Students' and Teachers' Knowledge, Attitudes and Perceptions Towards Bioenergy Resources

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the level of knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of students and science teachers towards bio-energy resources (BER) and other renewable energy sources (RES) in two randomly selected government secondary schools (Harar and Abadir Secondary Schools) in the Harari regions. The sample consisted of randomly selected grade ten students (N=302), science (Biology, Chemistry and Physics) teachers (N=35) and school leaders (principals and unit leaders) (N=8). The analysis of the data revealed that teachers were found to have a low level of knowledge about BER and geothermal energy, while students have low-level of knowledge about BER and other RES. It was also found out that both students and teachers didn't have clear perception and attitude towards BER and RES. Document analysis revealed that issues related to BER and other RES were not integrated into the curricula of the schools. No school co-curricular activities were observed for issues relatedtoBERandRES. Thismaybebecauseoftheresourcelimitations;lowlevelof knowledge, attitudes and perceptions held by school community towards BER and RES, schools didn't play their roles disseminating and implementing concepts of BER and RES. Although the issue of BER and other RES is critical nowadays, the study revealed that due attention wasn't given to this issue in schools.