Do environmental attitudes change in secondary education? A diagnostic study with Secondary students from Murcia

Environmental education should raise environmental awareness, create favorable attitudes towards the preservation of the environment and sustainable development, and contribute to create responsible individuals with an independent judgement through scientific literacy. In this article the environmental attitudes of 690 students from Murcia in their fourth year of Secondary Education have been analyzed using ROSE project questionnaire. In addition, the connection between other variables such as gender and parents' both educational level and professional category has been considered. The results show a moderately positive attitude in general, although they revealed gender differences in favor of girls. We can also observe some favorable tendencies -less meaningful ones-when the parents have a higher educational level as well as when their profession is linked to the scientific technical area. Finally, it is suggested to use the most positive environmental attitudes as a tool to improve attitudes towards science and in general, towards scientific education.