Abstract

This study aimed to explore the relationship between science literacy and environmental awareness between high-performing and low-performing Grade 11 STEM students. A total of 57 students were given a test questionnaire, categorized based on their academic performance level. Two groups were involved in the study namely high- performing and low-performing students. To find out the correlation between science literacy and the environmental awareness of the participants, the study utilized a quantitative, descriptive, comparative, and correlational research design as it focused on gathering numerical data for the two variables based on the research problem. The research instrument was called the Environmental Awareness and Science Literacy Survey and Test Questionnaire (EASL-STQ), which was composed of a 40-item questionnaire, divided into 4 parts used to assess the environmental awareness of the participants, while a 28-item questionnaire was used for the science literacy part, which totaled a 68-item test questionnaire. The researchers utilized an online platform called Google Forms to collectively gather the data which was distributed in 2 group chats (one for HPS and one for LPS) using Microsoft Teams. The data collected were then analyzed using descriptive statistics, including means, medians, and standard deviations, an independent samples t- test was performed to examine the significance of the differences between the two groups, and a Pearson correlation test was performed to determine the correlation between variables. The study found that high-performing students and low-performing students have low science literacy but moderate environmental awareness. High-performing students had a significant difference from low-performing students in science literacy, but none in environmental awareness. For high-performing students, they have a significant and positive correlation between science literacy and environmental awareness. In contrast, it showed in the study that low-performing students showed no correlation between the said independent variables. Future research should explore the scope of science literacy and environmental awareness in a larger student population so it could improve the science and environmental education in the Philippines.