Climate change awareness (knowledge and perception): Comparative study between natural science and social science students

Authors

  • Yulia Fitri Harahap Environmental Science Study Program, Universitas Negeri Padang, Padang, Indonesia
  • Intan Lestari Mulyaning Tyas Natural Science Education Study Program, Universitas Negeri Padang, Padang, Indonesia
  • Ade Sazaliana Natural Science Education Study Program, Universitas Negeri Padang, Padang, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33503/ebio.v10i01.1385

Keywords:

Climate change awareness, knowledge, natural science students, perception, social science students

Abstract

Climate change represents a critical and pressing global challenge that demands immediate attention. To effectively mitigate the impacts of climate change, it is essential to implement comprehensive educational programs that raise awareness, foster understanding, and equip individuals and communities with the knowledge and skills necessary to combat its effects. Climate change has been integrated into the curriculum in Indonesia across natural science and social science subjects. It is important to analyze the differences between these two subjects on climate change knowledge and perception. This study aims to compare students' knowledge and perceptions of climate change in natural science and social science students due to a gap in subject content. Furthermore, this study also examines the extent to which the level of knowledge affects students' perceptions of climate change. A questionnaire as a survey method about students’ knowledge and perceptions of climate change and its impacts was given to 150 students of natural science and social science students in MAN 2 Padang Sidempuan. The results indicated there is no statistically significant difference between natural and social students in terms of climate change knowledge and perceptions (sig. > 0.05). These findings imply that the distribution of climate change knowledge and perceptions is relatively uniform across disciplinary backgrounds.

References

Apollo, A., & Mbah, M. F. (2021). Challenges and opportunities for climate change education (CCE) in East Africa: A critical review. Climate, 9(6), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.3390/cli9060093

Azeiteiro, U. M., Bacelar-Nicolau, P., Santos, P. T., Bacelar-Nicolau, L., & Morgado, F. (2018). Assessing high school student perceptions and comprehension of climate change. In Climate Change Management, 21-34. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70479-1_2

Busch, K. C., Henderson, J. A., & Stevenson, K. T. (2019). Broadening epistemologies and methodologies in climate change education research. Environmental Education Research, 25(6), 955–971. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2018.1514588

Cornejo, G. A., Lamiño, P., & Trejos, B. (2024). Climate change: Relationship between knowledge and perception in students of an agricultural-based university in Ecuador. Sustainability, 16(13), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16135548

Diem, H. T. T., Tuori, R., & Thinh, M. P. (2025). Cross-cultural insights into youth perceptions of climate change: A comparative study between the US and Vietnam. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057925.2025.2452504

Emerson, R. W. (2023). Mann-Whitney U test and t-test. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 117(1), 99-100. https://doi.org/10.1177/0145482X221150592

European Commission. (2023). INFORM Risk Index. Disaster Risk Management Knowledge Centre (DRMKC). https://drmkc.jrc.ec.europa.eu/inform-index/INFORM-Risk

Favier, T., Van Gorp, B., Cyvin, J. B., & Cyvin, J. (2021). Learning to teach climate change: Students in teacher training and their progression in pedagogical content knowledge. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 45(4), 594–620. https://doi.org/10.1080/03098265.2021.1900080

Han, H., & Ahn, S. W. (2020). Youth mobilization to stop global climate change: Narratives and impact. Sustainability, 12(10), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12104127

Harker-Schuch, I., & Bugge-Henriksen, C. (2013). Opinions and knowledge about climate change science in high school students. AMBIO, 42(6), 755–766. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-013-0388-4

Hassan, M. M., Maruf, M. F. I., Nohor, N., & Boitchi, A. B. (2025). Factors determining Bangladeshi university students’ perception, knowledge and attitude about climate change: A cross‐sectional study. Health Science Reports, 8(7), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1002/hsr2.70722

Jaramillo, P. L., Forno, C. M., Trejos, B., Tábora Sarmiento, S., & Boren-Alpízar, A. (2023). Environmental perception: A comparison between Southwestern U.S. and Honduras agricultural-related college students. NACTA Journal, 67(1), 271-280. https://doi.org/10.56103/nactaj.v67i1.121

