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Promoting Environmental Citizenship in Education: The Potential of the Sustainability Consciousness Questionnaire to Measure Impact of Interventions

Author

Listed:
  • Marta Romero Ariza

    (Department of Didactics of Science, University of Jaén, 23071 Jaén, Spain)

  • Jelle Boeve-de Pauw

    (Research Unit Edubron, Department of Training and Education Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Antwerp, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium
    Centre of Expertise in Urban Education, Departement of Teacher Training, Karel de Grote University of Applied Sciences and Arts, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium)

  • Daniel Olsson

    (Department of Environmental and Life Science, Karlstad University, 65188 Karlstad, Sweden)

  • Peter Van Petegem

    (Research Unit Edubron, Department of Training and Education Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Antwerp, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium)

  • Gema Parra

    (Animal Biology, Plant Biology and Ecology Department, University of Jaén, 23071 Jaén, Spain)

  • Niklas Gericke

    (Department of Environmental and Life Science, Karlstad University, 65188 Karlstad, Sweden)

Abstract

Policy documents across the globe call for citizen engagement to fight climate change emergencies and build more sustainable societies. They also recognize the key role of formal and non-formal education in preparing citizens to address those challenges. However, there is a need to identify appropriate instruments to evaluate the impact of educational interventions on people’s knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors, which are essential components of the action competence required to become environmental citizens and agents of change. The aim of this paper is to investigate the potential of the Sustainability Consciousness Questionnaire (SCQ) to evaluate different educational interventions aimed at increasing environmental citizenship. It presents three sub-studies from Spain, Belgium, and Sweden using the SCQ with varying contexts, duration, and target groups yet sharing common pedagogical features in the interventions. Pre-intervention scores indicate a common pattern of high sustainability knowingness, moderate sustainability attitudes, and lower sustainability behaviors in the three dimensions (environmental, social and economic) of sustainability consciousness, and a positive impact on sustainability behavior after the intervention. These findings are especially significant when compared to previous studies. We therefore conclude that the SCQ is useful for detecting the effects of learning interventions of varying designs and contexts that address environmental citizenship. The results are discussed in terms of key pedagogical features of the educational interventions, and the appropriateness and sensitivity of the instrument in detecting changes in the intended direction. It concludes with implications for research and practice and suggestions for future lines of work.

Suggested Citation

  • Marta Romero Ariza & Jelle Boeve-de Pauw & Daniel Olsson & Peter Van Petegem & Gema Parra & Niklas Gericke, 2021. "Promoting Environmental Citizenship in Education: The Potential of the Sustainability Consciousness Questionnaire to Measure Impact of Interventions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-20, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:20:p:11420-:d:657514
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ralph Hansmann & Claudia R. Binder, 2020. "Determinants of Different Types of Positive Environmental Behaviors: An Analysis of Public and Private Sphere Actions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-30, October.
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    3. Jelle Boeve-de Pauw & Niklas Gericke & Daniel Olsson & Teresa Berglund, 2015. "The Effectiveness of Education for Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(11), pages 1-25, November.
    4. Ariel Sarid & Daphne Goldman, 2021. "A Value-Based Framework Connecting Environmental Citizenship and Change Agents for Sustainability—Implications for Education for Environmental Citizenship," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-19, April.
    5. Sabine Weiland & Thomas Hickmann & Markus Lederer & Jens Marquardt & Sandra Schwindenhammer, 2021. "The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: Transformative Change through the Sustainable Development Goals?," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(1), pages 90-95.
    6. Eleni Sinakou & Vincent Donche & Jelle Boeve-de Pauw & Peter Van Petegem, 2019. "Designing Powerful Learning Environments in Education for Sustainable Development: A Conceptual Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-23, October.
    7. Niklas Gericke & Jelle Boeve‐de Pauw & Teresa Berglund & Daniel Olsson, 2019. "The Sustainability Consciousness Questionnaire: The theoretical development and empirical validation of an evaluation instrument for stakeholders working with sustainable development," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(1), pages 35-49, January.
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    5. Hatem Abushammala & Salma Taqi Ghulam, 2022. "Impact of Residents’ Demographics on Their Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices towards Waste Management at the Household Level in the United Arab Emirates," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-14, December.

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