Overall ecological literacy level
The overall ecological literacy level of the participants is the total score from the 40 questions in the questionnaire. The descriptive statistics of SPSS 25.0 show that the total ecological literacy measurement scores of the 494 Guiyang inhabitants surveyed were normally distributed on the whole. The average score was 158.91 points (158.91 ± 14.693, 79.46%), with a minimum of 105 points, and a maximum of 199 points (Fig. 3). From the score rate of the scale here, it can be seen that the overall ecological literacy level of the inhabitants of Guiyang City was relatively good. The average score rate of the questionnaire was close to 80%, which was at the middle and upper levels.
In the descriptive statistical analysis of the five first-level indicators of the ecological literacy level of Guiyang inhabitants, we found that there were developments in the internal structure of the five dimensions of ecological knowledge literacy, ecological awareness literacy, ecological ethics literacy, ecological emotional literacy and ecological behavioral literacy. For the problem of imbalance, there were big differences between different dimensions (Table 2), but the overall average score rate was higher. Each dimension consisted of eight scale questions. That is, the range of scores that the respondent could obtain was [8, 40] in each dimension.
Table 2
Descriptive statistical analysis of five dimensions of the ecological literacy levels of Guiyang inhabitants
|
Mean
|
Standard deviation
|
Minimum
|
Maximum
|
EKNL
|
29.11
|
5.191
|
8
|
40
|
EAWL
|
33.21
|
3.918
|
18
|
40
|
EETL
|
36.41
|
4.010
|
18
|
40
|
EEML
|
35.35
|
3.758
|
22
|
40
|
EBEL
|
24.83
|
4.775
|
12
|
40
|
From Table 2 above, it can be seen that, among the ecological literacy levels of Guiyang inhabitants, the level of ecological ethics literacy was the highest (36.41 ± 4.010), and their average scoring rate reached 91.03%; the level of ecological emotional literacy was slightly lower than that of ecological ethics (35.35 ± 3.758), and ecological awareness literacy was lower (33.21 ± 3.918). The average scores of the interviewees were relatively low in terms of ecological knowledge literacy (29.11 ± 5.191) and ecological behavioral literacy (24.83 ± 4.775), but their average score rates were still higher than 60% (72.78% and 62.08%, respectively). The average score of these two dimensions was significantly lower than that of the other three dimensions, but from a macro point of view, the levels of these two dimensions were still within a good range. This showed that the inhabitants of Guiyang City had a high level of ecological literacy, especially in terms of ecological ethics, ecological emotion, and ecological awareness. However, there is room for improvement in the possessing of ecological knowledge and the ability and level of implementing ecological literacy in specific actions.
Subsequently, we conducted a bi-variate correlation analysis of the relationship between each dimension of ecological literacy (Table 3), with the purpose of exploring the correlation between each dimension and the other four dimensions. Owing to the uneven levels of all five dimensions of ecological literacy, the correlation analysis between each dimension can promote people to improve a certain specific dimension, relying on whether they are related, and whether the relationship is positive or negative. Based on a variety of statistical data such as the strength of the correlation, the overall situation was coordinated, and solutions were proposed in many aspects.
