Addressing ecoparalysis: a community-engaged unit enhances undergraduate student environmental value and problem-solving self-efficacy

Abstract

Undergraduates often express that they feel powerless to help solve important challenges such as climate change and environmental degradation, consistent with the broader phenomena of ecoparalysis. Viewed through value-expectancy frameworks for motivation, value for an outcome and self-efficacy to achieve it lead to goals, which motivate engagement. This study evaluates the impact of a community-engaged course unit, versus a unit without a community-engaged component, in a general-education university environmental science course in the United States on student expressions of environmental value, self-efficacy, and goals. Qualitative analysis of written reflections reveals enhancements in students’ pro-environmental values, environmental problem-solving self-efficacy, and environmentally-related goals. Paired quantitative analysis comparing code frequencies in reflections (n = 37) show statistically significant enhancements in environmental value (p = .00013, Cohen’s d = 0.930) and self-efficacy (p = .00082, d = 0.807). These outcomes suggest community-engaged coursework can help reduce students’ ecoparalysis and motivate them to engage in pro-environmental action beyond the bounds of the course.

Keywords:

• Community-engaged learning
• motivation
• value
• self-efficacy

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS:

• SDG 4: Quality education

Acknowledgements

Support for the community-engaged course examined in this study was provided by the Kernodle Center for Civic Life at Elon University. The research and writing process was supported by the New Faculty Summer Research Fund at Elon University. This manuscript benefitted from feedback from four anonymous peer reviewers.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).