Title: Evaluating students’ literacy on safe pesticide use and sustainable resource management: A case study in Alentejo, Portugal

Abstract: The intensive use of pesticides contaminates soil and water, raising the risk of diseases like cancer and hormonal/neurological disorders. The continuous exposure to pesticides through water and food is concerning. Raising awareness about pesticide pollution is essential to reduce the harmful impact of pesticides on food and the environment. Students’ engagement in safe pesticide practices and resource management is greatly enhanced when they have a solid understanding of the associated risks and benefits, empowering them to make responsible choices that contribute to a healthier environment and a sustainable future.

This study evaluates students’ literacy on pesticide use and its implications, focusing on three topics, pesticide use, disease prevention, and sustainability and health promotion.

A questionnaire was drawn up and distributed to students of both genders, aged between 12 and 16 years old, from Alentejo (Portugal). A group of 1051 students were asked to indicate their agreement grade with statements related to key themes, such as pesticide use and consumer attitudes, healthy practices and disease prevention, and sustainability and health promotion.

The comparative analysis of the students’ literacy on safe pesticide use and sustainable resource management by theme reveals higher literacy levels in sustainability and health promotion, while lower levels are observed in healthy practices and disease prevention, as well as pesticide use and consumer attitudes. In particular, over 75% of the students expressed agreement or strong agreement on all the topics related to sustainability and health promotion, except for the issue concerning the roles of producers and consumers in supporting sustainable agriculture.

The study also presents an Artificial Neural Network model, with its accuracy surpassing 90%, to assess students’ literacy on pesticide use and its implications.

The core contribution of this study is identifying the topics where knowledge gaps are the widest. Addressing these gaps requires bolstering the environmental content in educational programs, especially at the basic and secondary levels. Moreover, this study presents a methodology for quantifying students’ overall literacy and improvement potential.

Full-text available here

Image: There are now laws that prohibit the use of glyphosate and pesticides in NYC Parks thanks to the efforts of The Black Institute and its campaign on pesticides, which are considered carcinogens that disproportionately affect the long term health of people of colour.



Attachments:
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Article: WeedsNews6492 (permalink)
Categories: :WeedsNews:ecoliteracy, :WeedsNews:schools, :WeedsNews:science communication, :WeedsNews:education, :WeedsNews:research alert
Date: 7 December 2024; 2:02:39 pm Australian Eastern Daylight Time

Author Name: David Low
Author ID: adminDavid