Page 31 - ATENEO SERVED 2020 E-BOOK_Neat

Ateneo Science Educators and Researchers in Virtual
Engagement (SERVE) 2020 Ateneo de Manila University
School of Science and Engineering
MS Science Education Program of Biology Department

What Do Environmental Literacy, Environmental Locus of Control, and Future
Orientation of STEM Students Tell Us?

a*
b
Princes Raymunda G. Gatan , Dr. Rosanelia T. Yangco , and Dr. Sheryl Lyn C. Monterola b
a
b
University of the Philippines Institute for Science and Mathematics Education Development College of Education,
University of the Philippines * Corresponding author’s email: pggatan@up.edu.ph

ABSTRACT

Most environmental problems in the Philippines are anthropogenic, hence, it is of great importance that
STEM students, the decision makers and key-players of society someday, to bring about great moves toward
environmental conservation in the future. Thus, it would be helpful to gauge in advance not only the status
of their environmental literacy but also to find out whether they believe that their actions can create
environmental impacts, and if they are inclined to consider future consequences of their actions/decisions.
There were three instruments used to measure the environmental locus of control (ELOC), future
orientation (FO), and environmental literacy (EL) of STEM students (N=512). The ELOC revealed a mean of
6.22 for the Recycling Attitudes, the highest among four dimensions, followed by Green Consumer (M=5.95),
Activism (M=5.74), and Advocate (M=5.54). This means that most STEM students believed that through
recycling, they could improve or mitigate the worsening condition of the environment. Meanwhile, students’
inclination to FO showed that students considered more distant outcomes or consequences of their actions
(M=3.10) rather than focusing on meeting their immediate needs (M=2.41). The EL results showed a low rate
of 56.26%.
The interrelationships among the LOC, FO, and EL all yielded significant, weak correlational results. The
weak relationships between FO and EL, and LOC and FO, and a negative relationship between LOC and EL,
are deviations from most extant research. The STEM students’ mindset, economic considerations, and
personal benefit among others, might have contributed to these results.
The baseline data from this study compel curriculum material developers and writers to continuously exert
more effort in improving the STEM students’ EL even in the new normal setting. It is also hoped that more
studies would embark on this area to contribute to this pioneering attempt in deepening the analysis of
STEM students’ EL, ELOC, and FO.

Keywords: environmental education; environmental literacy; environmental locus of control; future orientation;
STEM students

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