A Social Learning Theory-based Intervention to Promote Sustainable Waste Management Behaviour Among Students

Abstract India faces numerous challenges related to waste management, including inadequate disposal systems, a lack of awareness and willingness to segregate waste, and insufficient resources. Students are the future of society, and they learn fast. If we inculcate the SWM behaviour in the early ages of their lives, it will help the society. This study evaluates the effectiveness of a Social Learning Theory (SLT)- based intervention designed to enhance sustainable waste management practices among middle-stage students. Using a pre-experimental pretest - posttest design, the study assessed 339 students (aged 10-15 years) from three rural schools in Halol, Gujarat. Students were evaluated on three SLT constructs: cognitive understanding, outcome expectancies, and behavioural performance—a comprehensive 30-hour intervention was conducted. The findings showed the significant improvement across all three constructs: cognitive understanding increased the most by 123.5% with p<0.001, cohen d = 3.24, outcome expectancies improved by 21.7% with p<0.001, cohen d =1.92, and behavioural performance showed enhancement by 67.5% with a large effect size of 0.89. Contrary to theoretical expectations, no significant correlations were found among the three SLT constructs, and structural equation modelling (SEM) had an excellent fit to the data: X2(0) = 6.02e-13, CFI = 1.000, RMSEA = 0.000, SRMR = 0.000. However, the model revealed no significant predictive relationships among the constructs. The study suggested that education policymakers use SLT in schools to enhance behaviour towards solid waste management (SWM).