Impact of the mass media on the attitudes and behaviour of elementary school teachers

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to study the effect of mass media on shaping the attitudes and behaviour of elementary school teachers in Greece in relation to environmental issues. The study highlights the structural cohesion of the questions which comprise the main 'factors' which impact on the teachers attitudes and behaviour, and their significance as regards their final formulation. In order to examine the structure of the parameters linked to the effects of mass media on formulating the views, attitudes and, therefore, the behaviour of teachers concerning environmental issues, Non-linear-categorical Principal Components Analysis with optimum scaling was used, which was applied to the teachers answers to questions related to the evaluation: as a result of the application of this method, five (5) significant components were identified which account for 72.104% of the total variance. The components analysis shows that the composition and definition of a 'model' which describes the effect of the mass media on shaping the teachers attitudes and behaviours regarding environmental issues is dominated by the promotion and frequency of promotion of environmental problems by the mass media; the model also highlights the role of newspapers, the internet and magazines in raising public awareness. Teachers are not only affected by the promotion of environmental problems but also by the substantial contribution of the mass media in addressing them.

Full text

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* For correspondence.
Journal of Environmental Protection and Ecology 19, No 1, 373–381 (2018)
Environmental education and training
IMPACT OF THE MASS MEDIA ON THE ATTITUDES AND
BEHAVIOUR OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHERS
D. PETKOUa, G. TSANTOPOULOSa*, E. MANOLASa, C. SKANAVISb
aDepartment of Forestry and Management of Environment and Natural
Resources, Democritus University of Thrace, 193 Pantazidou Street,
68 200 Orestiada, Greece
E-mail: tsantopo@fmenr.duth.gr
bDepartment of Environment, University of the Aegean, ‘Xenia’ Building,
University Hill, 81 100 Mytilene, Lesvos, Greece
Abstract. The objective of this paper is to study the effect of mass media on shaping the attitudes
and behaviour of elementary school teachers in Greece in relation to environmental issues. The study
highlights the structural cohesion of the questions which comprise the main ‘factors’ which impact
on the teachers attitudes and behaviour, and their signicance as regards their nal formulation. In
order to examine the structure of the parameters linked to the effects of mass media on formulat-
ing the views, attitudes and, therefore, the behaviour of teachers concerning environmental issues,
Non-linear-categorical Principal Components Analysis with optimum scaling was used, which was
applied to the teachers answers to questions related to the evaluation: as a result of the application of
this method, ve (5) signicant components were identied which account for 72.104% of the total
variance. The components analysis shows that the composition and denition of a ‘model’ which
describes the effect of the mass media on shaping the teachers attitudes and behaviours regarding
environmental issues is dominated by the promotion and frequency of promotion of environmental
problems by the mass media; the model also highlights the role of newspapers, the internet and
magazines in raising public awareness. Teachers are not only affected by the promotion of envi-
ronmental problems but also by the substantial contribution of the mass media in addressing them.
Keywords: environmental communication, natural environments, mass media, environmental per-
ceptions.
AIMS AND BACKGROUND
In recent decades, the abundance of environmental problems is causing intense
concern due to the relevant risks they are associated with. The term ‘environmen-
tal problems’ is used to refer to problems related to disruptions and malfunctions
caused by human practical and management interventions. Furthermore, it is
used to refer to the social problems which arise from these disruptions or cause
malfunctions within the vicious cycle of cause and effect1.

