Students' perceptions of global warming

Abstract

In view of the potential significance of global warming to society, education about this issue is important. However, little is known of the preconceptions and misconceptions of young adults in this area. In this study the ideas of a group of first year undergraduate students about the “Greenhouse Effect” have been studied by questionnaire. The results show that although some of the erroneous ideas detected in previous studies with secondary school pupils do not predominate in these undergraduates, other misconceptions do persist. One such misconception is that the use of lead‐free petrol will reduce global warming. Another set of misconceptions indicates that many students confuse the causes and consequences of global warming with those of ozone layer depletion. We suggest that these misconceptions are manifestations of a more general underlying failure to link specific environmental problems with their specific causes and consequences.

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