The doctoral dissertation in the field of Environmental Policy will be examined at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies on the Joensuu Campus and can be followed online.
Young people are expected to contribute to sustainability but, at the same time, their opportunities to act are often limited. Conducted at the University of Eastern Finland in collaboration with the Finnish Environment Institute, the doctoral research argues that young people are not a uniform group: they understand and take action for sustainability differently. The current participatory structures do not fully acknowledge this diversity.
The doctoral dissertation examines the agency of young people in and for sustainability and discusses how societal structures restrict it. Sustainability agency refers to the ability and readiness to promote sustainability at various levels—at home, in communities and in society more broadly.
Although their definitions vary, sustainability and sustainable development are commonly recognised goals in Europe. However, the role of young people in addressing sustainability challenges is contradictory. For example, the effects of climate change and biodiversity loss are expected to increase. Young people will live with these consequences for the longest time despite contributing the least to them. At the same time, young people are expected to assume responsibility for building a sustainable future.
The results show that young people hold various perceptions of sustainability, and that these views highlight different forms of agency. For example, some of the young people who participated in the research strongly criticised Western consumerism, while others associated sustainability with problems occurring outside Finland, particularly in the Global South. Many participatory processes are ill-suited to address these kinds of sustainability perceptions.
The research also found a surprising connection between sustainability-related knowledge and action. Higher perceived knowledge of action possibilities was associated with lower engagement in collective action, such as organisational activities or demonstrations. Therefore, knowledge has a complex relationship with action.
The results of the dissertation can be applied in environmental and sustainability education, which often aims to support the agency of young people. In addition, the research clarifies young people’s position in sustainability transformations and shows how many adult-driven processes of participation reach only a fraction of young people and mainly foster agency that conforms to the current societal structures. The results can also be used to develop participatory practices in the context of sustainability.
The doctoral research used both quantitative and qualitative data and methods. The quantitative data were collected through a survey of Finnish young people (n = 1009, age = 15–29). The qualitative data include group interviews and workshops for lower and upper secondary school students (n = 40, age = 13–18) that were arranged as part of a set of co-designed, multidisciplinary learning modules in two Finnish schools.
The research was funded by the Research Council of Finland.
The doctoral dissertation of Iikka Oinonen, M.Sc., entitled Agency of young people in and for sustainability will be examined at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies. The opponent will be Research Professor Sofia Laine, Finnish Youth Research Society, and the custos will be Professor Taru Peltola, University of Eastern Finland. The language of the public defence is Finnish.
Public examination (in Finnish)
Dissertation
For further information, please contact:
Iikka Oinonen, +35850 342 3442, iikka.oinonen(at)syke.fi
