Development and Implementation of the Energy-saving Portfolio Contest as an Extracurricular Environmental Education Program

This study explored the possibility of an extracurricular environmental education program linked to the formal university curriculum by developing and implementing an energy-saving portfolio contest and analyzing changes among participating students. The portfolios and final reports submitted by 20 students from a university of education, were analyzed focusing on changes in values/attitudes and behaviors, as well as the factors contributing to these changes. The results revealed notable shifts in students’ outcomes, including increased empathy toward environmental issues, a stronger sense of responsibility, sustained environmental practices, and enhanced willingness to persuade and disseminate pro-environmental behaviors. In addition, a sense of accomplishment derived from successful experiences was found to be a prominent factor to exert a strong influence on sustained practice. These findings suggest that learner-centered extracurricular environmental education programs integrated with formal coursework can effectively enhance university students’ pro-environmental values/attitudes and behaviors. Furthermore, this study highlights the need to expand systematic extracurricular environmental education programs in higher education based on curricular–extracurricular integration.