Liu, F., & Masago, Y. (2025). Assessing the geographical diversity of climate change risks in Japan by overlaying climatic impacts with exposure and vulnerability indicators. Science of the Total Environment, 959, 178076, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.178076

McKnight, P. E., & Najab, J. (2010). Mann‐Whitney U Test. The Corsini encyclopedia of psychology, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470479216.corpsy0524

National Centers for Environmental Information (NOAA). (2025). Monthly global climate report for annual 2024. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/monthly-report/global/202413

Ofori, B. Y., Ameade, E. P. K., Ohemeng, F., Musah, Y., Quartey, J. K., & Owusu, E. H. (2023). Climate change knowledge, attitude and perception of undergraduate students in Ghana. PLOS Climate, 2(6), 1-27. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pclm.0000215

Pahl, S., Sheppard, S., Boomsma, C., & Groves, C. (2014). Perceptions of time in relation to climate change. WIREs Climate Change, 5, 375–388. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.272

Prasad, R. R., & Mkumbachi, R. L. (2021). University students’ perceptions of climate change: The case study of the University of the South Pacific–Fiji Islands. International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management, 13(4–5), 416–434. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCCSM-12-2020-0126

Santoso, A. (2023). Rumus Slovin: Masalah ukuran sampel?. Sukma: Jurnal Psikologi Universitas Sanata Dharma, 4(2), 24–43. https://doi.org/10.24071/suksma.v4i2.6434

Sharma, A. (2012). Global climate change: What has science education got to do with it? Science and Education, 21(1), 33–53. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11191-011-9372-1

Shivanna, K. R. (2022). Climate change and its impact on biodiversity and human welfare. Proceedings of the Indian National Science Academy, 88(2), 160–171. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43538-022-00073-6

Silijander, R., Cederlöf, M., Skoglund, K., & Herronen, V. (2023). Annual climate report 2023. Ministry of Environment. https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-361-970-8

Sunstein, C. R., & Llewellyn, K. N. (2006). The availability heuristic, intuitive cost-benefit analysis, and climate change. Climatic Change, 77, 195–210. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-006-9073-y

Taddicken, M., Reif, A., & Hoppe, I. (2018). What do people know about climate change—and how confident are they? On measurements and analyses of science-related knowledge. Journal of Science Communication, 17(3), 1-26. https://doi.org/10.22323/2.17030201

Tapsuwan, S., & Rongrongmuang, W. (2015). Climate change perception of the dive tourism industry in Koh Tao Island, Thailand. Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism, 11, 58–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jort.2015.06.005

Tjernström, E., & Tietenberg, T. (2008). Do differences in attitudes explain differences in national climate change policies?. Ecological Economics, 65(2), 315–324. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2007.06.019

Tsaqib, H., N., Rizki, M., N., Ghodi, R., Maulana, M., R., Waluyo, S., A., & Fadlia N., S., Z. (2020). Studi komparatif tingkat pengetahuan perubahan iklim pada mahasiswa rumpun sosial-humaniora dan rumpun sains-teknologi di Universitas Indonesia. Jurnal KSM Eka Prasetya UI, 2(2), 1-16. https://ksm.ui.ac.id/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Studi-Komparatif-Tingkat-Pengetahuan-Perubahan-Iklim-pada-Mahasiswa-Rumpun-Sosial-Humaniora-dan-Rumpun-Sains-Teknologi-di-Universitas-Indonesia.pdf

Xiang, P., Zhang, H., Geng, L., Zhou, K., & Wu, Y. (2019). Individualist-collectivist differences in climate change inaction: The role of perceived intractability. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, Article 187. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00187

Downloads

Published

2025-07-22

How to Cite

[1]
Harahap, Y.F. et al. 2025. Climate change awareness (knowledge and perception): Comparative study between natural science and social science students. Edubiotik : Jurnal Pendidikan, Biologi dan Terapan. 10, 01 (Jul. 2025), 291–303. DOI:https://doi.org/10.33503/ebio.v10i01.1385.

Issue

Vol. 10 No. 01 (2025): Edubiotik : Jurnal Pendidikan, Biologi dan Terapan

Section

Articles

Citation Check

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Edubiotik : Jurnal Pendidikan, Biologi dan Terapan

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.