Abstract
Environmental literacy is a complex construct that is based on the principles of environmental education. It represents a range of environmental knowledge, attitudes, sensitivity and responsible environmental behaviour.
It represents a relatively broad multidimensional concept that can be essentially summarized into three core dimensions (cognitive, affective, conative). The presented research was focused on the identification and comprehensive analysis of environmental literacy of ISCED level 2 pupils in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Austria and Germany by means of the author's analytical tool.
The main contribution was the construction and verification of a sophisticated research tool for comprehensive testing of environmental literacy and its application in the Czech Republic and Central Europe. The tool is based on a range of established and published tools abroad, whose applicability in the Czech environment has been verified (the Middle School Environmental Literacy Survey and the 2 Major Environmental Values).
The verification was mainly focused on their validity, reliability and inter-correlations. The author's analytical tool was then verified and finalized.
The relationship between the dimensions of environmental literacy (cognitive, affective, conative), respectively between environmental knowledge, attitudes, and behaviour, was analyzed in the context of research. Their mutual correlations were investigated.
Furthermore, the significance of the relationship between dimensions of environmental literacy and the variables (school profiling, gender, school grade, leisure activities - outdoor activities, ICT, hobbies, sport) was examined. The purpose was to identify particularly significant determinants of pro-environmental attitudes and responsible environmental behaviour.
More than 2 000 respondents participated in the study in the Czech Republic, 1 000 in Slovakia, more than 300 in Poland, and only survey probes were in Germany and Austria. With a few exceptions, the results were the same in all countries.
Consistent with a number of studies, a moderately strong positive relationship was identified between environmental attitudes, sensitivity and responsible environmental behaviour, compared to a negligible relationship with knowledge. Analyses also showed that environmental literacy is significantly determined by gender, school grade and leisure activities, especially outdoor activities.
In general, girls achieved higher values, with knowledge increasing in parallel with grade, as opposed to decreasing attitudes and behaviour. Higher levels of environmental literacy were particularly evident among pupils who spend their leisure time in nature.
A major contribution of the research can be considered to be the creation of a compact realistic picture of environmental literacy of ISCED 2 pupils in the Czech Republic and selected Central European countries, set in the broader context of education, including demographic contexts.