Environmental Education in Secondary Schools: Developing Awareness and Sustainable Behaviour Among Students

Abstract

Environmental education (EE) is widely promoted as a mechanism for translating ecological knowledge into durable pro-environmental behaviour, yet empirical evidence from South Asian secondary schooling systems remains thin. This study evaluates whether structured EE delivery in Bangladeshi secondary schools improves environmental awareness and, more critically, whether that awareness converts into measurable sustainable behaviour. A quasi-experimental, pre–post design with a non-equivalent comparison group was implemented across 48 secondary schools in all eight administrative divisions of Bangladesh (N = 1,820 students in grades 6–10; 96 teachers). Data were collected through a validated 46-item instrument capturing knowledge, attitude, self-reported behaviour and participation, supplemented by classroom observation, school waste audits and 16 focus-group discussions. Difference-in-differences and ordinary least squares models with school-level clustered standard errors were used for estimation. Results show a mean awareness gain of 22.6 percentage points in EE-intensive schools versus 5.1 points in comparison schools (DiD = 17.5 pp, p < 0.001), and a behaviour-score differential of 25.8 points between the full-package arm and control (68.9 vs. 43.1). Weekly EE contact hours were the strongest predictor of sustainable behaviour (β = 0.42, 95% CI 0.34–0.50), followed by eco-club membership (β = 0.31) and teacher EE certification (β = 0.27). Knowledge alone explained substantially less behavioural variance than knowledge combined with experiential field activity, confirming that the knowledge–action gap in this setting is closed by participation rather than by information. The study concludes that mandating a minimum of three weekly EE contact hours, financing at least one field-based activity per term, and certifying teachers in EE pedagogy are the highest-return policy levers for Bangladesh's secondary system.