Environmental activities of academic teachers from selected Central and Eastern European countries

The aim of this article is to analyze and compare the declared pro-environmental activities of academic teachers from selected Central and Eastern European countries. The data on these activities were collected in September and October of 2017. The introduction defines the concepts of the intelligentsia and pro-environmental activity. The methodological part presents the research methods, sample selection, and the basic assumptions of B. Glaser’s and A. Strauss’ grounded theory, and M. Weber’s average and ideal types. As a result of qualitative analysis, one initial assumption was rejected, namely that being an intellectual elite translates into better care of the environment. Two other assumptions were not fully confirmed; namely, that teachers from EU countries engage in more pro-environmental activity than their counterparts from non-EU countries, and that teachers engage in pro-environmental activity with a similar intensity in both public and private life. Using the results of the analysis, the author attempts to introduce the theory that culture plays a greater role in determining pro-environmental activity than EU membership, job profile, or being part of the intelligentsia.