This dissertation discusses the role of values and worldviews in environmental education (EE) and sustainability education (SE). Values and worldviews affect whether we feel concern for the environment and guide our environmental and sustainability choices and decisions. Even though values and worldviews have been studied rather extensively, their role and significance for EE and SE is so pivotal and broad-based, that many gaps in knowledge still exist. Furthermore, multidisciplinary studies covering a range of different educational contexts are not very common.
This research aims to increase theoretical understanding of the multifaceted view of the role of values and worldviews in EE and SE, as well as elicit some new and specific aspects related to this role. The research consists of three empirical sub-studies, focusing on three different themes in different educational contexts: early non-formal nature-related education in Finland, sustainable development education in a Finnish university, and climate change in elementary education in Cambodia. The research approach was multidisciplinary, and values and worldviews were approached from the perspectives of history, education and pedagogy, environmental psychology, as well as environmental philosophy and ethics.
The first two sub-studies were qualitative. The data of the sub-study I consisted of membership magazines of an early 20th century animal welfare organization Helsingin Eläinsuojeluyhdistys (HESY). These were analyzed using deductive content analysis. The data of the sub-study II consisted of a preliminary assignment and in-depth interviews with five higher education teachers in a Finnish university. The data was analyzed using abductive content analysis. The sub-study III was quantitative and based on a survey with Cambodian adolescents (N=389) from three public schools. This data was analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modelling (SEM).
The results of the study support the view that in order to understand educators’ or learners’ environmental and sustainability thinking or concern, it is important to understand their values, which may differ considerably. The results are in line with the view of environmental psychology that knowledge, emotions (e.g., concern) as well as values and worldviews are interconnected, and thus they should be considered in a holistic manner in EE and SE education.
The research also found support for the idea that two value dimensions, intrinsic and instrumental values of nature and altruism and biospherism, underlie people's environmental engagement or sustainability thinking. In addition to these, however, other ideas based on relational values were found. As relational values may resonate with the lived experiences of people from different cultures, and reflect their environmental worldviews, pluralistic EE and SE education might benefit from including relational values as a third category alongside nature's intrinsic and instrumental values. Moreover, it may be worthwhile to study interest in interspecies relations as one of the explanations for environmental engagement alongside egoistic, altruistic and biospheric interests.