Early onset, delayed effect: comparing significant life experience trajectories of active and inactive environmental educators in Taiwan

This study examined the significant life experiences (SLEs) and life-path trajectories of Taiwanese primary and secondary school teachers holding national environmental education (EE) personnel certification. Conceptualizing environmental teaching as a professional behavior in school contexts, the study organized SLEs into an environmental–social–informational tripartite framework. Open-ended questionnaire responses from 249 EE certified teachers were coded into 24 SLE categories, supplemented by 13 in-depth interviews. Teachers were classified into active and inactive groups based on environmental behavior and teaching engagement. Environmental and social SLEs were mentioned at comparable frequencies, both exceeding informational SLEs, which shifted toward digital formats. Positive nature experiences outranked negative environmental experiences across life stages, and the active group reported more positive SLEs than the inactive group. Life-path analysis revealed an adolescent dip at the secondary school level, though Taiwan’s environmental education policies appeared to partially sustain environmental exposure through school-provided curricula. Group comparison identified two divergent patterns: the active group exhibited ‘early onset’—a wider range of childhood nature experiences, earlier peer and organizational participation during adolescence, and proactive information-seeking in adulthood. The inactive group displayed a ‘delayed effect,’ with organizational engagement lagging by at least one life stage and greater reliance on negatively charged environmental documentaries. Negative environmental exposure is assumed to mobilize action, yet in this sample it accompanied disengagement. These findings suggest that the combination and timing of SLEs, rather than their quantity, may be central to shaping teachers’ environmental teaching engagement. Implications for secondary education, teacher preparation, and in-service professional development are discussed.