The Influence of Academic Knowledge, Media Exposure, Field Experience, and Pro-Environmental Attitudes on Environmental Literacy: A Study of University Students in South Sulawesi

This study investigates the influence of Academic Knowledge, Media Exposure, Field Experience, and Pro-Environmental Attitude on Environmental Literacy among university students in South Sulawesi, Indonesia.Employing a quantitative explanatory design, data were collected through an online questionnaire from 300 students and analyzed using Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with 5,000 bootstrap resamples.All constructs were measured using a five-point Likert scale and validated for reliability and validity prior to analysis.The results reveal that all four predictors significantly and positively affect environmental literacy: Academic Knowledge (β = 0.052, t = 4.366, p < 0.001), Media Exposure (β = 0.053, t = 6.602, p < 0.001), Field Experience (β = 0.051, t = 5.188, p < 0.001), and Pro-Environmental Attitude (β = 0.057, t = 2.361, p = 0.019).The model explains 86.1% of the variance in environmental literacy (R² = 0.861) and demonstrates strong predictive relevance (Q² = 0.661).These findings highlight that integrating green curriculum, strengthening media literacy, promoting experiential learning, and fostering pro-environmental values are effective strategies to enhance environmental literacy in higher education.Future research should adopt longitudinal and qualitative approaches to explore the developmental and contextual dynamics of environmental literacy more deeply.