Secondary school students are at an age where their beliefs and values can quickly change due to separation from the influence of adult figures such as guardians and parents. For this reason, climate change education is essential so that students can make informed decisions about climate action. Previous research indicates that undergraduate students studying economics place more value on personal gain and lesser value on environmental action. The authors of this study were interested in how education shapes students' values, beliefs, and norms related to the environment and climate change policies. Specifically, they were interested in whether and how these values changed among secondary school students over the course of one year.
Researchers used a Values-Beliefs-Norms (VBN) model to understand the students' environmental orientation. VBN has three categories of values: the first, egoistic values, is to care for the environment because it gives one personal gain; the second, altruistic values, is supporting pro-environment actions because it will benefit society as a whole; the third, biospheric values, supports the protection of the environment because of its intrinsic value, not for any benefit of humanity.
The study took place in Stockholm, Sweden. The researchers collected data using a survey that was administered to students attending nine secondary schools at two time points. These schools were selected due to their proximity to Stockholm, and included five urban schools and four rural schools. All the participants were enrolled in a business economics program. Participants were surveyed once at the beginning of the year and once at the end to assess changes in their values, beliefs, and norms. A total of 212 students completed the survey at the first time point and 182 at the second. The first section of the survey measured participants' value orientations on a 9-point scale ranging from “opposed to my value” to “most important value.” The second section of the survey measured beliefs on how to collectively combat climate change. The options included change through education, market forces, government-imposed taxes on the market, and government policymaking. The last section of the survey measured participants' behavioral norms and what they were willing to do to support climate change action. This included actions such as supporting policymaking and willingness to forgo flying in airplanes. The data were analyzed using statistics.
Overall, the authors found that students became more committed to their values over the course of the year. This finding supports previous research that values are still being formed during adolescence. In particular, biospheric and altruistic values were positively related; in other words, when one increased, so did the other. Additionally, participants with higher biospheric values also reported higher willingness to change personal consumption and pay higher prices.
Over time, participants' belief that climate change could be addressed through the market-based mechanisms waned. However, participants belief in government policies and education can work to mitigate climate change held steady. The results also indicated that participants with biospheric and egoistic values were less likely support government action, instead favoring higher prices and personal action.
Participants indicated almost no change in norms over the course of the year. For example, at both time points, participants favored norms like paying higher prices for more environmentally friendly products and reducing consumption of goods that can negatively affect the environment. At the end of the year, participants who felt that tax changes could address climate change were more likely to report a willingness to pay higher prices.
This study has limitations. A relatively small group of students participated in this research, and the results are specific to this group of participants in Sweden. Another study with more participants undertaken in another location may produce different results. Additional research is needed to understand how studying other subjects may affect students' values, beliefs, and norms.
Given that students in secondary school are still forming their values, the authors recommend that educators pay attention to the development of these values. While the authors warn against trying to force students to think a particular way, they suggest developing curricula that help students understand what collective action towards climate change. Specifically, this might address how market forces, governments, and individuals can act to mitigate climate change.
The Bottom Line
This study measured the environmental values of Swedish secondary school students studying business and economics to understand whether and how they might change over the course of a year. They found that participants values, beliefs, and norms did change, and that valuing nature intrinsically was associated with willingness to change individual behaviors. The authors also found that participants' belief that market forces can address climate change decreased. The study recommends that climate change education efforts incorporate a focus on values and collective action.