Environmental education in low-income and middle-income countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Behavior change is a critical part of effectively addressing climate change. Environmental education stands out as a sustainable long-term strategy for mitigating its impacts. Despite the growing implementation of environmental education in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), comprehensive data on its successes or shortcomings remain relatively scarce compared to the wealth of evidence available from non-LMIC contexts. This study performed a robust variance estimation meta-analysis on 187 independent effect sizes, involving 34,283 participants. The results indicated a positive and significant effect of environmental education in LMICs (Hedges' g = 1.11, 95 % CI [0.87, 1.35]). Specifically, participation in environmental education programmers was associated with increased environmental knowledge (Hedges' g =1.35, 95 % CI [1.02, 1.69]), environmental attitudes (Hedges' g = 0.94, 95 % CI [0.56, 1.32]), and environmental behaviors (Hedges' g = 0.68, 95 % CI [0.46, 0.90]). Moderator analyses revealed that outcomes differed by intervention length, measurement time, age, and national development level, while study design, education level, intervention type, and gender did not show significant differences in outcomes. This study underscores the importance of implementing environmental education in LMICs, providing valuable insights for future research and practical applications in these contexts.