Misconceptions in Australian students' understanding of Ozone depletion

Declining levels of stratospheric ozone resulting from anthropogenic source gases is internationally recognized as one of the Earth’s most important environmental issues. In the last twenty years, global ozone trends show that concentrations are decreasing by 2-5% per decade in the middle latitudes. The societal concern is that with decreasing concentrations of ozone, the amount of the Sun’s ultra-violet (UV) radiation reaching the Earth’s surface will increase and potentially damage both human and other biological life. The goal of this pilot study is to investigate whether misconceptions exist in Australian students’ understanding of ozone depletion and the relationship to skin cancer in Australia. Students from year 3 through first year university were questioned about issues related to ozone depletion and skin cancer. A simple experiment is developed to examine whether some student concepts can be altered through the use of visual diagrams. Included in this paper is an update on the current status of ozone depletion over Australia, and the relati onship to UV radiation and skin cancer. In addition, a brief review of newspaper articles written about ozone depletion is conducted to explore what possible role the media plays in public misconceptions. Understanding the origin of students’ ideas can assist teachers in producing more effective study programs 1 and may be useful in developing a national strategy for teaching environmental issues. In Australia there is a particular interest in sun related issues because of the population’s high incidence of skin cancer. For example, in 1995 approximately 270,000 cases of nonmelanocytic skin cancer were diagnosed. This suggests that nearly two in three Australian residents will be treated for some non-melanocytic skin cancer during their lifetime. For the more life-threatening melanoma skin cancer, over 7,000 cases were diagnosed in Australia, with almost 1,000 fatalities reported. It is estimated that the cost of treating skin cancer in Australia is between $300-500 million per year. 2 In an attempt to improve the awareness of the dangers of sun related diseases, the government initiated a number of sun awareness campaigns to educate the public. These campaigns have been highly effective in getting across the message of the sun’s potential harm. In a survey by the Victorian Anti Cancer Council, almost 80% of respondents had heard the term ‘Sun Smart,’ and correctly understood what the phrase meant. 3 Student awareness of the sun and issues related to ozone depletion are also particularly strong. In a recent survey of high school students from Melbourne and Brisbane, the destruction of the ozone layer was identified as the most important environmental issue facing Australia and the