Climate change knowledge, attitude, and perception of university students in UAE (Research paper 4)

This research paper delves into the multifaceted landscape of climate change awareness among university students, focusing on the intertwined dimensions of knowledge, perception, and attitude. Our research was designed around three main questions that we where to answer if we wanted to draw a reasonable conclusion. The first question discusses what the overall levels of knowledge students possess regarding the topic, the second question analyses the perceptions and attitudes of students regarding the topic, the third explores connections between the three main variables of the research and their respective sources of influence. The importance of these questions lies in their ability to establish a more inclusive perspective for all related parties. It also bridges the gap between pre-existing assumptions and the actual reality.
The way we answered the three questions was by, firstly developing four hypothesizes that where drawn from the research questions themselves, followed by conducting an online questionnaire featuring a set of tailored questions directed at assessing the demographic, knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes of forty participants. its main advantage being easily accessible regardless of physical, geographical location or time frame while at same time insuring the secrecy of participants, making them comfortable to answer questions in a credible manner and without fear of judgment. After which, we undergone a process of converting the data gathered from the responses of participants to a quantitative form which was easier to analyze and interpret using the software tools. And then lastly testing the hypothesis using the variables calculated and collected from the questionnaire.
The result we got from the data analysis process showed that the discrepancies among students in respect to the three spheres of knowledge, perception, and attitude where nonexistent or minimal / negligible at best. Although different in educational background or demographic characteristics, the majority shared almost the same results across the board. Additionally, the tests showed that the majority of respondents showed little interest in the topic of climate change. We were, however, successful at answering the three research questions. We found that the majority of the respondents possessed sufficient levels of knowledge, they also hade the correct perceptions, and yet did not showcase the appropriate attitude regarding the topic of climate change.
The main conclusion to draw from this is that university students in the UAE, although knowledgeable, lack motivation and incentive to behave in a more positive manner. The may perhaps be attributed to reasons outside the norm or other unknow variables that were not included in this study. And in the process of raising awareness regarding this particular topic or any other moder-day problems among youth, increasing knowledge is just simply not sufficient enough.

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