Encouraging Pro-environmental Behaviour: Joining Theory and Practice to Inform Teacher Education

Abstract

This chapter’s study was undertaken to explore outcomes of an outdoor environmental education programme relating to the motivation of pro-environmental behaviour (PEB). Inspired by the value-belief-norm model of environmentalism and the theory of planned behaviour, the study explored changes in Grade 6 students’ environmental knowledge, attitudes, and self-reported behaviours occurring through participation in the programme. The quantitative methods employed found no change in measured environmental knowledge nor environmental attitudes. However, both archival and newly collected data revealed a statistically significant increase in students’ self-reported PEB. Results suggest that while the programme was successful in stimulating Grade 6 students’ self-reported PEB, the shift occurred without an associated change in students’ environmental knowledge or attitudes. This finding suggests that environmental knowledge and attitudes may be unnecessary in the motivation of PEB. The study supports the value of outdoor environmental education as related to the encouragement of PEB and provides insight into the pathways by which PEB can occur. Awareness of these pathways is considered a valuable guideline for teachers or teacher educators hoping to inspire PEB among their students.