In view of the urgent need for a sustainable approach to energy use and the importance of renewable energy sources for the energy transition, the project ‘WattsAhead: Energiekompetent in die Zukunft’ aims to promote energy literacy among young people and adults in Austria. At the same time, it aims to strengthen future literacy of young people so that they can actively and consciously help shape their future and address future challenges.

To this end, a central concern of the project is to gain insights into the perception and understanding of energy issues among different age groups. To achieve this goal, a citizen science approach is being pursued. Supported by physics education researches from the Universities of Graz and Innsbruck and by their teachers, secondary school students from five schools in Austria will become citizen scientists who will be actively involved in the research process.

In order to obtain a comprehensive perspective on energy literacy among the Austrian population, a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods will be used. On the one hand, energy literacy of different age groups is investigated using questionnaires. On the other hand, co-constructed by the scientists and involved students, a so-called Reflection-Action-Grid is developed. This is intended to map behaviours in dealing with energy and at the same time provide an initial opportunity to reflect on these behaviours.

“WattsAhead: Energy-literate into the future“ not only investigates individual literacy levels among adults and young people in the context of energy, but also surveys future-oriented mindsets among young people. Involving school students is therefore not only intended to broaden the research spectrum, but also to promote future literacy among young people.

Ultimately, “WattsAhead: Energy-literate into the future“ aims to develop teaching-learning sequences to promote energy literacy and future literacy among secondary school students on the basis of the knowledge gained. In addition, guidelines for the implementation of citizen science projects with students at lower secondary level are to be derived from the project.

Through this holistic approach, the project contributes to raising awareness of energy-related topics and empowering the next generation for the challenges of the energy transition.

(Fotocredit © Angelika Bernsteiner)