Personal Variables and Attitude of Teachers Towards Solid Waste Mangement in Calabar Education Zone in Cross River State, Nigeria.

Abstract

This study was designed to establish the influence of personal variables on attitude of teachers towards solid waste management in Calabar Education Zone of Cross River Sate, Nigeria. To achieve this, two null hypotheses were posed and tested at 0.05 level of significance. Ex-post facto research design was adopted. The population consisted of all the teachers in all the public secondary schools in Calabar Education Zone of Cross River State. The simple random and proportional simple random sampling techniques were used to select four LGAs, 19 public secondary schools and 397 teachers in the area of study. ‘Attitude Towards Solid Waste Management Questionnaire’ (ATSWMQ) was used. It was divided into Part A (Teachers’ personal variables) and Part B (Attitude towards solid waste management) with 24 items. The instrument first validated by three experts from Environmental Education and Educational Measurement and Evaluation Departments of the University of Calabar was also field tested. The Cronbach Alpha Reliability Test on part B showed a coefficient estimate of 0.82 indicating a very high reliability index. Obtained field data were analyzed using independent t-test and One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The results (t= -3.528; ϸ= 0.000); F=11.926; ϸ=0.000) revealed, significant gender difference and that educational level significantly influenced their attitude towards solid waste management. Based on the result it was recommended, among others that, students of Environmental Education as prospective teachers should build positive attitude towards solid waste management.