Informal urban sustainability education for middle grades in Namibia: Vignette-type surveys for learning and belief about action

• In Event: Education Reform, Activism and Social Change

Proposal

Introduction and Context:
Namibia is the driest country south of the Sahara and of the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change (Allen et al., 2018; Inman et al., 2020). Namibia is committed to sustainability and conservation, is a global leader in mainstreaming Environmental and Sustainability Education (ESE), and is one of few countries worldwide to have a national environmental education policy (UNESCO, 2020).

This study was undertaken at the Namib Desert Environmental Education Trust (NaDEET), a sustainability NGO that operates an urban sustainability camp (USC) in the coastal region of Namibia. In response to Namibia’s unique social and environmental sustainability challenges, especially those in urban contexts, NaDEET opened its USC in 2019. The USC school program launched in 2022 and examines the meaning and implications of “sustainability” within four settings: at home, at school, within extracurriculars, and for self. All activities are Namibia-specific and culturally relevant, appropriate for schools with high populations of indigenous learners.

Theoretical Framework:
At NaDEET children learn to live within the anthropocene. Situated in social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1968), takes a “we practice what we teach” pedagogical approach to the culturally-appropriate sustainability topics taught at the camp (NaDEET, n.d.). Activities such as learning to use efficient cookstoves are situated in post-Apartheid energy justice. Immersive investigations of endemic species are meant to foster a more-than-human relational ontology (Taylor, 2017). All activities are social and experiential in nature, both of which have a long tradition in ESE efforts globally (e.g., McKeown, 2002; Sauvé, 2005; Ardoin et al., 2013).

Objectives:
Since 2022, 32 school groups of learners visited NaDEET for a three-day study in urban coastal sustainability issues. The objective was to measure the extent to which youth understood sustainability practices learned at the USC. Because experiential learning has often been described as “learning by doing with reflection” (Priest & Gass, 1997, p. 20), a sustained period of time between learning activities and evaluation was observed.

Methodology and Approach:
All participants were given a vignette-type survey as the first activity of the program and a post-survey six months later. Surveys consisted of 16 vignettes in the 4 themes described above. Vignettes are short descriptions]of a situation (Atzmuller & Steiner, 2010) and are useful for investigating people’s beliefs about behavior (Hughes, 1998). The effectiveness of vignettes has been verified in sustainability research (Buchan 2005; Flannery & May, 2000), though use with adolescents in ESE is unexplored. Vignettes were designed by NaDEET staff following recommendations for developing culturally relevant vignettes and included 4 choices based on common, age-appropriate actions (Collet & Childs, 2011). Vignettes and associated answer choices were not specifically taught in USC activities or lessons, rather they were meant to examine the actions learners believed to be the best course of action based on their learning and experience.

Research Questions:
1. To what extent did participants’ vignette responses indicate support for sustainable or pro-environmental action-taking after engaging with USC programming?
2. In what ways can the vignettes be used as an evaluation tool for ESE programming?

This study was approved by [blinded] Institutional Review Board and Namibia’s Ministry of Education.

Findings:
Each vignette’s choices were ranked, 1 being the least sustainable or pro-environmental action and 4 being the most. Each participant’s pre- and post-survey was scored accordingly and compared across administrations. In 2022-2023, 681 learners (grades 5-9) completed the surveys.

A t-test comparing pre- and post-surveys demonstrates a statistically significant increase, t(551) = 2.52, p = .012, Cohen’s d = 0.23. Approximately 18% of students did not exhibit a positive change between the pre- and post-survey. Of these, half were from grades 5-6, the youngest learners, which suggests a need for further evaluation in terms of age-appropriateness and comprehension of the vignettes and program activities.

Overall, 82% of learners demonstrated a positive change in at least one theme. The home theme had the greatest improvement in which 47% of learners exhibited an increase. This was largely driven by learners’ response to the vignette: You go to the store to buy groceries. What do you use to carry them home? More students selected the two most sustainable choices, my own re-useable bag, I carry them without a bag, over the option of buying a plastic bag in Namibia (a federal law) as shown by a t-test, t(464) = 5.15, p < .001, d = 0.26. Similarly, in the self section, increases were largely attributed to learners’ responses to their preferred method of transport to school (bike, bus, taxi, or personal vehicle). On the pre-survey, most students selected personal vehicle, which may be aspirational. Vehicle ownership is low across Namibia and this choice may indicate a desire for a higher SES as opposed to a reflection about sustainability. On the post, most students chose a bike.

Practical implications:
The use of vignettes with adolescent populations in ESE is relatively unexplored but may provide insight in how young learners view actions that support environmental sustainability. Careful consideration into the design of vignettes is necessary. For instance, given that the youngest learners demonstrated less change across surveys than older learners, checking for comprehension is needed. Moreover, the vignette about personal car ownership might reflect cultural and economic aspirations. An oral pilot test may have shed light on learners’ comprehension, reasoning, and provided additional insight in cultural appropriateness. That said, the fact that learners overwhelmingly abandoned the vehicle choice on the post in favor of more sustainable options indicates an increase of understanding of sustainable personal choices. Vignettes may be a useful evaluation tool for ESE programs, but need careful design and might be best paired with other evaluation metrics to improve reliability and validity.

These findings indicate that a place-based, experiential learning opportunity focused on local environmental and sustainability issues can afford young learners the opportunity to reflect on sustainable actions relevant to their lives. The improvement of support for more sustainable actions six months later indicates that effective ESE programming may promote the beliefs necessary for youth to engage in environmental sustainability efforts in their homes and communities.

Authors

• Samantha Lindgren, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

• Frances Barkley