Table 3
Correlation analysis of the five dimensions of ecological literacy levels of Guiyang inhabitants
|
|
EKNL
|
EAWL
|
EETL
|
EEML
|
EBEL
|
EKNL
|
Pearson’s correlation coefficient
|
1
|
.288**
|
.209**
|
.296**
|
.338**
|
Sig. (two-tailed)
|
|
.000
|
.000
|
.000
|
.000
|
EAWL
|
Pearson’s correlation coefficient
|
.288**
|
1
|
.597**
|
.514**
|
.138**
|
Sig. (two-tailed)
|
.000
|
|
.000
|
.000
|
.002
|
EETL
|
Pearson’s correlation coefficient
|
.209**
|
.597**
|
1
|
.617**
|
.030
|
Sig. (two-tailed)
|
.000
|
.000
|
|
.000
|
.500
|
EEML
|
Pearson’s correlation coefficient
|
.296**
|
.514**
|
.617**
|
1
|
.365**
|
Sig. (two-tailed)
|
.000
|
.000
|
.000
|
|
.000
|
EBEL
|
Pearson’s correlation coefficient
|
.338**
|
.138**
|
.030
|
.365**
|
1
|
Sig. (two-tailed)
|
.000
|
.002
|
.500
|
.000
|
|
*Note: The number of cases is 494; **means it is at the 0.01 level (two-tailed), and that the correlation is significant. |
Table 3 shows that there was no direct correlation between ecological ethics literacy and ecological behavioral literacy (P = 0.500 > 0.05). There was a significant correlation between the other four dimensions (P < 0.05), and it was a significant correlation at the 0.01 level. A closer look at the Pearson’s correlation coefficients shows that they were all positive numbers, so that all dimensions with correlation were positive correlations. The correlation coefficient between ecological ethics literacy and ecological emotional literacy was the largest (R = 0.617**, 0.6 < R ≦ 0.8), indicating that there was a significant positive and strong correlation between ecological ethics literacy and ecological emotional literacy. Second, the correlation coefficient between ecological awareness literacy and ecological ethics literacy (R = 0.597**, 0.4 < R ≦ 0.6), and between ecological awareness literacy and ecological emotional literacy (R = 0.514**, 0.4 < R ≤ 0.6) was only lower than the correlation coefficient between ecological ethics literacy and ecological emotional literacy. In particular, the correlation coefficient between ecological awareness literacy and ecological ethics literacy was very close to 0.6. Therefore, ecological awareness literacy and ecological ethics literacy had a significant positive correlation, and ecological awareness literacy and ecological emotional literacy had a significant moderate correlation. Third, there was a significant positively weak correlation between each dimension of ecological literacy. The correlation coefficient (0.2 < R ≦ 0.4) from high to low was as follows: ecological emotional literacy and ecological behavioral literacy (R = 0.365**), ecological knowledge literacy and ecological behavioral literacy (R = 0.338**), ecological knowledge literacy and ecological emotional literacy (R = 0.296**), ecological knowledge literacy and ecological awareness literacy (R = 0.288**), and ecological knowledge literacy and ecological ethics literacy (R = 0.209**). Finally, there was a significant but very low positive correlation between a group of dimensions (0 ≦ R ≦ 0.2), namely, the correlation coefficient between ecological awareness literacy and ecological behavioral literacy (R = 0.138**).
During the development of ecologically advanced cities, we should focus on acquiring ecological theory and the practice of ecological actions for the ecological literacy level of the inhabitants of Guiyang City. From the correlation coefficients related to the two dimensions of ecological knowledge literacy and ecological behavioral literacy in Table 3, it can be seen that the coefficients related to them in the five dimensions are in the range of weak to very low correlation. This implies that, in the process of improving ecological knowledge literacy and ecological behavioral literacy, while taking other dimensions into account to improve both literacy indirectly, we must consciously focus on improving ecological knowledge literacy and ecological behavioral literacy. The inhabitants, who have strong ecological awareness and social responsibility, are able to strengthen their ecological knowledge, so that they can improve their ecological knowledge level. Finally, they can transform their strong ecological knowledge and ecological awareness into practice, and practice ecological literacy in their actions. Moreover, they can influence other inhabitants to become more ecologically literate.
Specific analysis of the five dimensions
Ecological knowledge literacy level
Among the four factors of the second-level indicators of ecological knowledge literacy, the range of scores that respondents could obtain in the two questions set by each factor was [2, 10]. The inhabitants of Guiyang City scored highest for “knowledge of the relationship between humans and nature” (7.98 ± 1.481). For “ecological and environmental protection knowledge” (7.13 ± 1.471) and “knowledge of damage to the ecological environment” (7.12 ± 1.659), the difference between the average scores obtained was relatively small. Both were lower than the score for “knowledge of the relationship between humans and nature”. The average score of “ecosystem knowledge” of Guiyang inhabitants (6.89 ± 1.700) was above 60%, indicating that Guiyang inhabitants still have a good grasp of “ecosystem knowledge”. The average score of “ecosystem knowledge” was the only factor in the second-level indicators of ecological knowledge literacy that had a score lower than 70%.
