Abstract:

The participation of the young population in the analysis and resolution of environmental problems is essential, as it has been shown to have a positive impact on the environment. However, existing information about their perception of their own impact on the environment and how they are influenced by others in this regard is still scarce. This exploratory study aims to identify how they perceive their relationship with environmental problems and how their actions are influenced by different people, like teachers, family or influencers.

For this purpose, 16 first-year students from a public secondary school in Castilla-La Mancha, aged 16 and 17, were asked to respond to a 13-question survey with Likert scale responses (1-5). The results show that the participants have an average perception of how their daily actions affect the environment and how their lives are environmentally friendly (averages of 3.75 and 3.63 out of 5, respectively). The responses indicate a significant interest in environmental problems, with an average of 3.94 points when asked if they would participate in solving them if they knew how. However, participants perceive a lack of time to dedicate to these issues.

Regarding the people they consider as role models for carrying out actions that improve the environment, participants mainly highlight their parents and teachers, with less importance given to influencers. 90% believe they could motivate others to undertake activities that improve the environment.

After the questionnaire, an activity was developed in the classroom about the water quality in nearby rivers, aimed at fostering motivation and participation, recognizing aquatic biodiversity with the help of microscopes, and reflecting on how human actions impact this biodiversity. A systematic observation of the students was conducted during the activity, revealing a high involvement of a group of students at risk of dropping out, a high interest and participation in the debate about how riverbed cleaning affects their conservation from students initially less interested in the topic, and the fact that a particularly motivated student continued with the observation and debate with the teacher even after the class had ended. The group teacher, who is not a member of the research team for this study, was especially motivated and involved with the proposed activities, a relevant fact since teachers are transformative agents of the natural and social environment from the classroom. In conclusion, students have a moderate perception of the influence of their actions on the environment, although their interest in environmental issues is high. They see themselves as capable of motivating others to make improvements in the environment, which is a key fact considering that they can also be transformative agents by communicating the issues worked on to their close environment.

The presented work is an exploratory case study conducted with a small sample, and it is proposed to continue using a larger sample as a future line of research.

Keywords:

Citizen Participation, Environmental Education, Youth Participation, Environmental Problems.