Shaping tomorrow
Global patterns in youth environmental engagement
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21428034 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Lyudmyla Tsykalova (0000-0001-6579-345X, Clemson University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 56 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 349-367 |
| Publication date | 2025-09-03 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Journal of Environmental Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0095-8964 • E-ISSN: 1940-1892 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/00958964.2025.2498896 |
| OpenAlex | W4410156801 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 48 |
Despite widespread beliefs in the positive link between youth engagement and sustainability, there is nearly no supporting empirical evidence of this relationship. Our research explores the connection between youth environmental engagement, cultural values, climate policies and the resulting ecological impacts. We used responses from 348,760 15-year-olds from 41 countries participating in the Program for International Student Assessment, data the World Value Survey, and two environmental indices to examine youth environmental engagement in terms of environmental knowledge, global agency, and pro-environmental behavior. Analysis revealed that youth environmental engagement is attune with the culture and national environmental protection. Notably, higher environmental knowledge correlates with postmaterialist values, while pro-environmental behavior inversely relates to environmental protection efforts. Moreover, our findings indicate a heightened sense of responsibility in countries where governmental environmental efforts fall short. These insights offer valuable lessons for educators and policymakers, who empower youth as global environmental stewards and lead sustainable transformations
Environmental adult education · Environmental education · Environmental resource management · Pedagogy · Political science · Sociology · Environmental Education and Sustainability · Environmental Science · Outdoor and Experiential Education · Psychology · Youth Development and Social Support
Pisa 2018 Assessment and Analytical Framework
From citizen participation to government participation
Predicting Proenvironmental Behavior Cross-Nationally
People have shaped most of terrestrial nature for at least 12,000 years
Environmental Behavior in Cross-National Perspective
Beyond participation
The environmental attitudes inventory
Environmental education, democracy, Thunberg, and XR
Linking students’ interest in nature to their self-reported pro-environmental behavior and nature activities – A cross-sectional study in grade 5 to 9
Democracy and the (missing) politics in environmental education
Pushing toward systemic change in the Capitalocene
Education to build agency in the Anthropocene
Must we wait for youth to speak out before we listen? International youth perspectives and climate change education
Update to limits to growth
Within-Culture Differences in Self-Construal, Environmental Concern, and Proenvironmental Behavior
Hot-headed” students? Scientific literacy, perceptions and awareness of climate change in 15-year olds across 54 countries
The Politics of Youth Representation at Climate Change Conferences
Youth as the inheritors of collaboration
A model for developing and assessing youth-based environmental engagement programmes
Youth voice on climate change
A Multilevel Analysis of the Determinants of Recycling Behavior in the European Countries
Is a “Silent Revolution” in the Making in China
Coproducing flood risk management through citizen involvement
Generational Replacement and Value Change in Eight West European Societies
Misconceptions of Measurement Equivalence
Public Support for Environmental Protection
Culture and the Independent Self
The Greening of the Globe? Cross-national Levels of Environmental Group Membership
Exploring youth activism on climate change
Global activism and nationally driven recycling
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |