Turning Minds On and Faucets Off: Water Conservation Education in Jordanian Schools

Evaluated the impact on knowledge, attitudes and behaviors, of a high school water conservation curriculum implemented through the Jordan Water Conservation Education Project. The curriculum was implemented in ecological clubs in central Jordan high schools as part of mandatory extracurricular activities participation. The curriculum involved recommending water conservation at the household level and promotion of conservation behaviors among students and their families. Comparisons were made among 671 students (424 experimental, 247 control) belonging to high school eco-clubs. Most students were girls in rural settings. The experimental group consisted of students whose teachers implemented an interactive curriculum and promoted household water-conservation behaviors. Teachers of students in the control group did not participate in the curriculum implementation, but those students were exposed to lectures about biodiversity issues. The results indicate that students who were exposed to the new curriculum demonstrated a higher level of knowledge about water conservation, and the students, including households and parents, performed recommended behaviors more often than students in the control group.