“I got hope but I don't have trust”: Exploring young people’s thoughts and feelings about the climate emergency

Williams, Sara-Jayne; Portus, Rosamund

Abstract

The CCC-CATAPULT (Challenging the Climate Crisis: Children’s Agency to TAckle Policy Underpinned by Learning for Transformation) project critically examines educational and worldview influences on young people’s (15–18-year-olds) climate and environment-focused learning and agency in four European countries. Specifically, the project involves a multi-method approach, including a large international survey (n=1879), educator interviews, focus groups, and arts-based ‘deep mapping’ activities. In this paper we present some of the findings from both the UK survey data and from the thematic analysis of focus groups. The work we present centres around the following themes: young people’s feelings around climate responsibility, their trust in others, and perceived pathways towards meaningful climate action. Our findings reveal how young people feel burdened by climate responsibilities, have a fundamental distrust in older generations, and do not feel well supported to engage with climate action despite feeling external and internal pressure to take meaningful steps towards climate solutions.
Young people’s narrative quotes are presented to support the themes and in totality provide evidence of the need for the supported inclusion of young people in environmental decision making, greater environmental intergenerational communication, and the integration of climate education which has a focus on accessible action throughout the school curriculum. More broadly, our paper showcases the value of a mixed-methods approach, and specifically the inclusion of qualitative methods within this mixed-methods approach, within the field of environmental psychology.

Citation

Williams, S., & Portus, R. (2023, June). “I got hope but I don't have trust”: Exploring young people’s thoughts and feelings about the climate emergency. Presented at International Environmental Psychology Conference, Arhuus, Denmark

• Presentation Conference Type: Speech
• Conference Name: International Environmental Psychology Conference
• Conference Location: Arhuus, Denmark
• Start Date: Jun 22, 2023
• End Date: Jun 22, 2023
• Deposit Date: Jul 3, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 3, 2023
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/10900964
• Related Public URLs: https://icep2023.au.dk/