Open research questions in Environmental Education and Sustainability

What the literature leaves open

• Future studies are needed to examine the moderating roles of data collection method, population type, culture, and participants’ gender - Further research should investigate the relationship between efficacy beliefs and conservation behaviors in different contexts

  Efficacy Beliefs and Natural Resource Conservation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analytic Investigation · 2026 · DOI

• Further research could investigate the long-term effects of childhood nature experiences on biodiversity education practices. Studies could examine the impact of institutional constraints on biodiversity education. Research could explore the role of environmental psychology in shaping teachers' attitudes toward nature.

  From childhood nature experiences to classroom practice: factors associated with biodiversity education among japanese teachers · 2026 · DOI

• The paper implies that there is a need for a quantitative index to measure environmental concern and commitment. It highlights the importance of considering demographic categories in environmental studies.

  Developing Environment Intelligence Quotient: A Path to Sustainability · 2026 · DOI

• The study notes that the non-probability sampling method and the online administration of the survey may limit the generalizability of the findings. The study notes that the exclusion of the humid southern coastal region of Iran may have introduced sampling bias and limited the representativeness of the findings. The study notes that the small number of participants with only a high school diploma or an associate degree may have limited the analysis of education as a predictor of water-saving attitudes.

  Water-Saving Attitudes in Residential Gardens: Exploring Climate Change Exposure, Risk Perception, Belief, and Environmental Efficacy · 2026 · DOI

• further studies should investigate the relationship between EE, CCB, and WSA, - research should explore the impact of demographic and contextual factors on WSA, - studies should examine the effectiveness of interventions aimed at promoting water-saving attitudes

  Water-Saving Attitudes in Residential Gardens: Exploring Climate Change Exposure, Risk Perception, Belief, and Environmental Efficacy · 2026 · DOI

• The paper identifies a gap in the understanding of the National Education Nature Park program's implementation and its underlying logic. It notes that the program's neoliberal, measurement-driven logic may limit its potential for promoting sustainable ways of living. The paper highlights the need for a more critical and nuanced understanding of the program's implementation and its potential for positive change.

  Looking for hopeful purpose in England's environmental education policy: An analysis of the National Education Nature Park · 2026 · DOI

• further research is needed to investigate ESD-related beliefs among in-service teachers, - the study's findings could be used to inform the development of teacher education programmes, - research could explore the relationship between ESD-related beliefs and teacher practice

  Mapping ESD-Related Beliefs Among Pre-Service Primary School Teachers: A Q-Methodological Approach · 2026 · DOI

• There is a methodological gap in ESD belief research, particularly among pre-service primary school teachers. The study aims to address this gap by investigating ESD-related belief patterns among pre-service primary school teachers specialising in Natural and Social Sciences in Germany.

  Mapping ESD-Related Beliefs Among Pre-Service Primary School Teachers: A Q-Methodological Approach · 2026 · DOI

• Testing the causal claim that environmental law reduces eco-anxiety, activates PERMA dimensions, or restores institutional trust - Investigating the moderating variables introduced in the article, such as institutional trust and eco-anxiety

  Toward a positive psychology-informed framework for environmental law, human flourishing, and ecological citizenship · 2026 · DOI

• The traditional approach to environmental law has focused on its coercive and regulatory functions, neglecting its psychological and social dimensions. There is a lack of research on the intersection of environmental law and positive psychological outcomes. The paper identifies a gap in the literature on the relationship between nature connectedness, pro-environmental behaviour, and subjective wellbeing.

  Toward a positive psychology-informed framework for environmental law, human flourishing, and ecological citizenship · 2026 · DOI

• Examining the effects of material terminology on evaluations of green technologies in different contexts, - Investigating the role of material perceptions in shaping evaluations of technologies, - Exploring the potential for material terminology to influence sustainability-related outcomes

  Plastic, synthetic material, or polymer? How material terminology shapes material meanings and informs green technology evaluations · 2026 · DOI

• There is a lack of understanding of how material terminology affects public evaluations of polymer-based materials and green technologies. Prior research has not examined the naming of polymer-based material categories. There is a need to investigate whether material terminology shapes laypeople's sustainability-related perceptions and evaluations.

  Plastic, synthetic material, or polymer? How material terminology shapes material meanings and informs green technology evaluations · 2026 · DOI

• The psychological mechanisms underlying ESD's effectiveness remain inadequately understood. There is a gap between environmental awareness and concrete pro-environmental behavior among students. Traditional knowledge-focused education often fails to instill meaningful behavioral change.

  The Psychological Mechanisms of Education for Sustainable Development: Environmental Attitudes, Self-Efficacy, and Social Norms as Mediators of Pro-Environmental Behavior Among University Students · 2025 · DOI

• There is a need to understand how tourism sustainability influences pro-environmental tourist behavior. Prior research has not fully explored the mediating roles of environmental knowledge and eco-destination image and the moderating role of biospheric value.

