Knowledge and Opinions Amongst Youths in Secondary …
519
establish new information on the level of knowledge and opinions of youth relating to
sustainable development which could help guide the state and educational institutions
in sustainable development decision-making.
3 Method of the Study
In this study, descriptive and correlational design was used to evaluate respondent’s
demographic background and knowledge and opinions regarding sustainable development. The research design of this study will be using primary data obtained by
means of questionnaire answered by randomly selected respondents. Respondents
for this study are youth aged 15–25 years old in secondary schools and tertiary education students in higher educational institutions (HEIs) within the state of Penang,
Malaysia. Figure 1 is the map of Penang as the study area. Penang is situated the
northern region of Peninsular Malaysia. The state has a total area of approximately
1030 km
2 , consisting of two separate areas, namely the Penang Island and Seberang
Perai on the mainland. In addition, the state has five administrative districts, that are
the North-East district and South-West district on Penang Island; and the Northern
Seberang Perai district, Central Seberang Perai district and Southern Seberang Perai
district in Seberang Perai (Penang Geographic Information Centre 2019). Figure 2
is the map of the five administrative districts.
Penang has been chosen as the study area because this state has been heavily
involved in implementing sustainability amongst its people. Furthermore, Penang
aspires to become the first green and sustainable state in Malaysia (Portal Rasmi
Kerajaan Negeri Pulau Pinang 2015). Respondents were acquired using the cluster
sampling method and respondents were then randomly selected during the survey.
Furthermore, the questionnaires were distributed to each administrative district in
Penang. Finally, a total of 11 secondary schools and 6 HEIs have been chosen to
be the representative sample for this study. The survey was conducted between June
and November 2015.
The questionnaire form was uploaded online and students in HEIs were asked by
researchers to fill in the form using tablets and computers. This method was used as
it is environmentally friendly and cost-effective method for collecting information.
Meanwhile, data collection for secondary schools was conducted by distributing
questionnaire by hand. The questionnaires were distributed to students aged 19 until
24 years old. It is important to note that, the survey was carried out during the student
examination period. While in secondary school, researchers were only allowed to
distribute questionnaires to Form 4 students only (age 16 years old). Researchers
were not allowed to interfere with Form 3 and 5 students (age 15 and 17 years
old accordingly) because the schools’ management did not want to interrupt their
learning session as they will take an important national examination soon. Hence,
it is quite difficult to find many respondents for this study. And then, we finally got
only 772 respondents out of the total number of respondents planned.
519
establish new information on the level of knowledge and opinions of youth relating to
sustainable development which could help guide the state and educational institutions
in sustainable development decision-making.
3 Method of the Study
In this study, descriptive and correlational design was used to evaluate respondent’s
demographic background and knowledge and opinions regarding sustainable development. The research design of this study will be using primary data obtained by
means of questionnaire answered by randomly selected respondents. Respondents
for this study are youth aged 15–25 years old in secondary schools and tertiary education students in higher educational institutions (HEIs) within the state of Penang,
Malaysia. Figure 1 is the map of Penang as the study area. Penang is situated the
northern region of Peninsular Malaysia. The state has a total area of approximately
1030 km
2 , consisting of two separate areas, namely the Penang Island and Seberang
Perai on the mainland. In addition, the state has five administrative districts, that are
the North-East district and South-West district on Penang Island; and the Northern
Seberang Perai district, Central Seberang Perai district and Southern Seberang Perai
district in Seberang Perai (Penang Geographic Information Centre 2019). Figure 2
is the map of the five administrative districts.
Penang has been chosen as the study area because this state has been heavily
involved in implementing sustainability amongst its people. Furthermore, Penang
aspires to become the first green and sustainable state in Malaysia (Portal Rasmi
Kerajaan Negeri Pulau Pinang 2015). Respondents were acquired using the cluster
sampling method and respondents were then randomly selected during the survey.
Furthermore, the questionnaires were distributed to each administrative district in
Penang. Finally, a total of 11 secondary schools and 6 HEIs have been chosen to
be the representative sample for this study. The survey was conducted between June
and November 2015.
The questionnaire form was uploaded online and students in HEIs were asked by
researchers to fill in the form using tablets and computers. This method was used as
it is environmentally friendly and cost-effective method for collecting information.
Meanwhile, data collection for secondary schools was conducted by distributing
questionnaire by hand. The questionnaires were distributed to students aged 19 until
24 years old. It is important to note that, the survey was carried out during the student
examination period. While in secondary school, researchers were only allowed to
distribute questionnaires to Form 4 students only (age 16 years old). Researchers
were not allowed to interfere with Form 3 and 5 students (age 15 and 17 years
old accordingly) because the schools’ management did not want to interrupt their
learning session as they will take an important national examination soon. Hence,
it is quite difficult to find many respondents for this study. And then, we finally got
only 772 respondents out of the total number of respondents planned.