Environmental sustainability practices among preschool teachers

Environmental education is not just a science that needs to be taught but is a complete lifestyle. Although there have been prosecutions and technological innovations to solve the environmental problems, but the results are less effective as the problems is rooted in human attitude and behavior. This case study aimed at assessing the environmental sustainability practices among the preschool teachers of the Ministry of Education in Kanowit district, Sarawak. The two main objectives of the study were to identify the level of environmental sustainability practices of preschool teachers and also to compare the environmental sustainability practices of preschool teachers at home and at work. The research respondents involved all preschool teachers of the Ministry of Education in Kanowit, which were 40 preschool teachers. The data were collected using a questionnaire and analyzed based on the percentage of frequency the sustainability practices for the 5 categories of environmental sustainability practices namely 3R (reduce, reuse, recycle) practices, environmental friendly products practices, energy consumption practices, water saving practices and transportation facilities practices. The finding showed that the frequency of environmental sustainability practices of preschool teachers is low and at the unsatisfactory level. In addition, there were only slight percentage differences between the environmental sustainability practices of preschool teachers at home and at school. Therefore, the preservation of the environment through education requires more emphasis on consistent and continuous practice. Efforts that start as early as preschool are one of the best investments that can shape a sustainable society in the future.