Universities Investing in Climate Change Determining Factors: Two Greek Universities Assess Personality Characteristics of Environmental Educators

Ecological crisis and climate change have become issues of crucial importance in modern societies. Over the last decades, academic research has demonstrated considerable scientific interest in the psychological and personality factors which may correlate with proenvironmental behavior. A large spectrum of environmental issues is increasingly being examined in light of its association with personality traits, using the Big Five Personality model (Goldberg LR, Am Psychol 48(1):26–34, 1993). Given the constantly increasing interest of global research on Personality Factors related to proenvironmental behavior, the universities of the Aegean and of West Attica took the initiative of investigating and imprinting which personality factors can act as motivators, so that people show intention and demonstrate behavior which aims at facing environmental and climate change crisis. The study, using the psychometric test PEO and based on the Big Five Theory, measured the personality traits of a sample of environmental trainee educators. Testing was conducted during a team-building workshop as part of the Environmental Education Summer School program in Skyros, Greece, organized by the two universities in cooperation with the Skyros Port Authority during the 2016–2020 period. According to the results, the Environmental Educator group scored significantly lower than the general population on Emotional Stability (t = −4.46, p < 0.001) and its subscales Emotional Control (t = −4.20, p < 0.001) and Impulsiveness Control (t = −3.93, p < 0.001), while scoring significantly higher on Openness (t = 4.72, p < 0.001) and its subscales Openness to Knowledge (t = 2.68, p < 0.01) and Openness to Experiences (t = 5.83, p < 0.001). This chapter highlights participants’ personality traits related to sensitivity, concern, and motivation needed to disseminate information leading to environmental awareness. The findings will facilitate the design of environmental education programs and campaigns tailored to meet the potential educators’ needs. This will strengthen the environmental communication field, enhance university knowledge and action, and promote responsible environmental behavior.