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 -