139
Chapter 9
Environmental Citizenship and Youth
Activism
Pedro Reis
9.1 Introduction
The exercise of Environmental Citizenship is strongly associated with a citizen’s
capacity to act in society as an agent of change (ENEC 2018), and this depends on
the development of a person’s willingness and competence for a critical, active and
democratic engagement in preventing and solving environmental problems. There is
a call for a citizenry that is well informed and empowered to take appropriate actions
on the seriousness of the environmental problems affecting our world (Gray et al.
2009; Hodson 2003). However, many citizens do not feel empowered enough to
participate in decision-making processes regarding socio-environmental issues,
and, at the same time, the faith and trust in politicians have decreased, and political
apathy is gaining ground (Hodson 2014). Throughout the past decade, the surge in
authoritarian government practices, the failure of popular movements to replace
undemocratic regimes and the increase in populist movements all over the world are
fuelling concerns about a possible ‘democratic recession’ (Diamond 2015). Part of
the success of this movement has been credited to the failures in mobilising young
people’s political participation (Schulz et al. 2018; Jackson et al. 2016).
Civic engagement depends on students and their ‘motivation to participate in
civic activities, their confidence in the effectiveness of their participation, and their
beliefs about their own capacity to become actively involved’ (Schulz et al. 2018,
p. 72). Research shows that a student’s civic engagement can be supported and
encouraged by school, with the help of (1) open school climates, (2) democratic
structures within schools and (3) early opportunities for active participation, the
promotion of students’ civic knowledge and the predisposition to engage in civic
activities in the future (Schulz et al. 2018; Pancer 2015; Roth and Barton 2004).
P. Reis (*)
Instituto de Educação – Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
e-mail: preis@ie.ulisboa.pt
© The Author(s) 2020
A. Ch. Hadjichambis et al. (eds.), Conceptualizing Environmental Citizenship
for 21st Century Education, Environmental Discourses in Science Education 4,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20249-1_9
Chapter 9
Environmental Citizenship and Youth
Activism
Pedro Reis
9.1 Introduction
The exercise of Environmental Citizenship is strongly associated with a citizen’s
capacity to act in society as an agent of change (ENEC 2018), and this depends on
the development of a person’s willingness and competence for a critical, active and
democratic engagement in preventing and solving environmental problems. There is
a call for a citizenry that is well informed and empowered to take appropriate actions
on the seriousness of the environmental problems affecting our world (Gray et al.
2009; Hodson 2003). However, many citizens do not feel empowered enough to
participate in decision-making processes regarding socio-environmental issues,
and, at the same time, the faith and trust in politicians have decreased, and political
apathy is gaining ground (Hodson 2014). Throughout the past decade, the surge in
authoritarian government practices, the failure of popular movements to replace
undemocratic regimes and the increase in populist movements all over the world are
fuelling concerns about a possible ‘democratic recession’ (Diamond 2015). Part of
the success of this movement has been credited to the failures in mobilising young
people’s political participation (Schulz et al. 2018; Jackson et al. 2016).
Civic engagement depends on students and their ‘motivation to participate in
civic activities, their confidence in the effectiveness of their participation, and their
beliefs about their own capacity to become actively involved’ (Schulz et al. 2018,
p. 72). Research shows that a student’s civic engagement can be supported and
encouraged by school, with the help of (1) open school climates, (2) democratic
structures within schools and (3) early opportunities for active participation, the
promotion of students’ civic knowledge and the predisposition to engage in civic
activities in the future (Schulz et al. 2018; Pancer 2015; Roth and Barton 2004).
P. Reis (*)
Instituto de Educação – Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
e-mail: preis@ie.ulisboa.pt
© The Author(s) 2020
A. Ch. Hadjichambis et al. (eds.), Conceptualizing Environmental Citizenship
for 21st Century Education, Environmental Discourses in Science Education 4,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20249-1_9