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Dissertation Engaging Key DISSERTATION ENGAGING KEY STAKEHOLDERS IN CLIMATE CHANGE: A COMMUNITY-BASED PROJECT FOR YOUTH-LED PARTICIPATORY CLIMATE ACTION Submitted by Carlie D. Trott Department of Psychology In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Colorado State University Fort Collins, Colorado Spring 2017 Doctoral Committee: Advisor: Jennifer J. Harman Kimberly L. Henry Ernest L. Chavez Lori Peek Copyright by Carlie D. Trott 2017 All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT ENGAGING KEY STAKEHOLDERS IN CLIMATE CHANGE: A COMMUNITY-BASED PROJECT FOR YOUTH-LED PARTICIPATORY CLIMATE ACTION Few studies have examined how youth think about, and take action on climate change and far fewer have sought to facilitate their engagement using participatory methods. This dissertation evaluated the impacts of Science, Camera, Action! (SCA), a novel after-school program that combined climate change education with participatory action through photovoice. The specific aims of this study were to: (1) Evaluate the impacts of SCA on youth participants’ climate change knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors; (2) Examine how SCA participation served to empower youth agency; and (3) Explore SCA’s influence on youths’ science engagement. Participants were 55 youths (ages 10 to 12) across three Boys and Girls Club sites in Northern Colorado. SCA’s Science component used interactive activities to demonstrate the interrelationships between Earth’s changing climate, ecosystems, and sustainable actions within communities. Photovoice, SCA’s Camera component, was used to explore youths’ climate change perspectives and to identify opportunities for their active engagement. Finally, SCA’s Action component aimed to cultivate youth potential as agents of change in their families and communities through the development and implementation of youth-led action projects. Action projects included local policy advocacy, a tree-planting campaign, a photo gallery opening, development of a website, and the establishment of a Boys and Girls Club community garden. To evaluate SCA impacts, a combination of survey and focus group methods were used. Following the program, youth demonstrated increased knowledge of the scientific and social ii dimensions of the causes and consequences of climate change, as well as its solutions through human action. Though participants expressed a mix of positive (e.g., hope) and negative (e.g., sadness) emotions about climate change, they left the program with an increased sense of respect for nature, an enhanced sense of environmental responsibility, and a greater sense of urgency towards the need for climate change action. Further, participants reported increased engagement in personal pro-environmental behaviors, an enhanced sense of agency in the context of climate change, and provided strong evidence of their role as agents of change in family and community contexts. Through SCA, participants gained a deeper appreciation for science (e.g., in school, careers, and society) and reported increased interest, participation, confidence, and performance in school science. Findings contribute to the vast and growing psychology literature on climate change perceptions and action, and from the understudied perspective of youth. Through a combination of innovative methods and interactive projects, the youth in this study gained a number of psychosocial and educational benefits, while tangibly contributing to the sustainable transformation of their families and communities. Findings of this dissertation have implications for educational programs, youth organizing, and interventions aimed to strengthen youths’ active engagement with critical social and scientific issues that impact their lives. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This research would not have been possible without many people. First and foremost, I would like to thank all the children who took part in this project, their families, and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Larimer County, Colorado. I am especially grateful for the support and assistance of Rachel Messersmith, Rob Klein, Desirae Holdaway, Laura Wingate, Andy Abbott, Thomas Daya, Julie Smith, Brad Francis, and Kaycee Headrick. Additionally, I wish to thank this study’s research assistants, Anna Hoover, Christine Zirbel, Jade Croghan, Jimmy McCulloch, and Pauline Freud, for their dedication to making this program a success. This research was made possible with funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Climate Stewards Education Project, the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI, American Psychological Association [APA] Division 9), and the Society for Community Research and Action (SCRA, APA Division 27). I am grateful to each of these organizations for the funding I received to carry out this work. I also wish to thank the Fort Collins Nursery, Hageman’s Earth Cycle, the Colorado State Forest Service Nursery, Hawk Farms, and the Town of Wellington, particularly Jim Miller and Ryan Abbott, for their additional support of youths’ efforts during this project. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to have been supervised, guided, and encouraged by my committee members. I am grateful to Jennifer Harman for her enduring support through each phase of this project, to Kim Henry for her valuable guidance in program planning and analysis, to Ernie Chavez for setting the foundation for a fruitful partnership with the Boys and Girls Clubs, and to Lori Peek for inspiring this project from the start. The success of this program is owed also to Laura Sample-McMeeking whose consideration, advice, and support has been invaluable. This research also benefited enormously iv from the guidance and encouragement of Teri Eastburn. Finally, I wish to thank Trevor Even, with whom conversations inspired, shaped, and sustained this project, and whose tangible and instrumental support is inestimable. Last but certainly not least, I wish to thank my friends and family members who have made pursuing and completing a doctorate possible. Thank you to Jessica Velcoff, Lynette Hish, Brian Siers, and April Gonzalez for helping to pave my path towards graduate school. To my sisters, Samantha Rudgley and Miranda Plimpton, memories of our childhood adventures inspired and invigorated this project. Thank you for your love and support from across vast land and ocean. And to my parents, Daniel and Susan Trott, I simply could not have done this without you. Thank you for your infinite support and encouragement at every stage of my academic journey. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................................... x LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... xii LIST OF KEYWORDS ............................................................................................................... xiv 1. CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 1 1.1 Youth and Climate Change .................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Barriers to Youth Climate Change Engagement .................................................................. 2 1.3 Rationale for Facilitating Youth Climate Change Engagement ........................................... 3 1.4 Statement of the Problem ..................................................................................................... 4 1.5 Purpose and Research Questions .......................................................................................... 6 2. CHAPTER 2 – LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................. 9 2.1 Constructions of Childhood and Youth in Society ............................................................. 10 2.1.1 Implications for Youth Climate Change Education .................................................. 10 2.1.2 Implications for Youth Climate Change Agency and Action ................................... 11 2.1.3 Implications for Climate Change Research with Youth ............................................ 12 2.2 Youth and Climate Change Education ............................................................................... 13 2.2.1 Climate Change Educational Impacts ....................................................................... 13 2.2.2 Benefits of Youth Climate Change Engagement ...................................................... 15 2.2.3 Challenges of School-based Climate Change Education .......................................... 16 2.2.4 Climate Change Education in Informal Settings ....................................................... 17 2.3 Youth and Climate Change Action .................................................................................... 18 vi 2.3.1 Climate Change Education for Action ...................................................................... 19 2.3.2 Youth Climate Change Action through Policies and Programs ................................ 20 2.3.3 Youth Activism and Community-based Climate Change Action ............................. 21 2.4 Psychological Approaches to Climate Change
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