Rural College Students' Eco-anxiety and Attitude toward Discussing Environmental Sustainability Topics Post-pandemic.
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| Title: | Rural College Students' Eco-anxiety and Attitude toward Discussing Environmental Sustainability Topics Post-pandemic. |
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| Authors: | Hembrough, Tara1 hembroug@uiwtx.edu |
| Source: | International Journal of Instruction. Oct2025, Vol. 18 Issue 4, p477-498. 22p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Rural education, *Mixed methods research, *Environmental education, *COVID-19 pandemic, *Psychology of students, Eco-anxiety, Sustainability |
| Geographic Terms: | Southwestern United States |
| Abstract: | This mixed-methods study examines Southwestern U.S. college students' potential experiencing of eco-anxiety, application of green practices, and attitude toward discussing environmental sustainability issues in the classroom after the pandemic, with the population examined by sex, race, age, and income. Additionally, the study offers faculty recommendations for implementing a sustainability curriculum. Conducted in a rural, geographically marginalized area, the study implemented mixed-methods with survey and short-answer question instruments and applied an exploratory case-study design and a convergent parallel strategy assessing 188 women and 188 men participants, including racial minority and low socio-economic status (SES) students, with a median age of 26 years. The author formulated the survey by adapting questions from four scales about eco-anxiety, college students' potential experiencing of eco-anxiety during the pandemic, college students' sustainability consciousness level, and a university's sustainability rate: the Hogg Eco-Anxiety Scale, Pandemic-related Political Identities Scale, Sustainability Consciousness Questionnaire, and Sustainable University Scale. The author used independent samples t-tests to report potentially statistically significant difference amongst the student groups. Additionally, the author applied a grounded theory approach to code students' short-answer comments about their possible eco-anxiety, sustainable activities, and view of exploring green discourses in class. Of participants surveyed, women reported statistically significantly higher eco-anxiety levels than men connected to their anxiety about climate change and other environmental problems. Likewise, Native Americans reported statistically significantly higher eco-anxiety levels than Caucasians linked to their worry about environmental problems, with Asian/Pacific Islander, African-American, and Hispanic/Latino students also having greater eco-anxiety rates than Caucasians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of International Journal of Instruction is the property of International Journal of Instruction and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
| FullText | Links: – Type: pdflink Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 188375464 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Rural College Students' Eco-anxiety and Attitude toward Discussing Environmental Sustainability Topics Post-pandemic. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Hembrough%2C+Tara%22">Hembrough, Tara</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> hembroug@uiwtx.edu</i> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22International+Journal+of+Instruction%22">International Journal of Instruction</searchLink>. Oct2025, Vol. 18 Issue 4, p477-498. 22p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Rural+education%22">Rural education</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mixed+methods+research%22">Mixed methods research</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Environmental+education%22">Environmental education</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22COVID-19+pandemic%22">COVID-19 pandemic</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Psychology+of+students%22">Psychology of students</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Eco-anxiety%22">Eco-anxiety</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Sustainability%22">Sustainability</searchLink> – Name: SubjectGeographic Label: Geographic Terms Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Southwestern+United+States%22">Southwestern United States</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: This mixed-methods study examines Southwestern U.S. college students' potential experiencing of eco-anxiety, application of green practices, and attitude toward discussing environmental sustainability issues in the classroom after the pandemic, with the population examined by sex, race, age, and income. Additionally, the study offers faculty recommendations for implementing a sustainability curriculum. Conducted in a rural, geographically marginalized area, the study implemented mixed-methods with survey and short-answer question instruments and applied an exploratory case-study design and a convergent parallel strategy assessing 188 women and 188 men participants, including racial minority and low socio-economic status (SES) students, with a median age of 26 years. The author formulated the survey by adapting questions from four scales about eco-anxiety, college students' potential experiencing of eco-anxiety during the pandemic, college students' sustainability consciousness level, and a university's sustainability rate: the Hogg Eco-Anxiety Scale, Pandemic-related Political Identities Scale, Sustainability Consciousness Questionnaire, and Sustainable University Scale. The author used independent samples t-tests to report potentially statistically significant difference amongst the student groups. Additionally, the author applied a grounded theory approach to code students' short-answer comments about their possible eco-anxiety, sustainable activities, and view of exploring green discourses in class. Of participants surveyed, women reported statistically significantly higher eco-anxiety levels than men connected to their anxiety about climate change and other environmental problems. Likewise, Native Americans reported statistically significantly higher eco-anxiety levels than Caucasians linked to their worry about environmental problems, with Asian/Pacific Islander, African-American, and Hispanic/Latino students also having greater eco-anxiety rates than Caucasians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of International Journal of Instruction is the property of International Journal of Instruction and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.29333/iji.2025.18426a Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 22 StartPage: 477 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Rural education Type: general – SubjectFull: Mixed methods research Type: general – SubjectFull: Environmental education Type: general – SubjectFull: COVID-19 pandemic Type: general – SubjectFull: Psychology of students Type: general – SubjectFull: Eco-anxiety Type: general – SubjectFull: Sustainability Type: general – SubjectFull: Southwestern United States Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Rural College Students' Eco-anxiety and Attitude toward Discussing Environmental Sustainability Topics Post-pandemic. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Hembrough, Tara IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 10 Text: Oct2025 Type: published Y: 2025 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 1694609X Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 18 – Type: issue Value: 4 Titles: – TitleFull: International Journal of Instruction Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