  From Sustainable Tourism to Social Engagement: A Value-Belief-Norm Approach to the Roles of Environmental Knowledge, Eco-Destination Image, and Biospheric Value · 2025 · DOI

• expand inquiry into multifaceted factors influencing pro-environmental decision-making, - deepen comprehension of intrinsic mechanisms at play, - pioneer novel research methodologies

  Exploring the role and mechanisms of environmental serious games in promoting pro-environmental decision-making: a focused literature review and future research agenda · 2024 · DOI

• the review only included empirical studies that applied social norm interventions, - survey-only studies were not included, - the results are based on a limited number of studies, - the studies used different methodologies and operationalizations of social norm appeals

  Why should I when no one else does? A review of social norm appeals to promote sustainable minority behavior · 2024 · DOI

• investigating how different social norm appeals influence each other, - examining the effects of social norm appeals on sustainable behavior in different contexts, - exploring the potential of using injunctive and dynamic descriptive social norm appeals

  Why should I when no one else does? A review of social norm appeals to promote sustainable minority behavior · 2024 · DOI

• The study only reviewed articles from 2013 to 2023, - The study only considered articles from the Scopus database, - The role of end users remains unclear

  Sustainable Smart City Technologies and Their Impact on Users’ Energy Consumption Behaviour · 2024 · DOI

• Investigating the impact of smart technologies on energy consumption behaviour, - Exploring the role of end users in smart cities, - Developing a more comprehensive framework for achieving decarbonisation

  Sustainable Smart City Technologies and Their Impact on Users’ Energy Consumption Behaviour · 2024 · DOI

• While education is widely recognised as essential for developing climate awareness and environmental responsibility, its potential as a strategic agent of climate mitigation, adaptation, and resilience remains insufficiently embedded within education policy and wider climate-governance frameworks.

  Education as a Climate Mitigation Agent: Reimagining Education Policy for Climate Resilience, Sustainable Economies, and Environmental Futures · 2026 · DOI

• Although this study was limited by the absence of a control group, the findings suggested that for environmental education to be effective, education program should consider the children’s developmental characteristics, engage parents as the facilitators of the educational program, provide concrete environmental content, and employ effective delivery methods.

  The Effectiveness of the Parent–Child VOC-Focused Environmental Education Program · 2025 · DOI

• Quantitative survey results indicated that over 85% of organizations offered programs perceived as accessible to students with disabilities, though the degree of accessibility varied widely.

  At the intersection of environmental learning and special education: Hidden opportunities · 2025 · DOI

• Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) has been widely promoted as a key strategy for fostering pro-environmental behavior, yet the psychological mechanisms underlying its effectiveness remain inadequately understood.

  The Psychological Mechanisms of Education for Sustainable Development: Environmental Attitudes, Self-Efficacy, and Social Norms as Mediators of Pro-Environmental Behavior Among University Students · 2025 · DOI

• Future research could explore diverse cultural settings and adopt longitudinal approaches to validate and expand upon these findings.

  From Sustainable Tourism to Social Engagement: A Value-Belief-Norm Approach to the Roles of Environmental Knowledge, Eco-Destination Image, and Biospheric Value · 2025 · DOI

• Future research should explore factors like organizational culture and financial constraints to further enhance understanding and facilitate widespread GTI acceptance.

  Waking up to the costs of green technology adoption integrating economic and environmental priorities · 2025 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Environmental Education and Sustainability

• New Environmental Theories: Toward a Coherent Theory of Environmentally Significant Behavior · Journal of Social Issues · 2000 · 7,054 citations
• Mind the Gap: Why do people act environmentally and what are the barriers to pro-environmental behavior? · Environmental Education Research · 2002 · 6,667 citations
• New Trends in Measuring Environmental Attitudes: Measuring Endorsement of the New Ecological Paradigm: A Revised NEP Scale · Journal of Social Issues · 2000 · 4,248 citations
• Encouraging pro-environmental behaviour: An integrative review and research agenda · Journal of Environmental Psychology · 2008 · 4,091 citations
• Twenty years after Hines, Hungerford, and Tomera: A new meta-analysis of psycho-social determinants of pro-environmental behaviour · Journal of Environmental Psychology · 2006 · 3,293 citations
• A Room with a Viewpoint: Using Social Norms to Motivate Environmental Conservation in Hotels · Journal of Consumer Research · 2008 · 2,505 citations
• Analysis and Synthesis of Research on Responsible Environmental Behavior: A Meta-Analysis · The Journal of Environmental Education · 1987 · 2,271 citations
• The “New Environmental Paradigm” · The Journal of Environmental Education · 1978 · 2,108 citations
• How to SHIFT Consumer Behaviors to be More Sustainable: A Literature Review and Guiding Framework · Journal of Marketing · 2019 · 2,100 citations
• The Nature Relatedness Scale · Environment and Behavior · 2008 · 1,635 citations

Most recent work

• Pre-service teachers and climate change education: a belief-intention gap yet to be bridged · Environmental Education Research · 2026
• Drivers of students’ pro-environmental behavior in campus environments in Chinese university · Frontiers in Psychology · 2026
• Using Stimulus Organism Response Framework to Enhance Environmental Management and Corporate Sustainability in the Energy Sector · Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management · 2026
• Nature connectedness and well-being: Evidence from a multi-national investigation across 75 countries · Journal of Environmental Psychology · 2026
• Catalytic Communication in Sustainability Education: Bridging the Knowledge–Action Gap Through Affective Engagement and Strategic Praxis · Education Sciences · 2026
• Mainstreaming climate change in school curricula: critical review of pedagogy, policy and Global South perspectives · Cogent Education · 2026
• Sustainability Literate Preschool Teachers: Exploring Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices in Early Childhood Education for Sustainability—A Quantitative Model · European Journal of Education · 2026
• The importance of environmental attitudes in dealing with the environmental crisis and the relationship between education systems: a systematic review · Discover Education · 2026
• Challenges and solutions to implementing education for sustainable development in geography classes: an international comparison of geography teachers’ perceptions (Germany-NRW and Iran) · Frontiers in Education · 2026
• Moral and rational pathways to pro-environmental behavior among high school students: An integrated TPB–NAM model · Acta Psychologica · 2026

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