An Assessment of Students? Perception towards Environmental Education and Its Practice: The Case of Combolcha, Hote, Adjibar and Masha Secondary Schools of South Wollo Zone, Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia

The main objective of this study was to assess perceptions of students towards environmental education and its practice in the selected secondary schools. Four schools were considered through purposive sampling. From the sample schools a total of 385 participants were selected through stratified and random sampling techniques. In this study, criterion-referenced test, likert-type scale and open- ended questionnaires, were developed to collect the relevant data from the students. Then the collected data were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively (using descriptive statistics like, percentage, frequency, mean and standard deviation and parametric statistics like, T-test and One-way ANOVA). Based on result students environmental knowledge test score showed that, the majority of the students performed below the standard set (70 %) by their teachers. However, when their achievement scores were analyzed in terms of gender statistically insignificant mean difference was obtained, t (383) = 0.54, p greater than0.05. On the contrary, the mean difference between grade nine and ten students were found significant, t (383) = 3.07, p 0.05 respectively. The ANOVA summary showed that, statistically significant mean difference in the schools as a whole, F (3, 383) =15.93, Pless than 0.05. Thus, based on the above result it can be concluded that, students did not have the right knowledge about their environment and also students did not show initiation in solving their local environmental problems practically. Based on these findings, some specific recommendations were made for implementation.