Evaluating free-choice climate education interventions applying propensity score matching.

Area of Science:

• Environmental Education
• Behavioral Science
• Climate Change Communication

Background:

• Environmental education often occurs in informal, free-choice learning environments.
• Voluntary participation and dynamic settings pose challenges for traditional impact evaluation methods like randomized control trials (RCTs).
• Evaluating interventions in these contexts requires robust quasi-experimental approaches.

Purpose of the Study:

• To illustrate challenges in quasi-experimental impact analyses within free-choice learning.
• To present propensity score matching (PSM) as a solution for evaluating consumer climate education interventions.
• To assess the impact of five interventions on climate-friendly behavior intentions.

Main Methods:

• Quasi-experimental control-group design with pre- and post-intervention questionnaires on behavioral intentions.
• Radius matching on sociodemographic characteristics to address selection bias.
• Propensity score matching (PSM) and sensitivity analyses (Rosenbaum Bounds, Hodges-Lehmann estimator) to assess treatment effects and robustness.

Main Results:

• All evaluated interventions positively influenced intentions to seek further climate advice.
• Significant positive effects on intentions for climate-friendly behavior were observed across all interventions.
• Propensity score matching and sensitivity analyses demonstrated effectiveness in evaluating these effects.

Conclusions:

• Propensity score matching is a viable method for evaluating environmental education interventions in free-choice learning settings.
• The studied interventions successfully promoted climate-friendly behavioral intentions.
• Further research is needed to address remaining conceptual and methodological limitations.