Education For Environmental Citizenship Research Articles

Development and validation of China’s Environmental Citizenship Questionnaire: evidence from junior high school students

The cultivation of environmental citizens has become an important measure to cope with the environmental crisis, and the research on the knowledge, conceptions, skills, attitudes, values, and actions of environmental citizens using the Environmental Citizenship Questionnaire (ECQ) is becoming a research focus. The research on environmental citizenship in China mainly staying at the level of theoretical research and descriptive research due to the accuracy of the ECQ. The emergence of the ECQ-China Version is helpful to promote the empirical research on environmental citizenship in China.This study verifies the effectiveness of the ECQ by removing 16 ECQ items which are not suitable for Chinese culture and evaluating environmental citizen-related knowledge among 550 Chinese junior high school students. The ECQ-China Version, consisting of 75 items, showed convincing results for all measurements: students’ past and present environmental citizenship behavior and the essential skills, values, attitudes, and competence that an environmental citizen should be equipped with had a significant impact on students’ future environmental citizenship behavior. This study suggests that: (1) Environmental citizenship education should not only focus on knowledge education, but also include skills education. (2) Environmental citizenship education should adhere to comprehensive principles, focusing on innovative practice of ideas and methods. (3) China’s environmental citizenship education should focus on the cultivation of citizens’ ability to participate, so that environmental citizenship can become the driving force for sustainable environmental development.

Testing the simple model of environmental citizenship in a sample of adolescents

Environmental citizenship and education for environmental citizenship have been identified as important areas to address, yet there is no simple way of studying either environmental citizenship or how effective is the education for it. In order to address this gap in the literature and to provide a practical model for future studies of environmental citizenship, especially in educational contexts, a Simple Model of Environmental Citizenship (SMEC), consisting of environmental (self-)education, abstract and concrete environmental knowledge, environmental awareness, pro-environmental attitudes, need for learning about environmental issues, need for environmental action, environmental literacy, and environmental citizenship was tested in a sample of adolescents. The objective of the study is to test the SMEC in a sample of adolescents in order to investigate its structure and functioning. The current sample consists of 236 adolescents from two schools in Lithuania recruited through convenience sampling. Structural equation modelling with DWLS estimation was used to test the SMEC. The SMEC, after small adjustments that are consistent with previous research, fit the data well. The SMEC provides a good starting point for future interventional and longitudinal studies with adolescents as well as other age groups.

How can we transform citizens into ‘environmental agents of change'? Towards the citizen science for environmental citizenship (CS4EC) theoretical framework based on a meta-synthesis approach

ABSTRACT Environmental Citizen Science (CS) initiatives are argued to provide a promising vehicle for involving citizens in the investigation of various socio-environmental issues. However, environmental CS initiatives have often been criticized for merely focusing on the achievement of their scientific goals and outcomes (science-oriented), rather than on empowering and transforming the participants into ‘environmental citizens’ (citizen-oriented). This study adopts a meta-synthesis approach to synthesize evidence from three recent systematic reviews, seeking to extract a set of design principles for the development of an integrated theoretical framework enabling Environmental Citizenship (EC) in environmental CS initiatives. The proposed framework lies on the intersection of three main research areas: (a) Participation in CS, (b) Pedagogy in CS, and (c) Education for Environmental Citizenship. Grounded on the conjunction of the aforementioned areas, the Citizen Science for Environmental Citizenship (CS4EC) framework puts forward the transformative capacity and the participatory learning aspects of environmental CS initiatives. Overall, the proposed framework lays the foundations for the design of environmental CS initiatives capable for the empowerment and transformation of citizens into ‘environmental agents of change’.

Personality Trait Patterns Moderate the Simple Model of Environmental Citizenship.

The current study investigates the Simple Model of Environmental Citizenship (SMEC) in a representative sample of Lithuanian emerging adults. The SMEC is a practical model of assessing environmental citizenship and is intended to be simple to use in interventions and longitudinal research. A total of 700 individuals (50% female) with a mean age of 30.6 years participated in the survey. The participants filled in a questionnaire comprising measures assessing all the components of the SMEC as well as a personality trait measure. Participants were clustered by their personality traits and the resulting profiles were used as a moderator for the SMEC. The results revealed that the SMEC functions differently for individuals possessing different personality trait patterns and that in order to promote environmental citizenship or to engage in education for environmental citizenship, different strategies might be more effective for different individuals.