Table 4
Descriptive statistical analysis of second-level indicators of ecological knowledge literacy of Guiyang inhabitants
|
Mean
|
Standard deviation
|
Minimum
|
Maximum
|
EKNL1
|
6.89
|
1.700
|
2
|
10
|
EKNL2
|
7.12
|
1.659
|
2
|
10
|
EKNL3
|
7.98
|
1.481
|
2
|
10
|
EKNL4
|
7.13
|
1.471
|
2
|
10
|
It can be seen from Table 4 that the inhabitants of Guiyang City had a higher ability and better grasp of the four factors of the second-level indicators of ecological knowledge literacy, especially in “knowledge of the relationship between humans and nature”. This indicated that the participants attach great importance to all aspects of ecological knowledge. However, Guiyang inhabitants still had certain weaknesses in their grasp of “ecosystem knowledge”. This was because ecosystem knowledge is professional theoretical knowledge of ecology, and it was rare for Guiyang inhabitants to study or work in the field of ecology. It is difficult for them to acquire ecological knowledge. But in fact, the processes, functions, and components of the ecosystem, as well as the collection of processes that contribute to the planet, are all included in the broader concept of nature (Maller et al. 2006; Pitman and Daniels 2020). Therefore, ecosystem knowledge was very important for everyone. We must pay special attention to the concepts and connotations of sustainable development and ecosystem services to promote the sustainable development of human society (Zhao et al. 2020). In the process of cultivating and improving the level of ecological knowledge literacy, it was necessary to pay attention to this aspect of ecological knowledge in order to promote the overall ecological knowledge literacy of Guiyang inhabitants.
Ecological awareness literacy level
Among the eight questions considered for ecological awareness literacy, the range of scores that the inhabitants of Guiyang City could obtain in the two questions of each second-level indicator was [2, 10]. The respondents scored higher on average in this part than for the ecological knowledge literacy part. Only the average score rate (7.21 ± 1.571) of the second-level indicator of “awareness of the severity of current ecological and environmental problems” was below 80%. The average score of “ecological environmental protection value consciousness” was the highest (9.11 ± 1.254). Meanwhile, the participants’ understanding was relatively good in terms of “making judgments on the ecological environmental damage encountered” (8.88 ± 1.385) and “ecological environmental protection behavior subject consciousness” (8.01 ± 1.456).
Table 5
Descriptive statistical analysis of second-level indicators of ecological awareness literacy of Guiyang inhabitants
|
Mean
|
Standard deviation
|
Minimum
|
Maximum
|
EAWL1
|
8.01
|
1.456
|
3
|
10
|
EAWL2
|
9.11
|
1.254
|
3
|
10
|
EAWL3
|
7.21
|
1.571
|
3
|
10
|
EAWL4
|
8.88
|
1.385
|
2
|
10
|
The descriptive statistical analysis results of the second-level indicators of ecological awareness literacy in Table 5 showed that the level of ecological awareness literacy of Guiyang inhabitants is relatively good, and most inhabitants realize the value of ecological environmental protection. At the same time, many inhabitants could make effective judgments when encountering eco-environmental damage. This was due to the correlation between ecological awareness literacy and ecological ethics literacy (0.597**), and ecological emotional literacy (0.514**). This was affected and restricted by ecological ethics literacy and ecological emotional literacy. However, ecological awareness is basically formed by good ecological education among the inhabitants of Guiyang; only education can truly change people’s consciousness (Huang and Zhao 2019). If the ecological awareness of the inhabitants of Guiyang City is to be improved, the focus should be on two aspects: “ecological environmental protection behavior subject consciousness” and “awareness of the severity of current ecological and environmental problems”. The index of “awareness of the severity of current ecological and environmental problems” still needs further publicity and education to allow more inhabitants to work hard to maintain the surrounding living environment on the basis of being aware of the severity of the current ecological problems. The construction of ecological civilization in Guiyang City was relatively good, but there were still certain ecological problems and the earth was an organic whole. Our process of consciously maintaining or optimizing the ecological environment of Guiyang City can nurture and drive other urban inhabitants to realize the seriousness of ecological problems, and jointly seek solutions.
Ecological ethics literacy level
The consideration of the ecological ethics level of Guiyang inhabitants comprised eight questions, and the fluctuation range of their scores was [2, 10]. The average score of the four factors of ecological ethics literacy was relatively high, and the score ratio was above 85%. The score ratios for “affirming the role of nature” (9.38 ± 1.092) and “respecting and cherishing all living things” (9.36 ± 1.073) reached more than 90%, and the difference in the scores between the two was small. In contrast, the average scores of “the ethics and morality of protecting the ecological environment” (8.89 ± 1.422) and “correctly recognizing the relationship between humans and nature” (8.78 ± 1.417) were low, but still higher than many other second-level indicators factors.
