Adiv Gal
This qualitative study examines how 11 teachers, 11 parents, and nine students (aged 9–17) in Israel understand environmental agency, and how their interactions shape the co-construction of sustainability-related identities and norms within prevailing institutional and societal structures, using Value–Belief–Norm (VBN) theory as a relational analytical lens. Participants were recruited from school and community contexts that differed in socio-economic composition and engagement with Education for Sustainable Development. Data were generated through in-depth semi-structured interviews and analysed thematically using an inductive–deductive approach informed by VBN constructs and notions of environmental agency. Findings show that environmental agency develops unevenly across school, home, and community contexts. It is strongest where sustainability is embedded in everyday routines, recognised participation, outdoor learning, circular-economy practices, and community projects. At the same time, participants describe a persistent value–action gap shaped by limited time, uneven school-level implementation, competing educational priorities, and inconsistent role modelling. The study foregrounds the relational and institutional dimensions of VBN and argues that environmental values require coherent whole-school and policy support in order to become a lived feature of educational life.