This paper examines the feasibility of developing a new Master Volunteer training program to help communities adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate change. Traditional models of volunteer training programs, such as the Cooperative Extension Master Volunteer peer-topeer learning model, are based in part on Diffusion Theory. The existing model of education could provide a useful base upon which to develop a volunteer training program about climate change but requires more depth. Data were collected using a mixed-method approach, consisting of focus groups and a survey among key stakeholders associated with the Cooperative Extension Service in the Northeastern United States. The results demonstrate the need for a climate change Extension volunteer training program, one that extends beyond the traditional deficit model of information sharing and is developed with a comprehensive theoretical approach to climate change education that focuses on collective action, as opposed to individual action. Based on emergent themes, this paper presents a theoretical framework for a new volunteer training program based on Social Practice, Sense of Community, and Self-efficacy theories. The proposed program could be successful, provided it encompasses a learning model that fosters social practices, feelings of a sense of community, and builds self-efficacy.
The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the incorporation of climate change social science research into climate change education practice. Semi-structured interviews with 19 educators from five climate change related professional development programs and networks revealed a high level of awareness of climate change social science research. Educators accessed research through a variety of means and reported both practice change and a sense of validation as a result of the research. They reported shifting toward programs that focused less on climate facts to programs that focused on solutions and that integrated their understanding of audiences’ values and identities. They also reported feeling a conflict between their practice knowledge and the knowledge they gained through professional development and accessing research. This work begins to fill a gap both in our understanding of how nonformal educators communicate about climate change and in how they use research in their practice.
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