Ecuadorian students’ conceptions and personal experience regarding water management issues / Concepciones y experiencias personales de los estudiantes ecuatorianos sobre la gestión del agua

Abstract

Household water distribution and wastewater management represent major challenges in developing countries. In designing effective instructional interventions to address this issue, educators should consider people’s current knowledge of water management as a starting point. In our study, we examine Ecuadorian students’ current conceptions and personal experience in the context of water management issues. A sample of 73 adolescents from the Guayas coastal region of Ecuador responded to a paper-pencil questionnaire with open questions. The subsequent qualitative content analysis revealed some interesting results. In particular, the students’ life experiences appear to shape the students’ conceptions regarding the origin of piped-in household water and its ultimate destination, suggesting that experience-based learning has occurred. We found that a confusion of issues may arise. Mixing up the household water system with the wastewater system or household water with bottled water may lead to overgeneralization. Technical terms like groundwater, waterworks and wastewater treatment plant seem to be unfamiliar to most Ecuadorian students. Inferring from our results, we present practical recommendations for educators, both in developed and developing countries, to use in their instruction on water management issues.