Educating for Sustainable Consumption as a Response to the Global Water Crisis: An Investigation of an Embedded Learning Approach
Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Research › peer-review
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Climate Change and the Sustainable Management of Water Resources. ed. / Walter Leal Filho. Berlin: Springer, 2012. p. 743-759 (Climate Change Management).
Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Research › peer-review
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TY - CHAP
T1 - Educating for Sustainable Consumption as a Response to the Global Water Crisis
T2 - An Investigation of an Embedded Learning Approach
AU - Fischer, Daniel
AU - Freund, Eva Katharina
PY - 2012
Y1 - 2012
N2 - Patterns of consumption are considered as a main driver of climate change. Consequently, the promotion of sustainable consumption features prominently on the international agenda. Education and educational organizations are considered a key instrument to contribute to a more sustainable socialization of youth consumers. Surprisingly, in light of the importance accredited to education for the promotion of sustainable consumption, specifications of educational organizations’ potential contributions remain vague and empirical research on school efforts to engage students with the notion of sustainable consumption incomprehensive and rare. The paper synthesizes conceptual contributions to the discussion of education for sustainable consumption and proposes an approach to an embedded consumer learning that blends formal and informal learning methods. In the empirical study presented, qualitative research was conducted to explore the effects of curricular and action-based education on vocational school home economics students’ perceptions of and relations to sustainable consumption. The findings suggest that while the school’s educational methods exert an influence on students’ awareness, attitudes and behavioural intentions, these only have loose implications for self-reported consumer behaviour. Also, curricular methods that students are exposed to prefer certain issues such as health and environment over others such as social and cultural aspects. Drawing on the findings of the study, implications are drawn for a more holistic approach to education for sustainable consumption in schools that accounts for both rich thematic contexts and formal and informal learning processes, seeking to better align consumption-related educational theory and practice.
AB - Patterns of consumption are considered as a main driver of climate change. Consequently, the promotion of sustainable consumption features prominently on the international agenda. Education and educational organizations are considered a key instrument to contribute to a more sustainable socialization of youth consumers. Surprisingly, in light of the importance accredited to education for the promotion of sustainable consumption, specifications of educational organizations’ potential contributions remain vague and empirical research on school efforts to engage students with the notion of sustainable consumption incomprehensive and rare. The paper synthesizes conceptual contributions to the discussion of education for sustainable consumption and proposes an approach to an embedded consumer learning that blends formal and informal learning methods. In the empirical study presented, qualitative research was conducted to explore the effects of curricular and action-based education on vocational school home economics students’ perceptions of and relations to sustainable consumption. The findings suggest that while the school’s educational methods exert an influence on students’ awareness, attitudes and behavioural intentions, these only have loose implications for self-reported consumer behaviour. Also, curricular methods that students are exposed to prefer certain issues such as health and environment over others such as social and cultural aspects. Drawing on the findings of the study, implications are drawn for a more holistic approach to education for sustainable consumption in schools that accounts for both rich thematic contexts and formal and informal learning processes, seeking to better align consumption-related educational theory and practice.
KW - Sustainability sciences, Communication
KW - Education for sustainable consumption
KW - Consumer learning
KW - Informal learning
KW - Food and nutrition
KW - Water
KW - Student company
KW - Vocational school
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84926355562&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/978-3-642-22266-5_44
DO - 10.1007/978-3-642-22266-5_44
M3 - Contributions to collected editions/anthologies
SN - 978-3-642-22265-8
T3 - Climate Change Management
SP - 743
EP - 759
BT - Climate Change and the Sustainable Management of Water Resources
A2 - Filho, Walter Leal
PB - Springer
CY - Berlin
ER -