Diagnóstico del nivel de conocimientos y valoración de los efectos de la contaminación atmosférica por material particulado en estudiantes de Enseñanza Media de la Región del Maule

Abstract

The aim of this study was to develop a knowledge diagnosis and assessment of high school students in relation to air pollution by particulate matter. The re- search is a descriptive cross-sectional survey study. The analysis was per- formed by means of a lexicon and a test was applied to a sample group of high school students. Very low levels of knowledge were detected in both insti- tutions, and the school in the commune of Talca showed higher values compa- red to the district of La Molina. 68% of students in both districts claimed they had never addressed the issue in class, and admitted that informal education (86% in Talca and 78% in Molina) was their most relevant source of knowledge on the subject, naming open TV and in- ternet as their most important sources. It can be concluded that both institu- tions show decreasing values regarding the degree of knowledge of air pollution by particulate matter. These results su- ggest the need for the development of educational policies in order to improve the knowledge level of both communes.