CUORE project - Parents Questionnaire

1. “Elena Cuza” School, Iaşi
C.U.O.R.E
Questionnaire for parents
Sample: 191 subjects
A material realized by the psychopedagogical
teacher, Bârlădeanu Corina

2. 1. To what extent are you concerned about the present state of the
health of the environment in your town?
0%
16%
22%
a. foarte preocupat/ă
b. preocupat/ă
c. puţin preocupată
d. nu mă preocupă deloc
62%
At the first question, which concerns the parents’ interest in environmental problems, 62% of subjects
have answered that they were concerned about these problems, 22% of subjects said that they were very concerned
about environmental problems and 16 % of subjects answered that they were little concerned about them. These
percentages point to us a rather high interest of the adults (parents) questioned on environmental problems and on
problems related to the health of the environment we live in.

3. 2. Do you talk in your family about problems related to the
protection of the environment?
2%
19%
30%
a. întotdeauna
b. deseori
c. rareori
d. niciodată
49%
As far as this question is concerned, the diagram indicates to us that there is a slight tendency to
communicate more and to discuss in family different aspects which are connected with the protection of the
environment and with the education provided to children in this respect. 19% of parents answered that they
always talked with their children about such problems, 49% of parents answered that they often discussed
these problems while 30% of parents stated that they seldom talked about these issues and 2 % said that they
never discussed them in family. We can notice therefore that problems regarding the protection and the
conservation of the environment we live in become a point of interest for more and more inhabitants of the local
community.

4. 3. The protection of the environment also implies measures to save/reuse water, energy
and waste. Do you support and apply such measures in your family?
3%
23%
26%
a. întotdeauna
b. deseori
c. rareori
d. niciodată
48%
The parents’ answers at this question complete the answers given at the previous question and
confirm the conviction that there is a growing tendency for people to save resources and be concerned about
the protection of the environment. Therefore 23% of respondents stated that they always saved
resources, 48% of them stated that they often saved resources, 26% of respondents answered that they
seldom saved resources and 3 % of respondents declared that they never saved them.

5. 4. Waste which are the result of daily activities and can harm the environment are:
paper, cardboard, bottles, glass, plastic containers, scrap iron, organic
materials, clothes, shoes, electronic and domestic devices, dangerous waste (boxes of
varnishes, lacquers, paints, gas bottles) etc. Do you select these materials when you throw them away?
20% 22%
a. întotdeauna
b. deseori
c. rareori
d. niciodată
27%
31%
This question concerns the daily behaviour, the routine, if you wish to say so, of our subjects regarding
the way in which they throw the waste. 22% of parents always select waste before throwing them, 27%
of them often make a selection of waste, 31 % of parents seldom select waste and 20% of them never
make a selection of waste. From a certain point of view, the percentages which resulted are correlated
with the results at question no. 6 namely, a high precentage of subjects don’t make a selection of waste
maybe because in the area they live there are no selective waste containers.

6. 5. Did you happen to throw away plastic bottles, paper, cardboard in
the street or in green areas?
0% 2%
20%
a. întotdeauna
b. deseori
78%
c. rareori
d. niciodată
This item concerned the subjects’ capacity for self-analysis and for becoming aware of their own social
behaviour related to the protection of the environment. We can notice that there is a a very high percentage, 78% of
parents who have never thrown waste in the street and only 20% of them seldom threw waste materials in the street and
2 % often threw them in the street. These percentages are satisfactory as long as the answers are correct, otherwise we
can talk about an attitude change due to the wish for social desirability on the part of the parents.

7. 6. Are there any selective waste containers in your
neighbourhood?
5%
27%
a. da
68%
b. nu
c. nu ştiu
As for this item, 68% of parents answered that there were no special selective waste
containers, 27% of them confirmed that there were such containers in their neighbourhood and 5 % answered
that they didn’t know about their existence.

