1. An Assessment of Environmental Literacy among Undergraduate Students
at Two National Universities in Hubei Province, China
by
Yan Zhu
Bachelor of Engineering
Environmental Engineering
Beijing Technology and Business University
2006
Master of Science
Environmental Management
Xiamen University & University of San Francisco
2009
A dissertation submitted to
Florida Institute of Technology
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
in
Science Education
Melbourne, Florida
December, 2015

2. ABSTRACT
TITLE: An Assessment of Environmental Literacy among Undergraduate Students at
Two National Universities in Hubei Province, China
AUTHOR: Yan Zhu
MAJOR ADVISOR: Thomas J. Marcinkowski, Ph. D.
In China, there have been several national environmental surveys and studies
of environmental literacy (EL) variables, but no broader assessment of EL in any
population. This study investigated the status of EL among undergraduate students at
two national universities in Hubei Province, China. Based on reviews of
environmental education literature, as well as frameworks for and assessments of EL,
eight variables were selected for this investigation: environmental worldview (NEP),
environmental sensitivity (ES), willingness to act (WILL), perceived skills in
investigating and evaluating problems and issues (PSPI), perceived skills in using
citizen participation strategies (CPS), perceived knowledge of ecology and earth
system science (PKEE), perceived knowledge of environmental science (PKES), and
environmentally responsible behavior (ERB).
The researcher developed and validated the Undergraduate Students
Environmental Literacy Instrument (USELI) based on Dunlap et al.’s (2000) NEP
scale, results of pilot studies, reliability and factor analyses, and a validity panel
review. The USELI was administered as a pencil-and-paper survey to undergraduate
students majoring in science and non-science fields at these two universities

3. (N = 577). After data preparation and preliminary analyses, descriptive statistics were
calculated for Research Question 1 (N = 464). For Research Questions 2−4,
hierarchical regression was used to determine the effects of Set A (Affective
Dispositions), Set B (Perceived Skills), and Set C (Perceived Knowledge) on ERB
(N = 406).
For the total sample, students’ average scores were: WILL (80%), NEP (77%),
PKEE (67%), PKES (66%), ES (63%), PSPI (51%), ERB (46%), and CPS (45%).
After transforming scale scores into component scores, average component scores
were: affective dispositions (71%), perceived knowledge (67%), perceived skills
(48%), and ERB (46%). For the hierarchical regression analysis, the overall model
containing Sets A, B, and C accounted for 50.8% of the variance in students’ ERB
scores. Null hypotheses regarding the influence of Set A, Set B, and Set C on
students’ ERB scores were rejected. This study contributes a valid and reliable
instrument for use in future studies of this kind. Findings from this study also add to
the research base for developing an EL framework that reflects political,
socio-economic, and ecological conditions in China.