Paper Title
Perceptions Of Bioenergy: Is There A Need To Improve Them Among Instructors And Young Learners?

Abstract
Bioenergy is the oldest and most widely used source of renewable energy in the world. However, the share of modern biomass-based technologies in global energy production is negligible. There exist both positive and negative perceptions of bioenergy among public. The study explored bioenergy related perceptions among school students and science teachers in Finland and India in order to find out the current status of public perceptions of bioenergy from a crosscountry perspective. The students in both the countries demonstrated quite positive perceptions of bioenergy. However, they were also concerned over the perceived negative impacts of increasing use of bioenergy on the earth’s biological resources. Likewise, the science teachers from both the countries also appeared to be very positive about the usefulness of bioenergy. Their perceptions of bioenergy were more uniform in the two countries compared with the students’ perceptions. The study recommends stronger emphasis by teachers on environmental and energy related education in schools to increase their awareness of bioenergy and other renewable energy technologies. Keywords- Bioenergy, Perceptions, Students, Teachers