The climate crisis presents significant challenges for science education, particularly in fostering students’ agency. Addressing this requires an understanding of the intricate relationships between students’ emotions, hope, and action. This symposium examines these dynamics through three distinct studies and research perspectives, which can inform the design of action-oriented instruction within science education:
Presenters Jan Činčera, Miloslav Kolenatý, Masaryk University, CZ: The first study utilizes a quantitative approach, with representative surveys of 17-years-old school students in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary (N = 6,477). It revealed that while eco-anxiety influenced household-level pro-environmental behaviors, deliberate community actions were mediated by environmental hope, specifically its self-efficacy dimension. Hence, promoting hope emerged as a pivotal strategy for empowering students in climate action.
Presenter Michiel van Harskamp, Utrecht University, NL: The second contribution explores the interplay between individual and collective hope and action in Austrian school students aged 14-17 (N = 437). Mixed-methods results highlighted a notable disparity: Students expressed greater hope in individual than collective solutions, alongside a stronger engagement in personal-sphere actions rather than collective ones. These findings underscore the need for science education interventions to rebuild students’ trust in societal climate solutions.
Presenter Veronika Winter, University of Vienna, AT: The final study investigates Dutch lower secondary school students’ coping strategies and emotions. Analyzing both quantitative (N = 232) and qualitative data (N = 42), it identifies a complex coexistence of worry, hope, and diverse coping mechanisms within individual students. While worry and hope were differently linked to problem- and meaning-focused coping, some students also displayed disengagement, emphasizing the diverse emotional landscapes that science teachers need to be mindful of.
Discussant: Jelle Boeve-de Pauw, Utrecht University
