University of California, Irvine
ER-13: Sustainability Literacy Assessment

Below please find questions 1-12, which are related to sustainability literacy, below:

I. ECOLITERACY

1. There are many different kinds of animals and plants and they live in many different types of environments. What is the word used to describe this idea?
a. Evolution
b. Biodiversity
c. Socio-economic
d. Multiplicity
e. Don't know

2. Carbon monoxide is a major contributor to air pollution in the US. Which of the following is the biggest source of carbon monoxide?
a. Factories and businesses
b. Motor vehicles
c. People breathing
d. Trees
e. Don't know

3. How is most of the electricity in the US generated?
a. With nuclear power
b. Through solar energy
c. By burning oil, coal and wood
d. At hydroelectric power plants
e. Don't know

4. What is the most common cause of pollution in streams, rivers and oceans?
a. Dumping of garbage by cities
b. Waste dumped by factories
c. Surface water running off yards, city streets, paved lots and farm fields
d. Trash washed into the ocean from beaches
e. I don't know.

5. Which of the following is a renewable resource?
a. Oil
b. Coal
c. Iron ore
d. Trees
e. I don't know.

6. Ozone forms a protective layer in the earth’s upper atmosphere. What does ozone protect us from?
a. Acid rain
b. Sudden changes in temperature
c. Harmful cancer-causing sunlight
d. Global warming
e. I don't know.

7. Where does most of the garbage in the US end up?
a. Landfill
b. Recycling centers
c. Oceans
d. Incinerators
e. I don't know.

8. What is the name of the primary federal agency that works to protect the environment?
a. National Environmental Agency (NEA)
b. Department of Health Environment and Safety (DHES)
c. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
d. Federal Pollution Control Agency (FPCA)
e. Don't know

9. Which of the following household waste items is considered hazardous waste?
a. Batteries
b. Glass
c. Plastic packaging
d. Spoiled food
e. I don't know.

10. What is the most common reason that an animal becomes extinct?
a. There are climate changes that affect them.
b. Their habitats are being destroyed by humans.
c. Pesticides are killing them.
d. There is too much hunting.
e. I don't know.

11. Scientists have not determined the best solution for disposing of nuclear waste. In the US, what do we do with it now?
a. Use it as nuclear fuel
b. Store and monitor the waste
c. Dump it in landfills
d. I don't know.

12. What is the primary benefit of wetlands?
a. Provide good sites for landfills
b. Help clean the water before it enters streams, rivers and oceans
c. Promotes flooding
d. Help keep the number of undesirable plants and animals low
e. I don't know.

The Sustainability Literacy Assessment is part of the Sustainability I course offered as the first in a series of two classes through the School of Social Ecology’s Planning, Policy, and Design Department. In Winter 2013, the assessment was developed and implemented by Teaching Assistant Sally Geislar, Prof. Richard Matthew, and Center for Unconventional Security Affairs (CUSA) researchers. The survey was designed to capture changes in ecoliteracy, attitudes, values and personal behaviors as a result of participating in the course lectures, projects, extra credit events and coursework.

The research team did the baseline evaluation and follow-up of the same cohort. It is expected that the data analysis will be completed by August 2013. The Center for Unconventional Security Affairs (CUSA) will lead the analysis, with student participation.

Survey questions were compiled and developed using a series of existing questions and scales in the Environmental Psychology field, environmental education and polling foundations, and environmental non-profit sources. The section on ecoliteracy is based on a 17-question survey developed by the National Environmental Education and Training Foundation and Roper Public Affairs intended to measure Americans’ knowledge, behavior and attitudes related to the environment. Questions on attitudes reflect an abbreviated version of the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) developed by Riley Dunlap and William R. Catton Jr. in the 1970s and used widely since then. To capture values related to environmental concern, we compiled an abridged version of scales developed by Paul C. Stern. Finally, to assess personal behaviors related to the environment, questions were collected from Florian Kaiser’s General Ecological Behavior scale as well as the sustainability behavior change program of a non-profit organization called Community Sustainability USA, Inc.
The surveys collected both quantitative and qualitative responses from students. The sections of the survey differ in the type of data they collect as well as the precedence for analysis. Analysis of the Ecoliteracy section will simply assess the improvement of accurate responses by students before and after the course. Some additional analysis may be conducted to determine if those who exhibited high environmental concern or pro-environmental attitudes in the baseline were more likely to improve or to be highly accurate in responses compared to those who did not exhibit such characteristics.
The Attitudes and Values sections are derived from existing scales and the analysis will reflect previous scholarship. Statistical analyses, including t-tests, difference scores and OLS Regression, will be used to assess the extent to which those who changed their personal behavior were more likely to exhibit baseline pro-environmental attitudes and values. Insofar as increased pro-environmental behavior and ecoliteracy occurs independent of baseline attitudes and values regarding the environment, there will be a greater causal case for participation in this course on behavior change and ecoliteracy . Qualitative analysis of open-ended questions regarding how students conceptualize sustainability will be conducted using inductive thematic coding schemes. There may be an opportunity for students in the second course in the series to participate in data analysis as part of a mentored course project.

Using a pre-test, post-test methodology, students completed the pre-test survey before exposure to the treatment; in this case, the Sustainability I course itself is considered the treatment or intervention. To assess change over time, the responses of students who completed the survey prior to the first class are matched and compared to their post-test survey responses. Unfortunately, we were not able to establish a control group against which comparisons with the treatment group could be assessed. The use of a control group that would complete the pre- and post-test surveys but receive no treatment or intervention would allow greater confidence in establishing the course as the cause of any changes present in the treatment group data.

Students enrolled in the Sustainability I Winter course were asked to complete the online survey before attending the first class. In this way, we were able to capture the baseline ecoliteracy, attitudes, values and personal behaviors prior to exposure to the course (or intervention). Credit was given for completion of the survey, regardless of response content. A total of 232 students completed the survey, with 205 actually completing the survey before the first class. Many of the 27 students who completed the survey late either joined the class late or have since dropped the course. These students will not be considered in the analysis of pre- and post-test survey results. Students will receive the post-survey on the final day of the 10-week course, and will have one week to complete the survey for credit. The post-test survey will reflect the questions in the pre-test to enable analysis of change over time.

The results will be available as of August 2013.

The ecoliteracy results will be published on the Center for Unconventional Security Affairs’s (CUSA) website http://www.cusa.uci.edu/ and the Environment Institute’s website: http://environment.uci.edu/