한국 초·중·고등학생의 물 분야 공공의식 분석 및 향상 방안

초록

This study investigates the water public awareness of elementary, middle and high school students in South Korea and suggests strategies for improvement. Key components evaluated include the value and significance of water, awareness of water’s impacts on the environment, society, and economy, evaluation of water policy, attitudes toward water conservation and reuse, and water information sharing and participation. The Head-Heart-Hands, 3H framework is deployed to measure students’ levels of water awareness across these dimensions. A nation-wide online survey was conducted with 900 students of elementary, middle, and high schools (300 each school level) considering gender, age, and region. As a result, the Hearts and Hands dimensions demonstrate relatively high levels, on average 87.6% and 73.9%, respectively. The Head dimension was relatively lower, on average 65.4%, including the awareness of water management system and policy and individual water use. By school level, middle school students show the highest level, elementary school students ranked the second, and high school students the lowest level. Regression analysis discloses that experiences and satisfaction with water and environment education exert significance influence across all three dimensions. By contrast, parental education, economic activity, and residential type have little impacts on students’ water public awareness. It will be necessary to introduce tailor-made water education in school as well as communities, develop digitized education content, disseminate best practices, and improve relevant laws and regulations to support water awareness initiatives.

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