Exploring Environmental Education for East African Youth

Do Program Contexts Matter?

Abstract

Roots & Shoots and Wildlife Clubs of Uganda are two prominent environmental education programs that have encouraged East African youth to advocate for their communities and ecology. The programs promote positive attitudes and selfdetermination through service learning. This pedagogical approach motivates youth to solve environmental problems and champion community-centered conservation and sustainable development initiatives. Using survey-based measures, open-ended questions, and participant observation, this study investigated how youth perceived that participation in these environmental education programs impacted their social competencies, self-efficacy, civic engagement, and ecological values. Results suggest that although there are some common program experiences, contextual differences based on the type of program and school environment influence youths’ choice of service projects and may be related to program effects on youth. Our findings underscore the need to further examine the interplay between programs’ environmental education missions, settings, and outcomes, especially among young people from developing countries who represent the majority of the world’s youth population.