Green Cities for Environmental Citizenship: A Systematic Literature Review of Empirical Research from 31 Green Cities of the World

During the last decade, many cities worldwide have implemented various green policies; in this way, they have gradually transformed into “green cities”. The emergence of green cities may provide a promising venue to address cities’ environmental degradation and citizens’ disengagement with current socio-environmental issues, thus giving rise to the notion of Environmental Citizenship (EC). Despite these assumptions, empirical research on the topic is currently emerging. In this study, we examine citizens’ engagement in green cities and its interrelatedness with EC through a systematic literature review. The selected empirical studies (n = 25) were published in peer-reviewed journals during the timespan of the last 12 years (2010–2021). In total, 31 green cities were analyzed in the 25 selected empirical studies. Thematic and frequency analysis revealed that green cities encourage citizens’ engagement with the implemented green policies, while also advancing citizens’ EC. Furthermore, correlational analysis between citizens’ engagement and the Education for Environmental Citizenship (EEC) model revealed that citizens’ engagement with the implemented green policies fosters citizens’ knowledge, skills, attitudes, values, and behaviors, fueling the undertaking of various EC actions. Importantly, green cities have also proved successful in achieving EC’s outcomes leading to sustainability.

Evaluating a Novel Learning Intervention Grounded in the Education for Environmental Citizenship Pedagogical Approach: A Case Study from Cyprus

In times of environmental crisis, Education for Environmental Citizenship (EEC) is argued to be of great significance in the development of secondary education students’ pro-environmentalism as environmental citizens. However, given that EEC is still emerging, there is a lack of empirical foundation on how environmental citizenship can be approached in a pedagogically sound way; as a result, empirical documented interventions in secondary education are also limited. This paper presents a case study from Cyprus, which evaluates the impact of a novel learning intervention grounded in the EEC pedagogical approach, taking into consideration the potential effect of students’ gender as well as of their past/present EC actions. The participants were fifty students (n = 50) in secondary biology education who attended the learning intervention; the students comprised 29 girls (58%) and 21 boys (42%), from two intact classrooms. Data were collected with the Environmental Citizenship Questionnaire (ECQ), which was administered before (pre-) and after (post-) the learning intervention, and were analyzed using a combination of non-parametric statistical analyses (Wilcoxon signed-rank test, Mann–Whitney U test, Spearman’s Correlation and cluster analysis). Our findings indicated that there was a statistically significant increase in the students’ EC learning gains, both EC competences and EC future actions, by the end of the intervention. However, our findings also indicated that the impact of the learning intervention was related significantly to the students’ gender as well as to their past/present EC actions, as these were reported by the students prior the intervention. Overall, our findings provide empirical substantiation of the contribution of the EEC pedagogical approach to the development of secondary students’ EC. At the same time, our study also pointed out the critical roles of gender and past/present EC actions in students’ learning gains.

Environmental Citizen Science Initiatives as a Springboard towards the Education for Environmental Citizenship: A Systematic Literature Review of Empirical Research

Environmental Citizen Science (CS) initiatives have been recognized over time as a promising way to engage citizens in the investigation and management of various socio-ecological issues. In this context, it has been often hypothesized that these CS initiatives may also contribute to the education and subsequent transformation of citizens into environmentally aware and active citizens. However, the potential of CS to serve as a springboard for supporting Education for Environmental Citizenship (EEC) has not been explored yet. A systematic review was conducted, seeking to examine how citizens’ participation in environmental CS initiatives contributes to the EEC, as a venue through which citizens can undertake actions in different scales (local, national, global) to achieve environmental citizenship. A content analysis procedure was implemented on thirty-one empirical studies (n = 31) retrieved from a systematic review of the literature covering the timespan of the last two decades (2000–2020), according to the PRISMA methodology. The findings indicated that the majority of the reviewed environmental CS initiatives primarily enhanced citizens’ skills and knowledge over the competences of attitudes, values, and behaviors. In addition, it was found that CS initiatives empowered primarily citizens’ personal and responsible environmental actions, which were situated in the private sphere and at the local scale. The derived environmental outcomes were mainly related to the solution and prevention of environmental problems. Finally, correlational statistical analysis indicated that there were strong correlations between the Environmental Citizenship (EC) competences, actions and EEC outcomes and unveiled a set of keystone components; namely, components of crucial significance in the field of EC. We reflect on these findings, and we discuss directions for future research.

Socio-Scientific Inquiry-Based Learning as a Means toward Environmental Citizenship

This paper draws on the meta-theory of Critical Realism providing a theoretical basis for the pedagogical approach of Socio-Scientific Inquiry-Based Learning (SSIBL) in supporting Education for Environmental Citizenship (EEC). We argue that while there are different configurations of EEC, inducting citizens in decision-making needs satisfies the following criteria: (a) relevant transdisciplinary knowledge, (b) a values orientation toward both the complexity of, and the necessity for, a sustainable world and (c) a confidence for, and commitment to, socio-political action at individual and collective levels. In order to provide a rich perspective about how SSIBL has been operationalized in various national contexts through specific teacher professional development, we present four cases purposefully selected as exemplars from different European countries (the Netherlands, Spain, the UK and Cyprus). The four cases provide powerful scenarios to discuss different ways in which the SSIBL approach can be implemented in teacher education to meet the criteria identified and, thus, promote informed and responsible action in relation to socio-environmental issues. The whole picture shows a consistent theoretical foundation and interesting opportunities for teacher education, as a relevant strategy to prepare teachers in taking risks and integrating SSIBL within school curricula to foster environmental citizenship.

