Environmental knowledge, attitudes and actions of Bavarian (southern Germany) and Asturian (northern Spain) adolescents

This empirical study investigates the environmental awareness of school children in Bavaria and Asturias. The analysis was based on a data-set (Bavaria, 900 students; Asturias, 182 students) that was collected in spring 2007. Students aged between 14 and 15 years responded to a paper-and-pencil questionnaire. The theoretical concept follows the premise that environmental awareness could be divided into three dimensions: environmental knowledge, attitudes and actions. The results show that there are cultural influences in the scales of knowledge, attitudes and actions. Also, different independent variables have a significant bearing on the Bavarian and Asturian students’ levels of environmental knowledge, readiness to act and personal environmental action.