Nurturing Sustainable Lifestyle Values in Adolescents through Storytelling and Poetry-reading: A Scoping Review

Description

Page: 383-395

R. Sowmya and Alka Ranjan (Department of Psychology, Jain (Deemed to be) University, Bengaluru, Karnataka)

Adolescents make important lifestyle choices in every walk of life. Today, adolescents play a prominent role in consumer trends and preferences. Their choices are significant in shaping a sustainable future. Though adolescents are exposed to and aware of eco-friendly choices, the changes in behavior seem to remain limited or inconsistent. This paper explores the contribution of Indian literature in cultivating eco-friendly choices among adolescents. The study aims to examine the application of Indian literature through storytelling and poetry reading for nurturing sustainable lifestyle choices among adolescents. The guiding research questions are: Does engagement with Indian literature on nature and ecology through storytelling and poetry-reading contribute to environmental consciousness? How does Indian literature, through storytelling and poetry-reading, enhance sustainable choices among adolescents? The scoping review methodology is followed. The guidelines for scoping review methodology were first put forth by Arksey and O’Malley (2005). The PRISMA-ScR was developed in 2018. Scoping reviews are favored to analyze heterogeneous literature. Time – line is 2016 to 2025. Qualitative interpretative analysis is applied to examine purposively selected Indian literary works. The findings reveal that Indian literature explores human-environment interaction, highlighting values like respect for nature, compassion, empathy, truth, righteousness, and social responsibility. Values shape environmental sensitivity and lead to sustainable choices. Nurturing environment consciousness and values through Indian literature would play a significant role in enhancing sustainable lifestyle choices among adolescents. Future research could focus on the implementation of Indian literature for environmental consciousness and sustainability intervention programs for adolescents.