Environmental Learning Pathways to Pro-Environmental Intentions and Reported Behaviors Among Indigenous Youth in Thailand: A Mixed-Methods Study

Abstract

Abstract

Indigenous youth are increasingly recognized as important agents of sustainability; however, how environmental learning shapes pro-environmental intentions and behaviors remains insufficiently understood. This exploratory mixed-methods study integrates Experiential Learning Theory (ELT), the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), and the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to examine behavioral transformation among indigenous youth participating in community-based environmental learning activities in northern Thailand. Twenty-five indigenous student participants engaged in a structured environmental learning program developed through Citizen Science, Critical Participatory Action Research, and Living Lab approaches. Quantitative data from 250 activity-level questionnaire responses and qualitative data from 200 reflective responses collected from 25 participants through eight reflection prompts were analyzed using PLS-SEM, mediation analysis, permutation-based MGA, and the Gioia methodology. The model explained 50.0% of the variance in pro-environmental behavioral intention. Communication quality significantly enhanced attention (β = 0.452, p < 0.001), and participation strongly predicted practical experience (β = 0.660, p < 0.001). Practical experience contributed to perceived value of information, which enhanced perceived behavioral control (β = 0.691, p < 0.001), a key mechanism influencing behavioral intention. Peripheral information processing showed a stronger effect than central processing, and MGA revealed differentiated learning pathways across activity categories. Qualitative findings indicated a progression from environmental practices to advocacy and environmental identity, supported by indigenous ecological knowledge and intergenerational learning. This study provides an exploratory framework for understanding culturally grounded environmental learning and offers implications for designing sustainability education programs with indigenous communities.