Conceptions of The Baccalaureate Students of The Eastern Region of Morocco on the Environment and Sustainable Development

Abstract

The conceptions of the baccalaureate students of Bouarfa and Jerada are analyzed on the basis of a questionnaire relating to the environment and sustainable development. These conceptions are analyzed as interactions between scientific knowledge (K), social practices (P), and value systems (V). The multivariate analyzes used highlight two major poles or systems of conceptions. The first pole brings together people with rather anthropocentric tendencies concerned first with the use of natural resources. The second pole brings together people who tend to be more ecocentric and concerned about preserving the environment. Within these clusters appear sub-groups with different characteristics: for or against GMOs, preservation of the environment, activism in favor of the environment, actions of defense or protection of the environment. Most of the students interviewed lent feelings towards animals, but with a difference from one animal to another and from one city to another (sentiment-centered attitude). These different conceptions deserve to be taken into account in the training of trainers and teaching programs to better assume the objectives of Environmental Education.