From awareness to action: How knowledge, responsibility, and environmental attitudes shape ecological behavior among elementary school students

Persistent environmental issues in Indonesia, such as waste accumulation and excessive energy consumption, highlight the need for early environmental education. The Adiwiyata School Program represents the government's initiative to integrate environmental learning into educational settings. This study examined the influence of environmental knowledge, awareness, responsibility, and attitudes on the ecological behavior of school-age children. Data were collected through self-administered questionnaires from 207 elementary school students using a cross-sectional design and cluster-random sampling technique. Descriptive analysis was conducted using SPSS, while structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed using SmartPLS. The findings revealed that environmental responsibility significantly and positively affected environmental attitudes (β = 0.442; t = 6.339). Furthermore, environmental knowledge (β = 0.208; t = 2.889), responsibility (β = 0.192; t = 2.380), and attitudes (β = 0.242; t = 2.910) significantly influenced ecological behavior. The results suggest that fostering environmental awareness, responsibility, and affection for nature can effectively enhance ecological behavior among school-age children.