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Climate Change: Relationship between Knowledge and Perception in Students of an Agricultural-Based University in Ecuador

Author

Listed:
  • Gloria Anabel Cornejo

    (Department of Environmental Science and Development, Panamerican Agricultural School, Zamorano, Tegucigalpa 11101, Honduras)

  • Pablo Lamiño

    (Department of Agricultural Education and Communication, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32603, USA
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Bernardo Trejos

    (Department of Environmental Science and Development, Panamerican Agricultural School, Zamorano, Tegucigalpa 11101, Honduras
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

Abstract

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has confirmed that climate change is an unequivocal fact, presenting significant challenges due to its adverse impacts. Understanding climate change is crucial for agricultural students, as climate variability and extreme weather events directly affect agriculture. This study examined agronomy students’ perceptions and knowledge of climate change at a technical university in Cotopaxi, Ecuador. An online structured questionnaire was used to gather data on students’ perceptions and knowledge. The questionnaire had two sections, i.e., perception and knowledge. The perception section employed a Likert scale covering the following six components: skepticism, perceived benefit, economy, environmentalism, perceived risk, and negative effects. The knowledge section included true/false questions across four dimensions, i.e., causes, effects, concepts, and human relationships. The results indicated that most students had a medium level of perception (55.85%) and knowledge (54.25%) regarding climate change. A low but significant correlation was found between perception and knowledge (rs = 0.12, p = 0.02). Based on these findings, the researchers recommend incorporating specific climate change courses to better prepare students for sustainable agricultural development in a changing climate.

Suggested Citation

  • Gloria Anabel Cornejo & Pablo Lamiño & Bernardo Trejos, 2024. "Climate Change: Relationship between Knowledge and Perception in Students of an Agricultural-Based University in Ecuador," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-16, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:13:p:5548-:d:1424997
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Adam Corner & Olga Roberts & Sybille Chiari & Sonja Völler & Elisabeth S. Mayrhuber & Sylvia Mandl & Kate Monson, 2015. "How do young people engage with climate change? The role of knowledge, values, message framing, and trusted communicators," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 6(5), pages 523-534, September.
    2. Mónica Serrano, 2005. "Emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero y estructuras de consumo en España," Revista de Economia Critica, Universidad Pablo de Olavide y Asociacion de Economia Critica, vol. 4, pages 89-114.
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    4. Clark, William C. & Gleick, Peter H., 2010. "Climate Change and the Integrity of Science," Scholarly Articles 9795466, Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
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    Cited by:

    1. Sanaa Kaddoura & Rafiq Hijazi & Nadia Dahmani & Reem Nassar, 2025. "Stimulating Environmental and Health Protection Through Utilizing Statistical Methods for Climate Resilience and Policy Integration," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 22(3), pages 1-20, February.
    2. Deniz Karaelmas & Mükerrem Bahar Başkır & Kübra Tekdamar & Canan Cengiz & Bülent Cengiz, 2025. "University Students’ Perceptions on Climate Change Awareness and Sustainable Environments Through an Unsupervised Clustering Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(20), pages 1-22, October.

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