Effect of materialism and environmental knowledge on environmental consciousness among high school students: A study conducted in Istanbul province

As a result of increased industrial production and individual consumption after the industrial revolution, environmental degradation became a growing global concern. Especially when we consider the fact that young people of today will be decision makers in the future, their attitudes and behavior towards the environment will doubtlessly have great influence on natural resources and their sustainability in the future. This study explores the effect of environmental knowledge and materialism values of high school students on environmental consciousness. Subsequently, it is explored whether there is a differentiation in materialism, environmental knowledge and environmental consciousness according to gender and pre-school knowledge level of the students. The convenience sampling method, multiple regression analysis and t-test were applied to the data obtained from the sample of 1011 12th grade students in Istanbul. The outcomes of the study shows that environmental knowledge and materialism variables are meaningful in explaining environmental consciousness.