Effectiveness of conservation education program to enhance turtle conservation awareness in schoolchildren: A case of a local school in Chitwan, Nepal
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3126/njes.v14i1.70343Keywords:
Chitwan, conservation education, school program, turtleAbstract
Freshwater turtles and tortoises are among the most threatened groups of vertebrates globally, particularly due to anthropogenic pressure. This highlights the need to build stewardship among the stakeholders. In Nepal, many awareness programs have been organized in different areas, but information on their effectiveness is very limited. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a turtle-conservation education program in improving knowledge and awareness among the students. The program was implemented in a local school in Sauraha, Chitwan, and involved 66 lower-secondary students. Educational content was delivered through oral presentation, quiz competition, and poster presentation. Program effectiveness was evaluated using the pre- and post-questionnaire survey. The data were entered in MS-Excel and analyzed in JASP and R software, using paired sample t-test, independent sample t-test, and chi-square tests. The mean knowledge score in the pre-test was 36.2 ± 13.3% which increased to 58.3 ± 18.2% in the post-test. There was a significant shift in score categories between the two assessments. Changes in scores were independent of gender and grade level. These findings demonstrate that targeted conservation education can effectively enhance awareness and knowledge. Tailored educational programs can play an important role in conserving less charismatic species like turtles, which remain vulnerable even in protected areas.
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