Environmental Education (EE) programs are of crucial importance. EE are aimed at global citizenship to generate new knowledge and new, more participatory and conscious ways of acting in the environment. This study, therefore, wants to verify the effectiveness of a training intervention that is based on education on climate change issues and on the active participation of subjects in the dimension of the small psychological group. At the intervention 309 students took part, equally distributed by gender (52.1% males), 64.4% enrolled in primary school, 35.6% enrolled in lower secondary school. A quantitative protocol was administered to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention. The study shows an increase in pro-environmental behaviors and their stability even after 15–30 days. The intervention seems to be effective in triggering pro-environmental behaviors and maintaining them in the following weeks. The results of this study highlight the need to develop environmental education pro-grams in schools to increase levels of knowledge and awareness on the issue of climate change.

Ajzen, I. (1991). The Theory of Planned Behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50, 179-211.

https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-T

Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (1980). Understanding Attitudes and Predicting Social Behavior. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice- Hall.

Al-Naqbi, A. K., & Alshannag, Q. (2018). The Status of Education for Sustainable Development and Sustainability Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviors of UAE University Students. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 19, 566-588. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-06-2017-0091

Alwin, D. F., & Krosnick, J. A. (1991). Aging, cohorts, and the stability of sociopolitical orientations over the life span. American Journal of Sociology, 97, 169-195 DOI: 10.1086/229744.

Antronico L, Coscarelli R, Gariano SL, Salvati P. (2023). Perception of climate change and geo-hydrological risk among high-school students: A local-scale study in Italy. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 103663, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2023.103663 .

Ballantyne, R., Connell, S., & Fien, J. (2006). Students as catalysts of environmental change: a framework for researching intergenerational influence through environmental education: Reprinted from Environmental Education Research (1998) 4(3), pp. 285–298. Environmental Education Research, 12(3–4), 413–427. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504620600942972

Bradley, J. C., Waliczek, T. M., & Zajicek, J. M. (1999). Relationship Between Environmental Knowledge and Environmental Attitude of High School Students. The Journal of Environmental Education, 30(3), 17–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/00958969909601873

Carleton-Hug, A., & Hug, J. W. (2010). Challenges and opportunities for evaluating environmental education programs. Evaluation and program planning, 33(2), 159–164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2009.07.005

Cash D, Clark W, Alcock F, Dickson N, Eckley N. & Jäger, J. (2003). Salience, Credibility, Legitimacy and Boundaries: Linking Research, Assessment and Decision Making Salience, Credibility, Legitimacy and Boundaries: Linking Re-search, Assessment and Decision Making. KSG Working Papers Series

Choi, S., Niyogi, D., Shepardson, D.P., & Charusombat, U. (2010). Do Earth and Environmental Science Textbooks Promote Middle and High School Students' Conceptual Development About Climate Change?: Textbooks' consideration of students' misconceptions. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 91, 889-898.

Christensen, R. & Knezek, G. (2015). The Climate Change Attitude Survey: Measuring Middle School Student Beliefs and Intentions to Enact Positive Environmental Change. International Journal of Environmental and Science Education, 10(5), 773-788. doi: 10.12973/ijese.2015.276a

Cincera, J., Simonova, P., Kroufek, R., & Johnson, B. (2020). Empowerment in outdoor environmental education: who shapes the programs? Environmental Education Research, 26(12), 1690–1706. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2020.1814205

Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2008). Self-determination theory: A macrotheory of human motivation, development, and health. Canadian Psychology / Psychologie canadienne, 49(3), 182–185. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0012801

DeWaters, J., & Powers, S. (2012). Establishing Measurement Criteria for an Energy Literacy Questionnaire. The Journal of Environmental Education, 44(1), 38–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/00958964.2012.711378

Dijkstra, E. M., & Goedhart, M. J. (2012). Development and validation of the ACSI: measuring students' science attitudes, pro-environmental behaviour, climate change attitudes and knowledge. Environmental education research, 18(6), 733-749. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2012.662213

Earle, A. G., & Leyva-de la Hiz, D. I. (2021). The wicked problem of teaching about wicked problems: Design thinking and emerging technologies in sustainability education. Management Learning, 52(5), 581-603. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350507620974857

Fischer, D. & Barth, M. (2014). Key Competencies: Reconciling Means and Ends in Education for Sustainable Consumption. In V. Simovska & P. M. McNamara (Eds.), Schools for Health and Sustainability. Theory, Research and Practice (pp. 41–60). Dordrecht: Springer.

Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1977). Belief, Attitude, Intention, and Behavior: An Introduction to Theory and Research. Contemporary Sociology, 6, 244.

Gifford, R. (2011). The dragons of inaction: Psychological barriers that limit climate change mitigation and adaptation. American Psychologist, 66(4), 290–302. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0023566

Griskevicius, V., Cantú, S. M., & van Vugt, M. (2012). The Evolutionary Bases for Sustainable Behavior: Implications for Marketing, Policy, and Social Entrepreneurship. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 31(1), 115-128. https://doi.org/10.1509/jppm.11.040

Grønhøj, A., & Thøgersen, J. (2017). Why young people do things for the environment: The role of parenting for adolescents’ motivation to engage in pro-environmental behaviour. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 54, 11-19.

Helgeson, J., Linden, S.V., & Chabay, I. (2012). The Role of Knowledge, Learning and Mental Models in Perceptions of Climate Change Related Risks.

Jaime M, Salazar C, Alpizar F, Carlsson F. (2023). Can school environmental education programs make children and parents more pro-environmental? Journal of Development Economics, 161, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2022.103032.

Jurek, M., Frajer, J., Fiedor, D., Brhelová, J., Hercik, J., Jáč, M., & Lehnert, M. (2022). Knowledge of global climate change among Czech students and its influence on their beliefs in the efficacy of mitigation action. Environmental Education Research, 28(8), 1126–1143. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2022.2086687

Knafo, A., & Galansky, N. (2008). The influence of children on their parents’ values. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 2(3), 1143–1161. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-9004.2008.00097.x

Lang, D. J., Wiek, A., Bergmann, M., Stauffacher, M., Martens, P., Moll, P., Swilling, M., & Thomas, C. J. (2012). Transdisciplinary research in sustainability science: Practice, principles, and challenges. Sustainability Science, 7(SUPPL. 1), 25-43. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-011-0149-x

Leppänen, J. M., Haahla, A. E., Lensu, A. M., & Kuitunen, M. T. (2012). Parent-Child Similarity in Environmental Attitudes: A Pairwise Comparison. The Journal of Environmental Education, 43(3), 162–176. https://doi.org/10.1080/00958964.2011.634449

Lugo Blanco, A. C., Alvarez Yong, C., & Estrada Rodríguez, C. (2021). Una metodología para fortalecer la educación ambiental /A methodology to strengthen the environmental education. Mendive. Revista De Educación, 19(2), 476–492. Recuperado a partir de https://mendive.upr.edu.cu/index.php/MendiveUPR/article/view/2281

McMillan EE, Wright T, Beazley K. (2004). Impact of a university-level environmental studies class on students’ values. Journal of Environmental Education, 35, 19–27. DOI:10.3200/JOEE.35.3.19-27

Mónus, F. (2022). Environmental education policy of schools and socioeconomic background affect environmental attitudes and pro-environmental behavior of secondary school students. Environmental Education Research, 28(2), 169–196. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2021.2023106

Munerol F, Avanzi F, Panizza E, Altamura M, Gabellani S, Polo L, Mantini, M., Alessandri, B., and Ferraris, L. (2022). Water and Us: tales and hands-on laboratories to educate on sustainable and nonconflictual water resources management, EGUsphere [preprint], Available from: https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2022/egusphere-2022-1250/

Ohajunwa, C., & Mji, G. (2018). The African Indigenous Lens of Understanding Spirituality: Reflection on Key Emerging Concepts from a Reviewed Literature. Journal of religion and health, 57(6), 2523–2537. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-018-0652-9

Ojala, M. (2022). How do children, adolescents, and young adults relate to climate change? Implications for developmental psychology. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 20(6), 929–943. https://doi.org/10.1080/17405629.2022.2108396

Otto, S., & Pensini, P. (2017). Nature-based environmental education of children: Environmental knowledge and connectedness to nature, together, are related to ecological behaviour. Global Environmental Change-human and Policy Dimensions, 47, 88-94.