374
The main environmental issues affecting the planet are pollution, the disrup-
tion of the balance of ecosystems and the over-exploitation of natural resources2.
Moreover, human beings, as users of the various ecosystems, consume products
whose production involves a number of polluting activities, and therefore certainly
contribute to the current downgrading of the quality of the environment3. The
main causes of the leading environmental problems include: over-consumption,
the exploitation of the earth natural resources and over-population4.
In recent years, there has been an increased interest in the eld of research
and a mass media shift towards environmental problems5,6. Several studies have
pointed to a link between the topics presented by the mass media and the public
agenda regarding environmental issues, and climate change in particular7–12. The
mass media, however, do not aim at formulating an environmental code of eth-
ics and promoting the values of sustainability but instead provide information of
a questionable quality, mainly for mass consumption11,13 observes that the mass
media have failed to forward relevant information to the public; he also believes
the mass media are responsible for the level of ignorance among the public regard-
ing the causes and impact of climate change. Shanahan and McComas14 note that
environmental problems are related to people environmental awareness, since it
has been made clear that the problems facing the environment stem from the crisis
in values and the changes in human behaviour, rather than technology.
Given that environmental problems arise as a result of human choices rather
than of the autonomous functioning of the environment, it is humans that are
called upon to deal with the consequences of their actions15. For this reason, it
is important to note that changes in human behaviour can be achieved through
various improvement techniques that people can individually pursue in order to
address the environmental impact of their actions16,17. New development models
can also lead society to the implementation of novel practices by people, govern-
ments and environmentally-friendly organisations which will foster the protection
of the environment18.
Nevertheless, public opinion is often inuenced by the mass media, to which
citizens have direct access, and which bear a great responsibility as regards the
messages they convey. Furthermore, the mass media are not only viewed as chan-
nels of communication, but also as media which have their own bias and agenda19.
The events of recent years signify the major role played by mass media in dening
environmental terms, and presenting the problems facing the environment20. Finally,
in answer to the evolution of the modern environmental movement of the 1960s,
it is noted that the mass media now devote more time and space to the promotion
of issues of related to the environment20.
Mass media information on environmental issues should not only be limited
to that; the mass media should also raise public awareness regarding the true so-
cial, economic and ecological aspects of these matters and put forward possible
solutions, so that citizens are motivated to take action21.

375
The aim of this research is to study the impact of the mass media on shaping
the attitudes and behaviour of elementary school teachers regarding environmental
issues. It aims to highlight the structural cohesion of the questions which represent
the main ‘factors’ which affect the formulation of teachers attitudes and behaviour,
and their relevant signicance as regards the nal outcome.
EXPERIMENTAL
The research data were collected with the help of a suitably structured ques-
tionnaire and through personal interviews with teachers. The preparation of the
questionnaire was based on similar research projects conducted in Greece and in
other countries22,23, but has been adapted to the subject of the present paper and to
the educational situation of our country. For the selection of the participants and
the collection of the data, two-stage Proportional Stratied Random Sampling
was used as the main sampling tool24. More specically, the strata were the eight
Directorates of Primary Education in Central Macedonia, Greece, out of which
the schools were selected using random sampling, with substitution.
The study was conducted during the period 2014–2015. The sample size was
set at 392 elementary school teachers.
To examine the structure of the factors linked to the impact of the mass media
on the shaping of the views, attitudes and, subsequently, the behaviours of teachers
on environmentally-related issues, Non-linear-categorical Principal Components
Analysis was used with optimum scaling25,26. More specically, Principal Compo-
nent Analysis was used to examine the structural cohesion of the questions which
affect the shaping of the teachers attitudes and behaviour, as well as the signicance
of their nal formulation27,28.
By grouping the questions into components, an attempt was made to:
(a) highlight the relative signicance of the individual questions for each
component regarding the impact of the mass media;
(b) present the relative signicance of the mass media impact components.
To this aim, Principal Components Analysis was applied to the available data,
with Varimax axis rotation (oblique maximum variance rotation), while the com-
ponents with an eigenvalue higher or equal to 1 were considered signicant. This
particular method was used with the teachers answers to the following questions:
q7: ‘Do you believe that the mass media contribute to addressing environ-
mental problems?’
q8: ‘In your opinion, do the mass media provide stimuli for teachers to un-
dertake actions and initiatives, in order to address the problems and improve the
quality of the environment?’
q9: ‘In your opinion, what level of coverage is provided to environmental
issues by the mass media?’
q10_1: ‘What environmental problems would you like to see the mass media
focusing on primarily? Pollution.’

