Good Citizenship and Sustainable Living: Views, Experiences, and Opportunities Among Young People in Iceland

Education is an essential means in nurturing young people’s ability to recognize and understand complex social and environmental problems and motivating their act on them. In this chapter, we report on a mixed-method study in Iceland where we looked to understand young people’s civic and global concerns, their educational and social participation opportunities, and factors influencing their civic and sustainable behaviors. Data was gathered from principals (n = 177) on citizenship and character education practices at school and from 14- and 18-year-old students via questionnaires (n = 784) and interviews (n = 29). The principals’ findings showed that less than half of the participating schools worked with human rights, and the teaching methods mostly used were discussions and project work. Most principals reported on offering student participation opportunities and systematic work with values and virtues in school. The student questionnaire findings showed that school participation predicted student’s emphasis on good citizenship, as did their societal discussions with others, and habits of staying informed and following news. Only one-third of students however reported having school participation experiences, and students asked for more participation opportunities. Students’ environmental engagement and parental autonomy granting also predicted the young people’s pro-environmental behavior and sustainable lifestyles. Students’ sense of social justice turned out to be a key predictor of young people’s good citizenship and pro-environmental behaviors suggesting social justice being a key element motivating young people to take interest in common and global welfare, develop sustainable mindsets, and become agents of change.