Constituents of Littering: Empirical Study from Staff and Students of in the Senior High Schools of Ghana

Abstract

Littering is considered a major environmental problem. This problem is growing steadily and is attracting great concern among the public, scholars and educational institutions. This study aimed to assess the knowledge base of students and teachers on littering in senior high schools in the Sefwi Wiawso Municipality of Ghana. The approach employs a pragmatic philosophy as a system. This study employed a convergent parallel mixed-methods design. Both qualitative and quantitative were used for complementary results and comprehensive analysis. The population for this study consisted of all teaching staff and students from Sefwi Wiawso Senior High Technical School and St. Joseph Catholic Senior High School. Sefwi Wiawso Senior High Technical School. The study has a student population of 917 and 45 teachers. Convenient and straightforward random techniques were employed for the study, involving 10 teachers and 101 students. The research instruments used for the study were a questionnaire and an interview. The quantitative responses obtained from the questionnaire were coded with numerical values and entered into the data view of SPSS version 23. The qualitative data were analysed through content analysis and further transcribed into themes for analysis, with a side-by-side comparison with the quantitative data. Both staff and students perceived waste as unwanted or unusable materials or any substance/material discarded after primary use. It is also concluded that littering involves the unconscious depositing of materials indiscriminately in public or private spaces. It is recommended that senior high school management provide sufficient waste bins at strategic locations to collect waste on the compound. It is also recommended that school management establish waste clubs to educate and sensitise staff and students and enforce rules and regulations regarding littering and waste on school compounds.