Paredes-Chi, A., & Viga-de Alva, M. D. (2020). Participatory action research (PAR) and environmental education (EE): a Mexican experience with teachers from a primary rural school. Environmental Education Research, 26(11), 1578–1593. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2020.1788515

Robertson, WH & Barbosa, AC. (2015). Global Climate Change and the Need for Relevant Curriculum. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research, 10, 35–44. Available from: https://www.ijlter.org/index.php/ijlter/article/view/234

Robinson, A. C., Downey, L. A., Ford, T. C., Lomas, J. E., & Stough, C. (2019). Green teens: Investigating the role of emotional intelligence in adolescent environmentalism. Personality and Individual Differences, 138, 225–230. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2018.10.009

Rousell, D., & Cutter-Mackenzie-Knowles, A. (2019). A systematic review of climate change education: giving children and young people a ‘voice’ and a ‘hand’ in redressing climate change. Children’s Geographies, 18(2), 191–208. https://doi.org/10.1080/14733285.2019.1614532

Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. The American psychologist, 55(1), 68–78. https://doi.org/10.1037//0003-066x.55.1.68

Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2017). Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness. The Guilford Press. https://doi.org/10.1521/978.14625/28806

Sabato, G. (2020). Il cambiamento climatico nella percezione degli adolescenti: una prospettiva geografica. In J. Gómez Cantero, C. Morán Martínez, J. Losada Gómez, F. Carnelli (a cura di), The climate crisis in Mediterranean Europe. Cross-Border and multidisciplinary issues on climate change (pp. 147-162). Lago : Il Sileno.

Schultz, P. W., Gouveia, V. V., Cameron, L. D., Tankha, G., Schmuck, P., & Franěk, M. (2005). Values and their Relationship to Environmental Concern and Conservation Behavior. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 36(4), 457-475. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022105275962

Sinatra, G.M., Kardash, C.M., Taasoobshirazi, G., & Lombardi, D. (2012). Promoting attitude change and expressed willingness to take action toward climate change in college students. Instructional Science, 40, 1-17.

Slovic, P. (2010). The Feeling of Risk: New Perspectives on Risk Perception (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781849776677

Stern, M. J., Powell, R. B., & Hill, D. (2013). Environmental education program evaluation in the new millennium: what do we measure and what have we learned? Environmental Education Research, 20(5), 581–611. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2013.838749

Suárez-Perales I, Valero-Gil J, Leyva-de la Hiz DI, Rivera-Torres P, Garcés-Ayerbe C. (2021). Educating for the future: How higher education in environmental management affects pro-environmental behaviour. Journal of Cleaner Production., 321, 128972. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.128972

Tolppanen, S., Claudelin, A. & Kang, J. Pre-service Teachers’ Knowledge and Perceptions of the Impact of Mitigative Climate Actions and Their Willingness to Act. Res Sci Educ 51, 1629–1649 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-020-09921-1.

van der Linden S. (2015). The social-psychological determinants of climate change risk perceptions: Towards a comprehen-sive model. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 41, 112–24.

van Eck, C.W., Mulder, B.C., & van der Linden, S. (2020). Climate Change Risk Perceptions of Audiences in the Climate Change Blogosphere. Sustainability, 12, 7990, DOI:10.3390/SU12197990

Wachinger, G., Renn, O., Begg, C., & Kuhlicke, C. (2013). The risk perception paradox--implications for governance and communication of natural hazards. Risk analysis : an official publication of the Society for Risk Analysis, 33(6), 1049–1065. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1539-6924.2012.01942.x

Wals, A. E. J., Geerling-Eijff, F., Hubeek, F., van der Kroon, S., & Vader, J. (2008). All Mixed Up? Instrumental and Emancipatory Learning Toward a More Sustainable World: Considerations for EE Policymakers. Applied Environmental Education & Communication, 7(3), 55–65. https://doi.org/10.1080/15330150802473027

Weber EU. (2010). What shapes perceptions of climate change? Wiley Interdiscip Rev Clim Change, Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 7(1), 125-134. DOI: 10.1002/wcc.377

Whitburn, J., Abrahamse, W., & Linklater, W. (2023). Do environmental education fieldtrips strengthen children's connection to nature and promote environmental behaviour or wellbeing? Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology, 5, Article 100163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cresp.2023.100163

Whitley, C. T., Takahashi, B., Zwickle, A., Besley, J. C., & Lertpratchya, A. P. (2016). Sustainability behaviors among college students: an application of the VBN theory. Environmental Education Research, 24(2), 245–262. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2016.1250151

Wu, M., Zhu, Z., Chen, J., Niu, L., & Liu, C.-C. (2020). Autobiographical memory functions: An emancipatory approach to construct environmental education outcomes. Environmental Education Research, 26(5), 632–649. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2020.1724890

Xie, B., Brewer, M.B., Hayes, B.K., McDonald, R.I., & Newell, B.R. (2019). Predicting climate change risk perception and willingness to act. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 65, 101331.