16 How Does Faith Influence Pro-Environmental Practice in Schools? …
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school (to determine the length of time since they were in a school environment),
country of birth (to determine whether they are Fiji citizens), and current programme
of study. Participants were not required to provide any data on their religious beliefs.
The questionnaire was divided into two parts. Part A required participants to reflect
on their time in secondary school. Part B required participants to focus on what they
are presently doing. The questionnaire had a mixture of structured and open-ended
questions. The first question focused on the forms of pro-environmental behaviours
students participated in both when they were in secondary school and at present.
Several behaviour options were provided, and participants could choose as many
as they wished. The next question focused on the reasons why they participated in
these forms of pro-environmental behaviours. Participants were presented with the
following list of options: (1) My parents/guardians said I had to; (2) It was one
of my secondary school rules; (3) My friends were doing it; (4) It is part of my
religion; (5) It is part of my culture; (6) I wanted to (why? please explain); (7) Other
(please explain). In Part B of this question, ‘My workmates are doing it’ was also
presented as an option. What influenced respondents’ attitude and behaviour towards
the environment was also discussed in the focus groups and interviews. The influence
of religion was specifically discussed only when it was identified as a factor by the
participants.
Semi-structured interviews were held with principals and teachers in each school
to ascertain how environmental education is delivered in secondary schools in Fiji,
and also establish the principals’ and teachers’ views on how environmental education should be taught in schools. Data were collected from 27 secondary schools
situated on the island of Viti Levu. Attention was given to ensure that the selection
of schools was a ‘fair representation’ of secondary schools on Viti Levu. Factors for
consideration included: school size, co-educational versus girls or boys-only schools,
urban versus rural schools, religious, private, community and government schools.
Of the 27 participating schools, 18 (67%) were located in an urban or peri-urban
area and 9 (33%) were located in a rural area. The schools represent the following
types of secondary schools in Fiji: 6 (22%) were government schools; 11 (41%) were
schools managed by community groups; 9 (33%) were faith-based (religious) schools
and there was 1 (4%) private school; 21 (78%) schools were co-educational. With
the faith-based schools, there were five Catholic schools, one Methodist school, one
Muslim school, one Hindu school and one Sikh school. Focus groups and interviews
were audio recorded and notes were taken. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the
data generated through the open-ended questions in the questionnaire and the focus
groups and interviews. Simple statistical analysis was conducted with the quantitative
data collected.
Results and Discussion
The data collected through the questionnaires showed that the greatest influence on
student participants’ pro-environmental behaviour, both while in secondary school
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school (to determine the length of time since they were in a school environment),
country of birth (to determine whether they are Fiji citizens), and current programme
of study. Participants were not required to provide any data on their religious beliefs.
The questionnaire was divided into two parts. Part A required participants to reflect
on their time in secondary school. Part B required participants to focus on what they
are presently doing. The questionnaire had a mixture of structured and open-ended
questions. The first question focused on the forms of pro-environmental behaviours
students participated in both when they were in secondary school and at present.
Several behaviour options were provided, and participants could choose as many
as they wished. The next question focused on the reasons why they participated in
these forms of pro-environmental behaviours. Participants were presented with the
following list of options: (1) My parents/guardians said I had to; (2) It was one
of my secondary school rules; (3) My friends were doing it; (4) It is part of my
religion; (5) It is part of my culture; (6) I wanted to (why? please explain); (7) Other
(please explain). In Part B of this question, ‘My workmates are doing it’ was also
presented as an option. What influenced respondents’ attitude and behaviour towards
the environment was also discussed in the focus groups and interviews. The influence
of religion was specifically discussed only when it was identified as a factor by the
participants.
Semi-structured interviews were held with principals and teachers in each school
to ascertain how environmental education is delivered in secondary schools in Fiji,
and also establish the principals’ and teachers’ views on how environmental education should be taught in schools. Data were collected from 27 secondary schools
situated on the island of Viti Levu. Attention was given to ensure that the selection
of schools was a ‘fair representation’ of secondary schools on Viti Levu. Factors for
consideration included: school size, co-educational versus girls or boys-only schools,
urban versus rural schools, religious, private, community and government schools.
Of the 27 participating schools, 18 (67%) were located in an urban or peri-urban
area and 9 (33%) were located in a rural area. The schools represent the following
types of secondary schools in Fiji: 6 (22%) were government schools; 11 (41%) were
schools managed by community groups; 9 (33%) were faith-based (religious) schools
and there was 1 (4%) private school; 21 (78%) schools were co-educational. With
the faith-based schools, there were five Catholic schools, one Methodist school, one
Muslim school, one Hindu school and one Sikh school. Focus groups and interviews
were audio recorded and notes were taken. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the
data generated through the open-ended questions in the questionnaire and the focus
groups and interviews. Simple statistical analysis was conducted with the quantitative
data collected.
Results and Discussion
The data collected through the questionnaires showed that the greatest influence on
student participants’ pro-environmental behaviour, both while in secondary school