Evaluating the Energy Literacy of Students in Kermanshah City

Introduction: Today, energy is considered as one of the determinant factors. However, its excessive use threatens the health and stability of the economy, the environment and even national security. Energy literacy includes knowing energy sources, optimal energy consumption, reducing energy wastage, using clean technologies and producing solar and wind energy. Researches have shown that people have misconceptions about energy, and for young students these perceptions may persist into adulthood. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the knowledge and perception of students regarding this issue. The question that this research aims to answer is what kind of knowledge, attitude and behavior, as well as misconceptions do have regarding energy and how we can use "conceptual logic map" model to show the sources of misconceptions as a diagnostic and analytical tool for educational purposes.
 
Material and Methods: In this research, energy literacy scales with main components, sub-components and indicators were developed based on literature and focus groups. Energy literacy scales included three components "Energy Knowledge", "Energy and Life" and "Responsibility and Action", seven corresponding sub-components and 18 indicators. Then, a questionnaire was prepared following a relatively comprehensive method. This questionnaire with questions categorized as "knowledge" and "attitude and action" was distributed among 100 sixth grade elementary school students in Kermanshah city. Then the students' energy literacy has been analyzed to find the scores in the categories of "knowledge, attitude and behavior", along with the correlation between them. Finally, the selected people were interviewed to find out why and how they hold these misconceptions. The framework and processes of this study include "Development of Energy Literacy Scale", "Designing Survey Questionnaire and Analyzing Results" and "Identifying and Showing Misconceptions". In addition, the collected data were also analyzed using independent samples t-test and one-way analysis of variance to understand the correlation between components and background variables.

Results and Discussion: The results show that students did not perform well in "Energy Knowledge" so that out of 19 questions, 7 questions were answered correctly by more than 60% of students, while 6 questions were answered less than 40% of the answers are correct. In general, students were more familiar with subjects taught in school, such as knowledge and climate change and energy infrastructure. However, they did not know much about deep scientific issues such as the principles of the greenhouse effect and nuclear energy production, as well as the general energy situation in Iran and the world. It was found that male students scored significantly better than female students (p>0.01) in energy knowledge. Parents' educational level and parents' occupation were also variables with significant differences among the groups. It can be said that students have an active attitude towards energy. The students thought that the scarcity of fossil fuels may have significant effects on the economy and human life. More than 60% of students are in favor of replacing fossil energy. In general, the students had a positive attitude about the development of renewable energy sources.
 
Conclusion: Through the analysis of the problem-oriented misconceptions and the analysis of the misconceptions of the participants, it was found that misconceptions usually exist among the majority of students, which require remedial measures. Therapeutic strategies to reconcile people's misconceptions with real scientific concepts include strengthening basic education and system education and critical thinking and scientific approaches. The importance of "educating the trainers" with knowledge and tact needs to be emphasized, as the interviewed students repeatedly mentioned that some misconceptions were taught by their schoolteachers. In addition, to prevent false information or "fake science", the quality of the media should be improved.