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Using Motive-Alignment to Enhance Environmental Education for Youth: A Participatory Field Experiment

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Title: Using Motive-Alignment to Enhance Environmental Education for Youth: A Participatory Field Experiment
Language: English
Authors: Jenna Spitzer (ORCID 0000-0002-5100-076X), Stathis Grapsas (ORCID 0000-0002-3837-9701), Astrid Poorthuis (ORCID 0000-0002-6541-5288), Lysanne te Brinke (ORCID 0000-0001-6182-6920), Sander Thomaes (ORCID 0000-0002-0838-6222)
Source: Developmental Science. 2026 29(3).
Availability: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 14
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Environmental Education, Learning Activities, Behavior Change, Goal Orientation, Youth, Motivation, Career and Technical Education, Climate, Student Participation, Voting, Sustainability, Intention
DOI: 10.1111/desc.70197
ISSN: 1363-755X
1467-7687
Abstract: We conducted a pre-registered longitudinal field experiment to test whether educational activities inspired by sustainability motive-alignment theory can boost the effectiveness of real-world environmental education. Motive-alignment interventions aim to encourage behavior change by linking new behaviors with goals that are salient to a target group (e.g., for youth, experiencing autonomy, gaining peer status, or contributing to society). First, we used participatory methods to develop two motive-alignment inspired (MA-inspired) environmental education activities with youth. We then randomly assigned 31 classes of vocational school students to receive a lesson including the MA-inspired activities or an existing lesson about climate change. Ordinal and linear hierarchical Bayesian regression analyses showed that, as hypothesized, the MA-inspired lesson (vs. the original lesson) increased students' involvement in school eco-teams and pro-environmental voting intentions from pre-lesson to post-lesson and two-week follow-up. Exploratory analyses suggested that youth who received the MA-inspired (vs. original) lesson did not feel more motive-alignment during the lesson. However, they did report a heightened sense of environmental efficacy, indicating that the MA-inspired lesson presented pro-environmental engagement as more relevant to youth's motivation for societal contribution. These findings reveal the potential for motive-alignment inspired educational activities--particularly those that tap into youth's motivation for societal contribution--to enhance real-world environmental education.
Abstractor: As Provided
Notes: https://osf.io/jc8e3
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1504266
Database: ERIC
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  Data: Using Motive-Alignment to Enhance Environmental Education for Youth: A Participatory Field Experiment
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Jenna+Spitzer%22">Jenna Spitzer</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5100-076X">0000-0002-5100-076X</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Stathis+Grapsas%22">Stathis Grapsas</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3837-9701">0000-0002-3837-9701</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Astrid+Poorthuis%22">Astrid Poorthuis</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6541-5288">0000-0002-6541-5288</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Lysanne+te+Brinke%22">Lysanne te Brinke</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6182-6920">0000-0001-6182-6920</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Sander+Thomaes%22">Sander Thomaes</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0838-6222">0000-0002-0838-6222</externalLink>)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Developmental+Science%22"><i>Developmental Science</i></searchLink>. 2026 29(3).
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  Data: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Environmental+Education%22">Environmental Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Learning+Activities%22">Learning Activities</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Behavior+Change%22">Behavior Change</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Goal+Orientation%22">Goal Orientation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Youth%22">Youth</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Motivation%22">Motivation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Career+and+Technical+Education%22">Career and Technical Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Climate%22">Climate</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Student+Participation%22">Student Participation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Voting%22">Voting</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Sustainability%22">Sustainability</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Intention%22">Intention</searchLink>
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  Data: 10.1111/desc.70197
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  Data: 1363-755X<br />1467-7687
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: We conducted a pre-registered longitudinal field experiment to test whether educational activities inspired by sustainability motive-alignment theory can boost the effectiveness of real-world environmental education. Motive-alignment interventions aim to encourage behavior change by linking new behaviors with goals that are salient to a target group (e.g., for youth, experiencing autonomy, gaining peer status, or contributing to society). First, we used participatory methods to develop two motive-alignment inspired (MA-inspired) environmental education activities with youth. We then randomly assigned 31 classes of vocational school students to receive a lesson including the MA-inspired activities or an existing lesson about climate change. Ordinal and linear hierarchical Bayesian regression analyses showed that, as hypothesized, the MA-inspired lesson (vs. the original lesson) increased students' involvement in school eco-teams and pro-environmental voting intentions from pre-lesson to post-lesson and two-week follow-up. Exploratory analyses suggested that youth who received the MA-inspired (vs. original) lesson did not feel more motive-alignment during the lesson. However, they did report a heightened sense of environmental efficacy, indicating that the MA-inspired lesson presented pro-environmental engagement as more relevant to youth's motivation for societal contribution. These findings reveal the potential for motive-alignment inspired educational activities--particularly those that tap into youth's motivation for societal contribution--to enhance real-world environmental education.
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  Data: https://osf.io/jc8e3
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  Data: 2026
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  Data: EJ1504266
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        Value: 10.1111/desc.70197
    Languages:
      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 14
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Environmental Education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Learning Activities
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Behavior Change
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Goal Orientation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Youth
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Motivation
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      – SubjectFull: Career and Technical Education
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      – SubjectFull: Climate
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      – SubjectFull: Student Participation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Voting
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      – SubjectFull: Sustainability
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      – SubjectFull: Intention
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      – TitleFull: Using Motive-Alignment to Enhance Environmental Education for Youth: A Participatory Field Experiment
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