Environmental Literacy: Comparative Analysis of Public and Private Junior Secondary School Students in Southwest, Nigeria

This study compared the environmental literacy of private and public Junior Secondary School Students in Southwest, Nigeria. The descriptive research of the survey type was used in this study. The population consisted of all Junior Secondary School Class II students from private and public secondary schools in Southwest, Nigeria. The sample is made up of 2,191 students selected from 75 secondary schools in Southwest, Nigeria. The sample was selected through multistage sampling procedure. An instrument tagged “Students’ Environmental Literacy Test (SELT)” was used to collect relevant data for the study. The validity methods used were face, content, and construct validity. The reliability of the instrument was determined through test re-test reliability method and a reliability coefficient value of 0.831 was obtained which was considered statistically high to make the instrument reliable. The responses obtained were collated and analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings of the study revealed that that the environmental literacy of students differs based on their school type as school type influenced students’ environmental literacy. It was recommended among others that there should be an environmental club especially in public schools where students are mandated to join and participate in the activities of the club. This will go a long way to make the students environmentally aware of happenings around them and thereafter improve their environmental literacy.

Keywords: Environmental Literacy, Students, Private Schools, Public Schools,