Climate Change Hope Scale (CCHS)

Background

This survey was developed by Christine Li at University of Missouri and Martha Monroe at University of Florida. It was designed to understand an individual’s degree of

Believing that you can achieve a goal and taking action to meet those goals (Szczytko et al., 2019).

/hopelessness with respect to

Climate is the average weather over a long period of time. Climate change is a result of both natural and human impacts and presents growing challenges to maintaining current states of quality of life, the economy, and the natural systems that support us (C2ES, 2019).

. The survey was developed in three phases that included pilot testing with high school students, review from a panel of experts in related fields, and a final selection of

A type of question or statement used as part of a survey or interview to understand a respondents' reactions or feelings. Each item measures a particular idea (Salazar et al., 2020).

and final testing. 

Format

This survey consists of 11 statements to which people respond to on an 8-point

A set of numbers or symbols used to represent characteristics of a variable in measurement (Vogt, 2005).

. The scale goes from -3 (strongly disagree) to 0 (neutral) to 3 (strongly agree) and one last choice of X which means “I do not think climate is changing”

Audience

High school students

When and how to use the tool

This tool is a

Uses numerical data to make sense of information. Analysis is perceived to be less open to interpretation and thus typically considered more objective. Allows collection and analysis of large amounts of data relatively quickly.

approach to explore climate change hopefulness. It can also be used as a pre-post survey to see whether a program increased hopefulness.

How to analyze

We recommend entering survey responses into a spreadsheet using a program such as Microsoft Excel. Create a spreadsheet with 11 columns for the 11 statements and a row for each participant. Assign each participant’s survey a

Unique number assigned to survey participants to allow for confidentiality and ease of data analysis. Similar to Medical Record Number used by doctors (Law Insider Inc., 2021).

, and enter their responses across the corresponding row. Using a -3 to 3 point scale, enter the equivalent value ( -3 for “strongly disagree” to 0 for “neutral” to 3 for “strongly agree”). Enter a dot if the response was skipped or and X if an X was indicated. Pull out the responses with an X for separate analysis. 

You can create an average score for each individual by adding all of their responses and dividing by the number of questions answered. Do not include skipped questions for which you entered a dot. The average will be between -3 and 3. 

When administering the pre-experience survey and post-experience

A standardized method of collecting data that consists of questions and responses. Questions can be "open-ended", but often take the form of being "close-ended" where respondents choose from predetermined answers (Frechtling, 2010).

, you can conduct higher-level statistics on your data to understand if participants had significant changes in the outcome areas after their participation in the program.

What to do next 

Once you’ve administered your survey and analyzed the data, consider the following suggestions about what to do next: 

• What do the data say? Is the

  A test or measurement administered before the program or activities begin. The results of a pretest can later be compared with the results of a posttest to show evidence of the effects of the program being evaluated (Zint, n.d.).

  score significantly different from the

  In program evaluation, a posttest is a test or measurement administered after services or activities have ended. Posttest results are often compared with pretest results to examine the effects of the program being evaluated (Zint, n.d.).

  score? Use Excel to compare the numbers. 
• Invite program staff or other partners to look over the data. Consider questions together, like 
• Why did we get these results?
• What do these results tell us about our programming?
• What can we do to increase hope, such as providing examples of people making a difference, or engaging learners in action projects?  
• Are we satisfied with these results? Do  these data support our hopefulness goals? Are the stakeholders satisfied with the results?
• Are there differences in how learners express hopefulness? Do these differences vary by experiences, race, gender, age? How could we adapt our program to help all learners increase their sense of hope? 

How to see if this tool would work with your program

To assess whether the tool is appropriate for your audience, please review the items carefully and

An initial trial of a program, instrument, or other activity intended to test out procedures and discover and correct potential problems before proceeding to full scale implementation. Pilot tests can be conducted either for a program (i.e., testing out the program with a small group of participants) or for an evaluation (i.e., testing out instruments and data collection procedures with a small group of people similar to program participants). When possible, a pilot test, or trial run, is conducted with a sample group that is representative of the target population. Based on the results of the pilot test, revisions and improvements can be made before wider implementation of the program, instrument, or activity (Zint, n.d.).

the tool with a small group that represents your

A group of persons (or other subjects of study) that one wants to describe in the evaluation process (Vogt, 2005).

. To pilot test, ask a small group of willing participants who are part of your target audience to talk to you as they complete the tool. What are they thinking when they read each item? What experiences come to mind when they respond? As long as this is what you expect and you will gain relevant information from your

A systematic process that critically examines a program's merit, worth or significance by collecting and analyzing information about a program’s activities, characteristics, and outcomes. The goal is to improve the program's effectiveness, and/or to inform programming decisions (Patton, 2001).

, you are on the right track! If the answers are different for each person, and they should be more similar given their experiences, you may need to look at other tools. If the problems are minor, and limited to changing a few words to make them simpler or more relevant, you could revise the language in the tool. Be sure respondents understand what you mean by global warming and climate change.

Tool tips

• The tool should be used in its entirety, we do not recommend changing this tool.