Table 6
Descriptive statistical analysis of second-level indicators of ecological ethics literacy of Guiyang inhabitants
|
Mean
|
Standard deviation
|
Minimum
|
Maximum
|
EETL1
|
8.78
|
1.417
|
4
|
10
|
EETL2
|
8.89
|
1.422
|
4
|
10
|
EETL3
|
9.38
|
1.092
|
3
|
10
|
EETL4
|
9.36
|
1.073
|
4
|
10
|
Table 6 shows that the status of the ecological ethics of the inhabitants of Guiyang City was relatively good in general. Among the four factors, the minimum score for “affirming the role of nature” was 3 points, and the minimum score for the other three factors was 4 points. The maximum scores for these factors were all full marks. From this perspective, the inhabitants of Guiyang City had a high level of ecological ethics, mainly influenced by the development of ecological ethics in China. In China, ecological ethics and environmental ethics are used in parallel, and their development has gone through three research stages: the 1970s was the incubation stage, the 1980s was the exploratory stage, and the 1990s was the birth and rapid growth stage (Yu et al. 2019). However, Chinese traditional culture contains a wealth of environmental ethics, such as the principle of “one yin and one yang is the Tao” in Yi-ology, the ethical wisdom of the “innateness of all things” and “the harmony between humans and nature” in Confucianism, the ethical ideas of “Tao to follow nature” and “rule by doing nothing” in Taoism, and the Buddhist ethical concept that “all beings are equal” (Yu et al. 2019). In this study, the penetration of these ecological ethics gradually formed the ecological ethics literacy of Guiyang inhabitants. If the level of ecological ethics continues to improve, the focus can be on the improvement of “the ethics and morality of protecting the ecological environment” and “correctly recognizing the relationship between humans and nature”. For individuals, the formation of ecological ethics and moral concepts is a long process. One way to improve this is to integrate ecological education with ecological knowledge, so that people can systematically master the theory of ecological ethics and clearly understand the relationship between humans and nature for guiding practice. This includes adhering to the “universal symbiosis” in deep ecology and maximizing the “symbiosis phenomenon” (Naess 1989; Huang and Zhao 2019). But from the macro-level of ecological literacy, people can focus on other relatively low levels of ecological literacy on the basis of maintaining the level of ecological ethics literacy to ensure that the overall level of ecological literacy is steadily improved.
Ecological emotional literacy level
The consideration of the level of ecological emotional literacy is also reflected by the eight questions under the four second-level indicators. The range of scores that respondents could obtain in each indicator was [2, 10]. The average score (9.43 ± 0.980) for “awe of the natural environment” of the respondents in ecological emotional literacy was the highest average score among the 40 questions in the entire scale, and the standard deviation fluctuated little. The score ratio was close to 95%. At the same time, this item was the only element among all scale questions that had a minimum of 5 points. The average score level of the other three factors was above 80%, in order from high to low: “love for the natural environment” (9.17 ± 1.154), “ability to take responsibility for ecological and environmental issues” (8.66 ± 1.282), and “sensitivity to natural environment protection” (8.09 ± 1.349).
