Environmental Attitudes of Local Government Scholars in Tiaong, Quezon, Philippines
Abstract
This study aimed to analyze the environmental attitudes of local government scholars in Tiaong, Quezon, Philippines. The quantitative research design was used to determine the level of environmental attitudes using the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) Scale. It was also utilized to examine the relationship between environmental attitudes and independent variables which include demographic characteristics such as age, gender, and economic status, academic background such as student classification, scholastic standing, scholarship privileges, and membership in student and/or youth organizations, and experience with ecological extremes. A total of 301 respondents participated in an online survey administered through Google Forms®. The respondents generally demonstrated a strong disposition towards positive environmental attitudes, as indicated by an aggregate NEP score of 49.54. Notably, the study revealed significant associations between environmental attitudes and distinct factors, including economic status (p = 0.014), student classification (p = 0.006), scholastic standing (p = 0.000), and membership in student and/or youth organizations (p = 0.005). Consequently, the null hypothesis postulating an absence of significant relationships between environmental attitudes and the independent variables was refuted. As a pioneer study on environmental attitudes in Tiaong, Quezon, Philippines, this research provided partial baseline data on the environmental attitudes of its local government scholars. It is imperative that a more comprehensive research study on environmental attitudes be conducted to include non-scholars and tertiary students from private schools across.