8. 7. Have you ever delivered such waste to a collection centre?
1%
12%
49%
38%
a. întotdeauna
b. deseori
c. rareori
d. niciodată
Question no.7 relates to the evident behaviour of subjects concerning the actions for the
collection of waste that have been taken so far. Therefore, 1 % of respondents have always delivered waste
to the collection centres, 12 % often delivered waste to such centres, 38% of subjects seldom did this and
49% never delivered waste materials to a collection centre. On one hand, these percentages point out the
subjects’ lack of education and interest in this respect and on the other hand, they point out the poor
management at an administrative and territorial level of the companies which manage these collection
centres.

9. 8. Have you ever given a new use to some waste in your household?
4%
27%
21%
a. întotdeauna
b. deseori
c. rareori
d. niciodată
48%
As to question 8, which also refers to the parents’ behaviour, 4% of respondents answered that they
always reused waste, 21% of them often reuse waste, 48% seldom reuse waste materials and 27% never give
another use to the materials which they throw. The results received at this item are correlated with those received at
question 7 and underline once more the lack of an ecological education of the subjects in this respect and maybe
the easiness with which this problem is dealt with.

10. 9. Is your house equipped with water gauges for metering?
0%
6%
a. da
b. nu
c. nu ştiu
94%
As to question 9, the subjects were required to answer if they had metering devices in their houses.
Thus, a very high percentage, 94% of the questioned parents have water gauges in their house and only 6 % don’t
have such devices in their house. This result can be explained by the subjects’ concern and interest in water saving.

11. 10. Which is the monthly water consumption per family?
13%
41%
a. sub 10m3
b. peste 10m3
c. nu ţin cont de consum
46%
This question refers to the monthly water consumption. The water consumption of 41% of subjects is
below 10m3 monthly, the consumption of 46% is above 10m3 monthly and 13% of respondents are not interested
in water consumption and don’t take into account how much water they consume monthly.

12. 11. Do the taps in your apartment lose water?
3% 4%
a. da
b. nu
c. nu ştiu
93%
At question 13, which concerns the water losses in the houses, a high percentage of subjects, 93% of
them answered that their taps didn’t have water losses, 4 % answered that their taps had water losses
and 3 % answered that they didn’t know whether the taps had losses or not. These results are correlated
with those received at question 9 and underline the parents’ concern about water consumption.

13. 12. How often do you use the washing machine?
11%
35%
a. o dată
b. de două ori
29%
c. de trei ori
d. de mai multe ori
25%
This item refers to water consumption. 11% of subjects answered that they used the washing
machine once a week, 29% answered that they used it twice a week, 25 % of subjects use it three times a
week and 35% use the washing machine several times a week.
These results are correlated with those received at question 10 concerning the monthly
consumption of water and in both diagrams we can therefore notice a growing tendency towards consumption.

14. 13. Did you happen to wash the car or other different personal
goods in the water of the rivers/lakes?
0%
1% 7%
a. întotdeauna
b. deseori
c. rareori
d. niciodată
92%
Question 13 is meant to emphasize the respondents’ behaviour and attitude regarding the
environment. Therefore, 92% of parents stated that they never washed their car in the water of rivers and
lakes, 7 % answered that they seldom washed it in the rivers or lakes and 1% said that they always washed
the car in the water of rivers and lakes. These percentages are satisfactory as long as the answers are
correct, otherwise we can talk about an attitude change due to the wish for social desirability on the part of
parents.

15. 14. What type of light bulbs do you use in your house?
11%
16%
8%
4% a. cu incandescenţă
b. fluorescent
c. halogen
d. economic
e. nu ştiu
61%
Parents gave the following answers at question 14: 16 % of parents use incandescent light bulbs, 8%
have fluorescent light bulbs, 4% have halogen light bulbs, 61% of parents have economic light bulbs and 11 % didn’t
know to answer at this question.

