BMC Public Health. 2026 May 25. doi: 10.1186/s12889-026-27762-x. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Among the key strategies for protecting the environment are education, modifying people’s behavior, fostering pro-environmental values, and promoting active citizenship. With this in mind, the present study sought to investigate the effect of an educational intervention based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) on environmentally responsible behaviors (ERBs) among lower secondary students.
METHODS: This quasi-experimental study was conducted among 100 lower secondary school students in Piranshahr, Iran, selected using a multistage cluster sampling method. Schools were randomly allocated to the intervention or control groups, resulting in 50 students in each group. A demographic form and a researcher-developed questionnaire, grounded in the constructs of the TPB and centered on environmental issues as well as ERBs, served as the data collection instruments. The educational program, also designed according to TPB constructs, focused on three key aspects of ERBs. This program was delivered to intervention group students over three 45-minute sessions, along with a separate 60-minute session for parents and school staff. Data gathering took place at two time points: prior to the educational intervention and again three months later.
RESULTS: In the intervention group, following the educational intervention, there was a statistically significant increase in the mean scores of TPB constructs-including attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, intention, and behavior-as well as in knowledge about the environment and ERBs, compared with the pre-test and the control group (p < 0.05).
CONCLUSION: The educational intervention grounded in the TPB was found to be effective in enhancing ERBs among lower secondary school students. Given that students are the future builders of society, environmental education holds particular importance for this group. Therefore, the intervention developed in this study is proposed as a straightforward, low-cost strategy that can complement existing school programs. The adoption of such interventions has the potential to significantly reinforce ERBs and, over time, lead to better environmental outcomes.
PMID:42185857 | DOI:10.1186/s12889-026-27762-x
