Abstract:

This study is based on the idea that people's beliefs affect individual and social behavior and help them be explained. That is why, know the environmental beliefs of students allows us to try to change unwanted behaviors related to the environment, since they involve the differentiation and discrimination in students about what they “consider true” and what “is really true”.

The use of “based-on-the-pupil” learning and teaching methods promotes the acquisition of significant learning in Environmental Education. In addition, the use of an interdisciplinary methodology which includes global and local aspects of the sustainable development will allow us to stimulate the critical thinking in our students in order to facilitate their approach to pro-environmental systems of beliefs.

The present work aims, first, to develop a valid and reliable measurement instrument to weight up the university students’ beliefs about environmental issues and, secondly, to know the environmental beliefs of students of Teacher’s Degree at the University of Jaén (Spain).

The analysis of the obtained results shows a wide dispersion of data. But, besides, we can realize -for instance- that our students are concerned about the environment and its conservation or that they know what to do in order no to make damage to the environment but they do not put it into practice.

Keywords:

Beliefs, Environmental Education, Learning and Teaching Methods, Teacher’s Degree.