16. 15. Do you turn on the light in your house:
27%
a. ori de câte ori este nevoie în cursul zilei
b. indiferent de momentul zilei
7%
c. cât mai rar
66%
0%
Item 15 takes into account the subjects’ daily conduct, their daily practices. 66% of subjects stated that they turned
on the light as often as necessary in the daytime, 7 % of parents answered that they turned on the light irrespective
of the moment of the day and 27% said that they turned it on as seldom as possible. As in the case of the items
which concerned water consumption, we can notice a slight growing tendency for the saving of energy.

17. 16. Do you turn off all the electrical equipment
(computer, radio, printer, etc.) each time you use them?
3%
5%
24%
a. întotdeauna
b. deseori
c. rareori
d. niciodată
68%
This question concerns the subjects’ habits as far as electrical and domestic equipment is concerned. We can notice
that 68% of respondents always turn off the electrical equipment in their house after using them, 24% often turn them
off, 5% seldom turn off the electrical equipment and 3% never turn off the electrical equipment. These results are
correlated with the other data from the items which take into account consumption.

18. 17. Which is the monthly energy consumption in your apartment?
13%
30%
a. sub 100kw
b. peste 100 kw
c. nu ştiu
57%
This question refers to the energy consumption in the houses of the subjects of the analysis. Therefore 30% of
parents stated that the consumption of energy was below 100kw, 57% answered that the consumption was above
100 kw and 13 % stated that they didn’t know what their consumption was.

19. 18. Do you think that the way you paint the walls of your
house influences the consumption of energy?
24%
43%
a. da
b. nu
c. nu ştiu
33%
This question required the subjects to express their opinion concerning the relationship which exists between the
way we decorate our house and the consumption of energy. 43% of parents think that the way the walls are painted
has an influence on the consumption of energy, 33% answered that his didn’t have any influence on the
consumption of energy and 24% of parents abstained from answering or didn’t know to answer. These results
demonstrate that a rather high percentage of parents have information- at least at a theoretical level- about possible
ways of saving energy.

20. 19. Do you prefer natural light to artificial light (from light bulbs) in
the daytime?
1%
7%
14%
a. întotdeauna
b. deseori
c. rareori
d. niciodată
78%
Item no.19 is an opinion item and takes into account the respondents’ preference for a certain type of light, natural or
artificial light. A very high percentage of the subjects answered that they always preferred natural light to artificial light
(78 %), 14% answered that they often preferred natural light to artificial one, 7% stated that they seldom preferred
natural light to artificial one and 1% answered that they never preferred natural light to artificial light.

21. 20. Would you like to find more information concerning the “3R
education” (reduction, reuse, recycling)?
9%
5%
a. da
b. nu
c. nu ştiu
86%
The last question in the questionnaire, an opinion question, was meant to be a feed-back of our whole analysis
and referred to the parents’ wish to find out other information about “3R education”. A very high percentage, 86%
of parents stated that they wanted to find more things about “3R education”, 9 % said that they didn’t know if they
wanted to find more information and 5 % answered that they didn’t want to find more things about “3R education”.
We don’t consider this rejection a form of ignorance, but we think that this percentage was a consequence of the
lack of time. However, the subjects’ interest in these themes is very high.

22. Identification data:
Studii
Vârsta 7%
5%
18%
28%
studii medii
<35 ani studii superioare
35-50 ani fără studii
65%
> 50 ani
77%
Among the subjects who took part
in this survey, 84% were women and 16% were
Sex men. 77% of subjects are aged between 35 and
50 years old (active population), 5% of subjects
are above 50 years old and 18% of subjects are
below 35 years old.
16%
Most of the respondents, respectively 65% of
them have a secondary education, 28% of them
have a university education and 7% don’t have
Masculin
any education. There may be a correlation
Feminin
between the percentage of 5% represented by
the subjects who are above 50 years old and the
percentage of 7% represented by the persons
84%
without an education. This correlation is not
obligatory though.

23. Conclusions of the questionnaires
Following the results of the questionnaire, we notice
that there is a tendency to save energy and water
but this is only on account of the costs. It is also
remarkable the adults’ growing interest in these
problems and this is a positive thing because there is
a motivation.
There is also a deficiency concerning the organization
of the cleaning local administrative companies.