Environmental Awareness with a Focus on Plant Diversity in the Context of Sustainable Development: A Gender, Locality, and Stream-Based Comparative Analysis among B.Ed. Students

This study investigates environmental awareness with a focus on plant diversity in the context of sustainable development among B.Ed. students in Uttarakhand, India. Recognizing the global challenge of biodiversity loss and the prevalence of “plant blindness,” the research aimed to measure students’ environmental awareness and examine differences across gender, locality, and academic stream. A sample of 109 B.Ed. students was selected through stratified random sampling. Data were collected using a validated 30-item Environmental Awareness Scale (Cronbach’s α = 0.925; Split-half = 0.901; EFA explained variance = 73.7%). Statistical analyses, including independent sample t-tests and one-way ANOVA, were conducted using SPSS. The findings revealed moderate-to-high levels of environmental awareness among students, with no statistically significant differences across gender, locality, or academic stream. These results suggest that teacher education programs in the region provide a relatively uniform exposure to environmental education. The study emphasizes the need for curriculum reforms that integrate biodiversity and experiential learning to deepen ecological literacy. Policy implications are discussed in the light of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 4 and SDG 15