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q10_2: ‘What environmental problems would you like to see the mass media
focusing on primarily? Reduction of biodiversity.’
q10_3: ‘What environmental problems would you like to see the mass media
focusing on primarily? Scarcity of water.’
q10_4: ‘What environmental problems would you like to see the mass media
focusing on primarily? The greenhouse effect.’
q10_5: ‘What environmental problems would you like to see the mass media
focusing on primarily? Electromagnetic radiation.’
q10_6: ‘What environmental problems would you like to see the mass media
focusing on primarily? The global population increase.’
q10_7: ‘What environmental problems would you like to see the mass media
focusing on primarily? The ozone hole.’
q10_8: ‘What environmental problems would you like to see the mass media
focusing on primarily? Acid rain.’
q10_9: ‘What environmental problems would you like to see the mass media
focusing on primarily? Disposal of nuclear waste.’
q11_1: ‘Rate the following mass media as regards their contribution in raising
public awareness about environmental problems: Television.’
q11_2: ‘Rate the following mass media as regards their contribution in raising
public awareness about environmental problems: Radio.’
q11_3: ‘Rate the following mass media as regards their contribution in raising
public awareness about environmental problems: Βooks.’
q11_4: ‘Rate the following mass media as regards their contribution in raising
public awareness about environmental problems: Magazines.’
q11_5: ‘Rate the following mass media as regards their contribution in raising
public awareness about environmental problems: Newspapers.’
q11_6: ‘Rate the following Mass Media as regards their contribution in raising
public awareness about environmental problems: The Internet.’
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The results of the Principal Components Analysis (PCA) are presented in Tables
1 and 2.
Table 1. Results of PCA
Dimension Cronbach alpha % of Variance
D10.870 31.144
D20.697 16.250
D30.471 10.007
D40.375 8.602
D50.095 6.101
Total 0.977 72.104

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Table 2. Component loadings
Dimension
D1D2D3D4D5
1 23456
Q7: ‘Do you believe that the mass media con-
tribute to addressing environmental problems?’
–0.025 0.545 –0.622 0.785 0.145
Q8: ‘In your opinion, do the mass media pro-
vide stimuli for teachers to undertake actions
and initiatives, in order to address the problems
and improve the quality of the environment?’
–0.018 0.711 –0.487 –0.068 0.088
Q9: ‘In your opinion, what level of coverage is
provided to environmental issues by the mass
media?’
–0.050 0.834 –0.567 –0.249 –0.148
Q10_1: ‘What environmental problems would
you like to see the mass media focusing on
primarily? Pollution.’
0.754 0.009 –0.149 –0.129 0.068
Q10_2: ‘What environmental problems would
you like to see the mass media focusing on
primarily? Reduction of biodiversity.’
0.713 –0.019 0.046 0.050 0.452
Q10_3: ‘What environmental problems would
you like to see the mass media focusing on
primarily? Scarcity of water.’
0.755 –0.051 –0.121 –0.191 0.385
Q10_4: ‘What environmental problems would
you like to see the mass media focusing on
primarily? The greenhouse effect.’
0.817 –0.153 –0.140 –0.186 –0.012
Q10_5: ‘What environmental problems would
you like to see the mass media focusing on
primarily? Electromagnetic radiation.’
0.709 –0.069 –0.115 0.136 –0.233
Q10_6: ‘What environmental problems would
you like to see the mass media focusing on
primarily? The global population increase.’
0.685 –0.215 –0.129 –0.054 0.074
Q10_7: ‘What environmental problems would
you like to see the mass media focusing on
primarily? The ozone hole.’
0.797 –0.194 –0.128 –0.144 –0.162
Q10_8: ‘What environmental problems would
you like to see the mass media focusing on
primarily? Acid rain.’
0.782 –0.128 –0.173 0.115 –0.188
Q10_9: ‘What environmental problems would
you like to see the mass media focusing on
primarily? Disposal of nuclear waste.’
0.754 –0.037 –0.038 0.239 –0.118
Q11_1: ‘Rate the following mass media as
regards their contribution in raising public
awareness about environmental problems:
Television.’
0.056 0.684 –0.073 –0.569 –0.088
to be continued

