THE ANTONINUS JOURNAL

Abstract

The Philippines, one of the most highly vulnerable areas to climate change impacts, necessitates a thorough understanding of the student’s awareness, knowledge, and perception. This understanding is crucial for adaptation and the formulation of mitigation plans in the community, and it should commence at a young age. Therefore, this paper primarily focuses on measuring the level of awareness, knowledge, and perception of high school and undergraduate students towards climate change in the Philippines through online surveys. The surveys were conducted using a structured questionnaire that included both closed-ended and open-ended questions. The study revealed that undergraduate (99%) students from rural and urban areas were more knowledgeable about Climate Change, wherein they mainly described climate change as a change in weather patterns (56%). It is encouraging to note that students actively sought information about climate change through numerous sources such as school (89%), television or radio (47%), social media (57%), and peers (31%). The study further revealed that the students’ knowledge of climate change was influenced by location, school type, and education level. In contrast, for the awareness and perception, only the kind of school was found to have a significant influence. Hence, the active engagement of students in learning about climate change is a beacon of hope, and raising climate change awareness at a young age, starting from school, is crucial in this process.