Building Teen Empowerment through a Clean Air Contest: Implications for Designing Education Outreach

Abstract

Utah suffers from some of the worst air pollution in the nation from inversions during its winter months. Since 2015, the authors have led a growing annual high school public service announcement (PSA) contest that teaches teens about the air pollution implications of their new driving privilege and driving/transportation strategies to help preserve air quality (e.g., refraining from idling, carpooling, taking the bus, etc.). Creating a clean air PSA is a hands-on, action-oriented undertaking that motivates contestants to think about what they can do to tackle local air pollution and how they can influence others to adopt clean air actions. Past survey evaluations of contest participants indicate a higher likelihood to engage in air pollution-reduction behaviors after the contest and that the teens engage and influence their parents and family members to follow suit. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with nine contestants and their parents/guardians (n=19), this study investigates 1.) teens' perceptions and experience with the contest and how its design and implementation contribute to their understanding of Utah's air pollution and motivations to adopt clean air actions; and 2.) what aspects of the contest trigger teen engagement with their parents/guardians about air pollution. Findings illuminate how contests may be designed to motivate adolescents to adopt more sustainable behaviors and become persuasive environmental change agents within their families.