Emotions in Environmental and Sustainability Education Research Group
Who we are
We are 28 researchers from 9 different countries who first came together at the European Conference for Educational Research in Glasgow in 2023. We connected over our shared interest in environmental and sustainability education and our perception that still, emotions and affect play too little a role in this research field, even though it is highly relevant for learning and teaching about the climate crisis and environmental destruction and regeneration. We develop joint research for educators and researchers alike, as well as aim to generate a space for emotions-sensitive practices in academia.
Our latest research papers
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Jones et al. 2023: Reimaging activism to save the planet: Using transdisciplinary and participatory methodologies to support collective youth action
Abstract This article offers new insights into the important role that transdisciplinary, participatory action research approaches offer young people as a safe space to ‘act’ on climate change and environmental degradation. Drawing upon methodological meta-reflections on three separate, but interlinked, projects (two UK-based, one in Vietnam), we highlight an evolving approach that fuses knowledge, local…
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Jones et al. 2023: Conversations on grief and hope: a collaborative autoethnographic account exploring the lifeworlds of international youth engaged with climate action
Abstract This paper explores the lifeworlds of international youth involved in climate and/or environmental social action, narratives that have been largely absent from a literature that has tended to focus on ‘traditional’ youth activists located in the urban Global North. Written as a novel collaborative autoethnography involving youth as co-authors, the paper a) collectively reflects…
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Jones et al. 2021: 2020-Vision: understanding climate (in)action through the emotional lens of loss
Abstract We are the midst of a climate emergency requiring urgent climate action that is as yet unforthcoming both on the scale and at the speed needed. This article considers this current state of inaction and how we might understand the processes of attitudinal and behavioural change needed through the emotional framework of loss. These…
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Nadal 2023: Debilidades en la formación y en los principios pedagógicos por la sostenibilidad en profesionales de la orientación educativa del futuro
Access to full text https://octaedro.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/9788419690005.pdf Reference Nadal, A. (2023). Debilidades en la formación y en los principiospedagógicos por la sostenibilidad en profesionales de la orientacióneducativa del futuro. In Jiménez, A. S., Castro, C. J., Vergara, M. yChacón, R. S. (coords.), La escuela promotora de derechos, buen trato yparticipación. Revisiones, estudios y experiencias (pp. 526-533).Octaedro. Image…
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Nadal and Rodríguez-Olay 2022: Sustainability training at Spanish public faculties of education: a virtual ethnography
Abstract Various institutional statements and official documents refer to the Sustainable Development Goals and sustainability training. This should imply a university education in these values, considering that those who are going to train the new generations, in the Spanish State, must pass through the faculties of education. Through an investigation developed thanks to the methodology…
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Höhle and Bengtsson 2023: A didactic toolkit for climate change educators
Abstract Climate change education is seen as an important contributor to climate change mitigation. Yet, its predominant focus on cognitive learning tends to omit the emotional effects of learning about climate change, which often entails learners feeling anxious and overwhelmed and therefore struggling to engage with and enact ‘solutions’. This paper addresses a gap in…
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Lönngren et al. 2020: Engineering students’ emotional positioning in discussions about wicked sustainability problems
Abstract This Work-in-Progress research paper describes the results from a pilot study that aims to explore the role of emotions in engineering students’ discussions about a wicked sustainability problem, i.e. a problem that is characterized by a high degree of uncertainty and ambiguity and for which it is not possible to develop a perfect solution.…
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Lönngren et al. 2021: Using Positioning Theory to Study the Role of Emotions in Engineering Problem Solving
Abstract Background: Engineering is often portrayed as a purely rational discipline, where emotions are considered irrelevant to problem solving. Also, in-depth research on emotions in engineering education is scarce, and most of the existing studies take their theoretical departure in individual and cognitivist perspectives. There is thus a need for emotion research from social interactionist…
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Lönngren et al. 2022: Emotionally challenging and existential issues in teaching and learning practices
