and a one-way ANOVA with a 0.05 level of significance were used to analyze the data. Student and teacher evaluations were used to collect information about program feasibility. Due to a strict curriculum, the two day pilot program was conducted outside of class during weekends and holidays. The control group did not receive any instruction except answering the questionnaire. Major findings of the research were: (1) TREP significantly increased participants' awareness of the river they visited; (2) TREP significantly increased their knowledge of water quality; (3) TREP significantly increased their sense of empowerment for saving the river; (4) TREP significantly increased their intentions to take actions related to "advocacy" and "school environmental protection"; (5) TREP significantly increased their feelings of responsibility for the school environment in terms of planning and decision making; however, (6) TREP did not significantly change students' perceptions of general barriers to action taking. Students and teachers were very positive about the program, particularly the water monitoring activity. The teachers also appreciated the case study and action taking sections. In light of the research results, the author suggested the Ministry of Education in Taiwan should consider adding TREP to the national curriculum.