A Comparative Study of Energy Saving Behaviour, Attitudes and Knowledge amongst School and College Level Student

Abstract Ancient Indian systems have always stressed on the conservation and protection of ecosystems through natural and sustainable techniques. Rise of consumerism and subsequent increase of energy consumption is responsible for creating a lot of pressure on the ecosystems all over the world. This has resulted in devastating effect on climate and survival of many has been endangered. To encounter this, a sustainable style of living is most required. A transition from transmissive to transformative learning can help society to embrace and absorb sustainability as a lifestyle rather than just a theoretical concept. Education systems of today, be it school level or college level, need a paradigm shift. In this direction, this study was undertaken to find out the behavioral patterns, attitude towards energy usage and knowledge and intentions about energy saving amongst school and college level students. A sample of 158 school and college students was collected using convenience sampling and was analyzed using ANOVA. We observed that school students show better behavior and attitude towards energy usage and savings than college students. As far as, knowledge and intentions about energy usage and improvement are concerned, there is no statistical difference between School and college students. It was concluded that by imparting knowledge about energy usage and energy saving in the formative years, may lead to changes in attitude and general behavior of an individual in particular and society at large.