A Study of the Perceptions of Environmental Issues of Urban and Rural High School Students

As an aid to environmental education curriculum development, urban and rural high shcool students' perceptions of four environmental issues were compared. Students employed for the study consisted of those in ninth and 10th grades selected from nine Kansas high schools. Four of the schools were in central city locales/ five were in rural communities. Environmental issues considered were air pollution, water pollution, waste disposal, and land use. Results indicated that regardless of the issue, geographic setting of the problem, or amount of educational background of the students, rural students were statistically more perceptive of environmental issues than urban students were. (3 references, 2 tables)