The Importance of International Collaboration to Enhance Education for Environmental Citizenship

Environmental Education is essential to promote awareness and facilitate the development of environmental citizens. To contribute to the enhancement of environmental awareness, Iceland, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Romania have collaborated in joint educational projects which aim at building capacities on sustainable development, delivering environmental teaching lectures, and developing open educational resources. This article presents past and ongoing collaborations between the mentioned countries, assesses the status of environmental education, and highlights the benefits of international collaboration. For this purpose, information on environmental courses in representative universities from each country was collected, SWOT analyses were performed in each country, and a survey among potential students was carried out. The presented analysis reveals that international collaboration raises environmental awareness and increases the likelihood of becoming environmental citizens.

A Value-Based Framework Connecting Environmental Citizenship and Change Agents for Sustainability—Implications for Education for Environmental Citizenship

Civic agency is acknowledged as a key driver/catalyst for social transformation toward sustainability. Recent environmental citizenship education (EEC) models advocate a transformative approach for addressing environmental unsustainability (addressing underlying structural causes) and the identification of the development of change agents, as both the means for deep social transformation toward sustainability and the outcome of EEC. Given the paucity of studies looking into the psychological attributes of sustainability change agents, this work aims to deepen the theoretical understanding of the motivations that drive individuals to act as change agents and the type and extent of the change that they aspire to effect, with a view to developing competent environmental citizens. To this end, this conceptual work applies Schwartz’s theory of universal values to construct a three-level framework of environmental citizenship (EC) (individual-level, community-level, and socially-transformative-level). Each level reflects an increasing level of change agency that is driven by distinct motivational values and competences. The framework shares affinities with qualitative change agency typologies in the literature but claims that these different qualitative types reflect expanding ‘levels-of-concern’ and an increasing extent of change, as expressed in the EC framework. The paper then discusses curricular implications for the design of meaningful EEC deriving from the framework: Effective EEC entails developing change agency by adapting learning to the EC-level of the learners and the educational organization. The proposed EC/change agency framework provides a scaffold for such curricular adaptation.

Environmental Citizenship Education through the Doñana, Biodiversity and Culture Program

While the need to educate for the formation of environmentally committed citizens is something that has always been recognized, currently however it has become an obligation. The present study analyzes the Doñana, Biodiversity and Culture Program from the perspective of its participants. The program is part of the action being carried out with schools intending to teach environmental citizenry using the context of protected natural spaces, in this specific case, the Doñana National Park. The Park’s managers and public guides were interviewed, and observation records of the process were collected. These were later analyzed by means of a category table elaborated within the project Patrimonial Education for Citizens’ Territorial and Emotional Intelligence, of which this study is a part. The consistency of the informants was verified, as also was the practice observed, showing the importance of the socio-identity framework, of critical thinking, and of socio-affective relationships with the territory.

New thinking in environmental citizenship

European Network for Environmental Citizenship (ENEC) aims to improve understanding and assessment of environmental citizenship in European societies and participating countries. Environmental Citizenship is a key factor in EU's growth strategy (Europe 2020) and its vision for Sustainable Development, Green and Cycle economy and Low-carbon society (EU-roadmap 2050). The Integrated Network of the ENEC Cost Action will diminish the barriers between human, economic, social, political and environmental sciences multiplying the knowledge, expertise, research and insights of different stakeholders (researchers, scholars, teachers, practitioners, policy officials, NGOs, etc.) related in Environmental Citizenship and focusing on education. ENEC is trying to establish a new theory and a framework of the Education for Environmental Citizenship (EEC), for primary and secondary, formal and non-formal education. The different macro- and micro- level dimensions of formal and non-formal education that could lead to Environmental Citizenship will be focused. By developing National, European and International collaborations ENEC will enhance the scientific knowledge and attention to Environmental Citizenship. Expected deliverables include: a) the creation of a web-site, b) a repository database of scientific measures and evidence based interventions that target Environmental Citizenship, c) the facilitation of scientific training schools, short term scientific missions, conferences and d) the dissemination of collaborative working papers, scientific reports, proceedings, academic publications, policy and recommendation papers and an edited book on Environmental Citizenship. The Action will conceptualize and frame the Environmental Citizenship and will develop new research paradigms and metrics for assessing the Environmental Citizenship. Good examples and best educational practices leading to pro-environmental attitudes, behaviour and values will be highlighted and promoted. Policy measures and recommendations will be proposed. The Action will serve as a vehicle to defragment the knowledge and expertise in Environmental Citizenship.

Pro-environmental Attitudes and Teaching Practice in Secondary Schools Located in Natural Protected Areas from the Perception of Students: The Case of Níjar Fields (Almería -Spain)

Abstract Education for environmental citizenship has become a fundamental dimension in any curricular educational community organization. From this perspective, this descriptive study aims to characterize educational practices in Secondary Schools placed in protected natural areas in order to improve in students, pro-environmental citizenship attitudes. The Ministry of Education Andalusian supported this study during the school 2013/2015 biennium.