Abstract Severe and far-reaching sustainability problems can cause strong feelings of worry, anxiety and ecological grief. They can be experienced as existential in the sense of putting our mode of being, attitudes towards life and the meaningfulness of our lives at stake. During the seminar, the discussions related to this theme were based on an…
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Ágoston et al. 2024: Age differences and profiles in pro-environmental behavior and eco-emotions
Abstract Previous research suggests that age-related differences in pro-environmental behavior (PEB) and the emotional reactions to climate change could originate from generational as well as aging effects and can be influenced by the opportunities and constraints of life circumstances and resources. The current research aimed to better understand age differences through examining the eco-emotions and…
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Ágoston et al. 2022: The psychological consequences of the ecological crisis
Abstract As climate change develops reactions such as eco-anxiety, eco-guilt and ecological grief are becoming increasingly common. Our aim was to develop questionnaires to assess these psychological consequences, and to examine their relationship with pro-environmental behavior (PEB). Items of the questionnaires were generated based on literature review and the qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews (N = 17).…
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Ágoston et al. 2022: Identifying Types of Eco-Anxiety, Eco-Guilt, Eco-Grief, and Eco-Coping in a Climate-Sensitive Population
Abstract Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century and it can affect mental health either directly through the experience of environmental traumas or indirectly through the experience of emotional distress and anxiety about the future. However, it is not clear what possible subtypes of the emerging “psychoterratic” syndromes such as…
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Grund and Brock 2019: Why We Should Empty Pandora’s Box to Create a Sustainable Future: Hope, Sustainability and Its Implications for Education
Abstract (1) Hope and optimism are strongly connected to physical and psychological health and have been much researched in the field of positive psychology. Research has shown that hope is connected to pro-environmental behavior and plays an important role in ESD. (2) In order to operationalize hope and optimism, in a survey, 2564 young people…
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Grund and Brock 2020: Education for Sustainable Development in Germany: Not Just Desired but Also Effective for Transformative Action
Abstract Despite its role as a key factor for transformation, there is still a lack of large-scale studies on the effects of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). The aim of this study is to predict sustainable behavior based on reported implementation of ESD as well as psychological (e.g., attitudes, emotions) and socio-demographic variables. Descriptive statistics…
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Grund and Holst 2023: Emotional Competence: The missing piece in school curricula? A systematic analysis in the German education system
Abstract Emotional competencies are increasingly recognized in their importance for flourishing human development. Yet, there is a lack of research examining their structural integration within education systems. The present mixed methods study systematically assesses the implementation of emotional competence and its five facets (knowledge, recognition, expression, regulation, empathy) within 422 German school curricula. About 40%…
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Grund et al. 2024: Emotions and transformative learning for sustainability: a systematic review
Abstract As multiple global sustainability crises are getting more severe and existential, a better understanding of how people undergo deep personal transformations related to sustainability is needed. In the educational debate on sustainability learning, transformative learning theories are widely used. To analyze specific phases of transformative learning, we derived five meta-phases from the literature (novel…
Listen/watch more from us
Podcast interview for Klimatekot, moderated by Elin Leyonberg, publised 29 February 2024: Känslor påverkar teknikutbildning. In Swedish https://poddtoppen.se/podcast/1457709094/klimatekot/kanslor-paverkar-teknikutvecklingen
Lönngren, J. (2024). Engineers are human beings too: Dealing with values, emotions and morality. Video-recorded lecture for science and engineering educators at NTNU in Trondheim, Norway. https://www.ntnu.no/documents/1291633824/1297304865/Lonngren-Workshop3.mp4/cec6f6d7-3662-3913-5a20-3c94122835f9?t=1709898825995
Our leadership
Convener: Prof. Dr. Mandy Singer-Brodowski, University of Regensburg, Germany
Co-convener: Prof. Dr. Johanna Lönngren, Umeå University, Sweden
Co-convener: Dr. Lisa Jones, University of Hull, United Kingdom
Co-convener: Julius Grund, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
Operational manager: Emma Heikkilä, University of Helsinki, Finland
Scientific communicator: Juliane Höhle, Ghent University, Belgium
Do you want to join our group?
If you are interested in the kind of research we are doing and would like to become part of our group with your knowledge and expertise, please reach out to us! We are very happy to get to know you!
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