Table 7
Descriptive statistical analysis of second-level indicators of ecological emotional literacy of Guiyang inhabitants
|
Mean
|
Standard deviation
|
Minimum
|
Maximum
|
EEML1
|
9.43
|
0.980
|
5
|
10
|
EEML2
|
9.17
|
1.154
|
3
|
10
|
EEML3
|
8.09
|
1.349
|
4
|
10
|
EEML4
|
8.66
|
1.282
|
4
|
10
|
Through the descriptive statistical analysis in Table 7, we relied on the questionnaire data of the second-level indicators of Guiyang inhabitants’ ecological emotional literacy to further demonstrate the respondents’ ecological literacy levels in this dimension. The overall level of this part is still high, due to the good natural environment in Guiyang City. As stated in Sect. 2.3, Guiyang’s forest coverage rate was 39.19%, with beautiful mountains and clear waters. There are many natural landscapes for inhabitants to experience, e.g., Huaxi National Urban Wetland Park, Hongfeng Lake Scenic Area, Nanjiang Grand Canyon, and Qianling Mountain Park. When discussing the development of the ecological literacy of children in forest parks, some researchers point out that training children in forest parks will allow them to use all their senses to observe and acquire meaningful situations in the natural world. They will get sense of belonging and become ecologically literate (Hammarsten et al. 2018). Therefore, among the inhabitants of Guiyang City, children will stimulate ecological emotion under the guidance of their parents and teachers, while adults will generate ecological emotions based on their own experiences and perception of nature. Over time, they will subconsciously develop respect and love for nature. However, they have been living in areas with a good ecological environment and are facing fewer ecological problems, making the inhabitants relatively insensitive to natural environmental protection issues. Therefore, they might not take the initiative to be responsible for environmental problems; this needs to be improved. Guiyang inhabitants can improve in two aspects: “sensitivity to natural environment protection” and “ability to take responsibility for ecological and environmental issues”. This important improvement process can be achieved by outdoor education, especially in terms of the judgment and perception of current environmental problems, which will increase the sensitivity to the natural environment. Responsibility training in education can enable the inhabitants to develop a sense of social responsibility that emerges spontaneously. But objectively speaking, the lowest score of the participants on these two factors was 4 points, and the highest score was 10 points, indicating that the participants were basically qualified in the mastery of these two factors, and have a good emotional state regarding ecological problems. In the process of optimizing the overall level of ecological literacy, it is also possible to temporarily focus on other dimensions.
Ecological behavioral literacy level
Among the four second-level indicators of Guiyang inhabitants’ ecological behavioral literacy, each indicator was examined by two scale questions, and the fluctuation range of the score was [2, 10]. The average scores of the second-level indicators of ecological behavioral literacy were low. Only the average score rate (8.59 ± 1.392) of “daily practice of environmental protection” was above 80%. The lowest score of the respondents was 4 points, and the highest score was 10 points. These are roughly equivalent to the scores of multiple second-level indicators in other dimensions. However, the average score rate of the other three factors of ecological behavioral literacy was low. The average score of “scientific environmental protection skills and methods” was the lowest (4.68 ± 1.741). This indicated that many Guiyang inhabitants had less of a grasp of environmental protection skills and methods. They do not know how to protect the surrounding ecological environment in daily work, study, and life. Although the average scores of the other two items were higher than that for “scientific environmental protection skills and methods”, the average score ratio did not reach 60%. The average scores of these two differed only slightly, with “degree of influence on the environmental protection behavior of others” at 5.88 ± 1.801 and “participation in environmental education activities” at 5.68 ± 1.699.
Table 8
Descriptive statistical analysis of second-level indicators of ecological behavioral literacy of Guiyang inhabitants
|
Mean
|
Standard deviation
|
Minimum
|
Maximum
|
EBEL1
|
8.59
|
1.392
|
4
|
10
|
EBEL2
|
5.68
|
1.699
|
2
|
10
|
EBEL3
|
4.68
|
1.741
|
2
|
10
|
EBEL4
|
5.88
|
1.801
|
2
|
10
|
The statistical analysis in Table 8 shows that Guiyang inhabitants generally scored low in terms of ecological behavioral literacy, and there was a lot of room for improvement. This was mainly due to the fact that there were still many inhabitants who have not implemented their ecological theoretical knowledge and ecological ideology into actual action. The ultimate goal of ecological literacy is to enable inhabitants with ecological theoretical knowledge and ecological ideology to take action on environmental problems. Ecological behavioral literacy is an important part of the process of maintaining or improving the level of ecological literacy of the inhabitants in Guiyang City. At the level of environmental protection skills and methods, it is necessary to adopt a variety of ways to promote scientific skills in order to achieve ecological behavioral literacy. The factor with the lowest average score in this part is gradually improving; at the same time, the inhabitants of Guiyang City should be actively involved in environmental education activities, and efforts should be made to actively influence the surrounding inhabitants through the practice and supervision of their own ecological environmental protection behavior. For the purposes of this study, only by integrating ecological knowledge, ecological awareness, ecological ethics, and ecological emotion into ecological behavior can the multiple indicators of the level of ecological behavioral literacy be effectively improved.