Youth-Led Climate Change Action: Multi-Level Effects on Children, Families, and Communities

Carlie D. Trott
Additional contact information
Carlie D. Trott: Department of Psychology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 22, 1-20

Abstract: Empirical studies of children’s climate change action are rare, especially beyond the formal classroom and among pre-teen youth. This mixed-methods study examined the multi-level impacts of climate action by ten- to twelve-year-olds following an after-school program that used participatory methods to encourage children’s action at household and community levels. Through surveys and focus groups, children reported engaging in a variety of climate-protective actions to reduce their energy use and waste, with some children becoming more physically active as they left behind electronics to play outdoors. Children also provided abundant examples of sharing their climate change knowledge and inspiring action among family and friends, as well as being influential in school and community settings. Findings of the present study shed light on the importance of action opportunities in climate change educational settings, not only for children’s mental and physical health, but for its transformative potential through children’s intra- and intergenerational influence.

Keywords: action; children; climate change; intergenerational influence; participatory action; pro-environmental behavior; youth (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/22/12355/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/22/12355/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:22:p:12355-:d:675228

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().