Environmental awareness of high school students in the City of Zagreb

Razvoj tehnologije, znanosti i gospodarstva značajno je unaprijedio kvalitetu života ljudi. No, to je za posljedicu imalo i povećanje jaza između čovjeka i prirode čiji se odnos sve češće karakterizira kao neracionalan. Antropološki čimbenik krivac je koji stoji iza klimatskih promjena i njihovih učinaka na zdravlje ljudi i okoliš. Sada kada je društvo na globalnoj razini počelo osjećati posljedice šteta koje su nanesene okolišu, došlo je do porasta zanimanja za zaštitu i očuvanje okoliša. Ekološka je svijest preduvjet za suočavanje i rješavanje ekoloških problema. Ona se sastoji od tri komponente: znanja, stavova i ponašanja. Sve tri komponente međusobno su isprepletene i utječu jedna na drugu. Ključnu ulogu u podizanju razine ekološke osviještenosti djece i mladih imaju upravo odgoj i obrazovanje. Orijentiranost i prožetost cjelokupnog rada škole ekološkim pitanjima potiče razvoj ekološke svijesti kod njezinih učenika. Upravo zato ovaj rad ima za cilj ispitati ekološku osviještenost učenika srednjih zagrebačkih škola, odnosno dobiti uvid u njihova znanja, stavove i navike glede zaštite i očuvanja okoliša. U istraživanju je primijenjena metoda online anketiranja, a uzorak ispitanika sastojao se od 529 učenika i učenica srednjih škola u Gradu Zagrebu. Analiza rezultata istraživanja pokazala je da učenici iskazuju proekološke stavove, no ima prostora za napredak kada je riječ o upoznatosti ispitanika s određenim pojmovima u području ekologije i zaštite okoliša. Također, nije utvrđena statistički značajna razlika u prakticiranju ekološki osviještenih navika ispitanika prema spolu i dobi, odnosno razredu.The development of technology, science and the economy has significantly improved the quality of people's lives. However, this has also resulted in an increase in the gap between man and nature, whose relationship is increasingly characterized as irrational. The anthropological factor is the culprit behind climate change and its effects on human health and the environment. Now that the society has begun to feel the consequences of the damage done to the environment on a global scale, there has been an increase in the interest in protecting and preserving the environment. Environmental awareness is a prerequisite for facing and solving environmental problems. It consists of three components: knowledge, attitudes and behaviors. All three components are intertwined and affect each other. Education plays a key role in raising the level of environmental awareness of children and young people. The orientation and permeation of the entire work of the school with environmental issues encourages the development of environmental awareness among its students. That is why this paper aims to examine the environmental awareness of high school students in Zagreb, and gain insight into their knowledge, attitudes and habits regarding the protection and preservation of the environment. The online survey method was used in the research, and the sample of respondents consisted of 529 high-school students in the City of Zagreb. The analysis of the research results showed that students express pro-environmental attitudes, but there is room for improvement when it comes to familiarizing respondents with certain concepts in the field of ecology and environmental protection. Also, no statistically significant difference was found in the practice of environmentally conscious habits of respondents according to gender and age, i.e. class