Examining Students’ Environmental Attitudes and Environmental Behaviors in EU Countries Participating in ICCS 2022

• In Event: Secondary Analysis of ICCS data: Inequalities, Civic Attitudes, and Civic Engagement

Proposal

Introduction
Environmental issues pose a significant threat to the planet and human health, with consequences such as more prevalent natural disasters, rising temperatures, and biodiversity loss (Owen et al., 2006). The need for environmental sustainability has therefore become increasingly relevant, drawing attention to the role of people’s sustainable attitudes and behaviors. Environmental attitudes encompass individuals’ beliefs and emotions about the natural environment (Milfont & Duckitt, 2009) and often serve as a foundation for actions and decisions. While the Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1991) states that attitudes are one of the key components of behavioral intention, and subsequently, actual behavior, people’s beliefs and feelings do not always lead to actions. Specifically in relation to sustainability, this attitude-behavior gap has been reported before. For example, McNeill and Moore (2015) found that, despite expressing a positive disposition towards sustainable products many ultimately decide not to purchase them. Nevertheless, a study by Yamane and Kaneko (2021) found that younger generations are more likely to live more sustainably than older. These results suggest that the environmental attitude-behavior gap could be smaller in younger generations. Against this background, it is important to explore adolescents’ environmental attitudes and behaviors.
Research aims
To address this important topic, the current study aims to explore to what extent adolescents’ environmental attitudes are associated with their environmental behaviors across EU countries participating in ICCS 2022.
Data and Methods
The study uses data from the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study 2022 (ICCS 2022). All European countries (20 total) who participated in ICCS 2022 were included, except Serbia who did not administer the European Student Questionnaire. Two variables from the International Student Questionnaire measuring students’ positive attitudes towards the environment and students’ expected environmental protection behavior were included along with one variable from the European Student Questionnaire, students’ past sustainable behavior. Correlation analyses examined associations between attitudes and intended and past sustainable behaviors.
Results and Conclusions
The analysis revealed a moderate positive correlation between attitudes and intended future behavior (p = .42) implying that students with more positive attitudes toward the environment were also more likely to report future pro-environmental actions, in line with previous research (e.g. Scott & Willits, 1994). Moreover, results showed a weak positive correlation between pro-environmental attitudes and past sustainable behavior (p = .28). The positive direction is consistent with previous research, though the weaker correlation with past behavior suggests that additional factors likely contribute to the relationship. The findings are consistent with previous research that showed moderating variables, specifically level of involvement and perceived consumer effectiveness, influence the attitude-behavior relationship (Gupta & Ogen, 2006).
This study provided new insights into the relationship between adolescents' environmental attitudes and their behaviors across European countries. Specifically, the findings suggest that pro-environmental attitudes and intended as well as past sustainable behaviors are related. These results underscore the importance of educational programs and policies that can guide adolescents toward sustainable attitudes and behaviors. Additional implications, as well as limitations of the current study and future research directions, will be discussed.
 

Author

• Lauren Elizabeth Musu, IEA