The Role of Environmental Education in Increasing the Awareness of Primary School Students and Reducing Environmental Risks

Introduction: Primary schools are children's first social environments. Other people's attitudes towards environmental hazards play a key role in developing children's personality. This study aimed to identify and assess the environmental risks (such as emission of pollutants into the air, discharge of pollutants into water and soil, energy consumption, etc.) in Shohadaye Kork female primary school in Kashan, Iran, and also to investigate the role of environmental education in the promotion of students' environmental knowledge. Materials and Methods: In this quasi-experimental study, at first, environmental hazards were identified by a checklist through field visits and observing students' activities, and then they were assessed through Preliminary Hazard Analysis (PHA) method. After that, the Risk Assessment Code 1 (RAC1) was calculated. By Considering the involved hazards, environmental education was presented and then RAC2 was calculated. Environmental awareness of 172 students was investigated by a questionnaire. SPSS V 19 was used for statistical analysis. Results: 26 environmental hazards were identified, including 22 acceptable and 4 unacceptable (critical) hazards; 21 of them could be directly resolved by proper education. The mean scores of students' environmental tests were 5 and 18.21, respectively before and after the education. After taking control of measures all hazards were placed within the acceptable range. Conclusion: Schools environmental management plays an important role in preparing students for environmental education that the results of this study showed a significant relationship between education and promotion of students' environmental awareness.