This study was initiated to understand what students know, how they feel, and how they act in the perspectives of environmental literacy. This study takes it a very serious problem that there has been no data about Korean students’status of environmental literacy so far. Based on the correct diagnosis of Korean students’ environmental literacy, environmental education in Korea, including national curriculum, teaching materials and strategy, would take the right way. This study accepts Simmon (1995)’s framework of environmental literacy, consisting of 5 areas, environmental knowledge, skills, affect, and behavior, which is consistent with general goals of environmental education. This study analyzed the relationship between areas in environmental literacy and factors contributing to improving students’ environmental literacy. This study also checked which factors, including age, gender, parents’ schooling, environmental education in schools, and students’ science-related attributes, contributed to improving students’ environmental literacy. The results of this study will help science educators keep in mind how important it is to teach science from the perspectives of environmental literacy.

The purpose of this study is to explore high school students' environmental literacy and from its result, to suggest ways to reform environmental education. 1047 students from Seoul and Kyeongki province participated in the survey. The questionnaire consisted of four criteria of environmental literacy including knowledge, skill, attitude and behavior. The result was analyzed and the factors which affect high school students environmental literacy were explored. From this result, we made suggestions to improve environmental education as follows. First, environmental education in school should focus on knowledge criterion. Though school environmental education has been helpful for students to build environmental literacy in attitude and behavior criteria, its effect has not been good enough in knowledge criterion. Second, science education can enhance students' environmental literacy. Students who like science best and students who belong to science major classes were reported to possess better understanding in knowledge criterion. Also, students who like life science appeared to have a more positive attitude in environmental literacy. Third, informal education must be considered to form students' environmental literacy. In particular, the effect of mass media is inarguable. Thus, we should find a way to link formal education and informal education to improve environmental education. Fourth, high school students' interest in the environment must be encouraged since it is evident that higher interest would result in better outcome in environmental education.