378
Continuation of Table 2
1 23456
Q11_2: ‘Rate the following mass media as re-
gards their contribution in raising public aware-
ness about environmental problems: Radio.’
0.230 0.506 0.378 –0.286 –0.040
Q11_3: ‘Rate the following mass media as re-
gards their contribution in raising public aware-
ness about environmental problems: Βooks.’
0.383 0.279 0.315 0.154 –0.615
Q11_4: ‘Rate the following mass media as
regards their contribution in raising public
awareness about environmental problems:
Magazines.’
0.389 0.499 0.517 0.326 –0.044
Q11_5: ‘Rate the following mass media as
regards their contribution in raising public
awareness about environmental problems:
Newspapers.’
0.304 0.568 0.549 0.173 0.053
Q11_6: ‘Rate the following mass media as
regards their contribution in raising public
awareness about environmental problems: The
Internet.’
0.186 0.483 0.519 0.032 0.394
Variable principal normalisation
According to the above, the Principal Components Analysis highlighted 5
signicant components which account for 72.104% of the total variance.
The rst component D1 accounts for 31.144% of the total variance, the second
component D2 accounts for 16.250% of the total variance, the third component D3
accounts for 10.007% of the total variance, the fourth component D4 accounts for
8.602% of the total variance, while the fth component D5 accounts for 6.101%
of the total variance.
The rst component (Table 2) includes the questions (in descending order
of signicance) Q10_4, Q10_7, Q10_8, Q10_3, Q10_1, Q10_2, Q10_5, Q10_6,
Q10_9 and expresses the environmental problems that the teachers would like
to see as the primary focus of the mass media (mainly the greenhouse effect, the
ozone hole, acid rain, scarcity of water, etc.). It can be given the title ‘Promotion
of environmental problems by the mass media’.
The second component (Table 2) includes the questions (in descending order
of signicance) Q9, Q8, Q11_1, Q11_5, Q7, Q11_2, Q11_4, Q11_6 and expresses
the teachers views on the presentation of environmental issues by the mass media
and their role in addressing the problems and improving the quality of the envi-
ronment. The second component can be given the title ‘Frequency of promotion
of environmental problems by the mass media, and their role in the undertaking
of actions and initiatives by teachers’.

379
The third component (Table 2) includes the questions (in descending order
of signicance) Q11_5, Q11_6, Q11_4, Q8, Q9, Q7 and shows the contribution
of newspapers, the Internet and magazines in raising public awareness on envi-
ronmental issues. The third component can be given the title ‘The contribution
of newspapers, the Internet and magazines in raising public awareness on envi-
ronmental issues’.
The fourth component (Table 2) includes the questions Q7 and Q11_1 (in
descending order of signicance). This component expresses the contribution of
the mass media in addressing environmental problems. The fourth component can
be given the title ‘The contribution of the mass media in addressing environmental
problems’.
The fth component (Table 2) includes the questions Q10_2, Q11_3 (in de-
scending order of signicance), and can be given the title ‘Promoting the topic
of biodiversity’.
After the application of the relevant method, ve (5) signicant components
emerged which account for 72.104% of the total variance:
– The rst component with the title ‘Promotion of environmental problems
by the mass media’ accounts for 31.144% of the total variance.
– The second component with the title ‘Frequency of promotion of environ-
mental problems by the mass media, and their role in the undertaking of actions
and initiatives by teachers’ accounts for 16.250% of the total variance.
– The third component with the title ‘The contribution of newspapers, the
Internet and magazines in raising public awareness on environmental issues’ ac-
counts for 10.007% of the total variance.
– The fourth component with the title ‘The contribution of mass media in
addressing environmental problems’ accounts for 8.602% of the total variance.
– Finally, the fth component with the title ‘Promoting the topic of biodiversity’
accounts for 6.101% of the total variance.
CONCLUSIONS
Based on the above, it is observed that the composition and denition of a ‘model’
which describes the impact of the mass media on shaping the attitudes and behav-
iour of elementary school teachers regarding environmental problems is largely
affected by the promotion and frequency of promotion of environmental issues by
the mass media, and the level to which newspapers, the Internet and magazines
contribute in raising public awareness. Teachers are not only inuenced by the
promotion of environmental problems but also by the substantial contribution
of the mass media in addressing them. Thus, interaction is created between the
teachers and the mass media, which also denes the impact of the mass media on
environmental issues, and reconrms the circular relationship that exists between

380
the environment and the public coverage and promotion of environmental problems
and concerns. Any strategic effort, therefore, aiming to formulate a more positive
attitude and behaviour in teachers vis-à-vis environmental issues must refer to the
above-mentioned emerging components.
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Received 3 December 2017
Revised 8 January 2018