Diferencias de género en el conocimiento y las percepciones del cambio climático entre adolescentes. Metaanálisis

Gender Differences in Adolescent’s Climate Change Knowledge and Perceptions. Meta-Analysis Diferencias de género en el conocimiento y las percepciones del cambio climático entre adolescentes. Metaanálisis Antonio García-Vinuesa, María Lucía Iglesias da Cunha, Rita Gradaílle Pernas Grupo de Investigación en Pedagogía Social y Educación Ambiental, SEPA-interea (GI-1447) Universidade de Santiago de Compostela Abstract Are there differences between adolescent men and women in terms of knowledge about climate change? How do adolescents perceive the climate crisis depending on their gender? In order to answer these questions, we carried out a meta-analysis on a sample of 84 international papers selected by conducting a systematic review methodology. To achieve that aim, we identified studies that showed differences according to the gender variable in terms of knowledge, perceptions, and/or opinions among adolescents pursuing secondary education. A total of 26 out of 84 papers (30.95%)—concentrated between 1993 and 2017—addressed gender differences regarding climate change. The meta-analysis revealed that women score lower than men on knowledge about climate change, with the difference increasing as they move forward in their respective secondary education courses. However, women are found to attribute greater risk to the climate crisis, they are more concerned about the problem, and—unlike men, who have a more technical worldview—they show greater ecocentric willingness to accept measures to address it. Keywords: adolescents, climate change, gender, meta-analysis, students. Post to: Antonio García-Vinuesa Facultad de Ciencias de Educación - Campus Vida (15782), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Despacho 33, Módulo A, A Coruña, España. [email protected] Financiamiento asociado: Educación para el cambio climático en educación secundaria: investigación aplicada sobre representaciones y estrategias pedagógicas en la transición ecológica. Código de referencia: RTI2018-094074-B-I00 (RESCLIMAEDU2). Convocatoria de 2018 de Proyectos de I+D+i Retos Investigación del Programa Estatal de I+D+I orientada a los retos de la sociedad. Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, Gobierno de España. © 2020 PEL, http://www.pensamientoeducativo.org - http://www.pel.cl ISSN:0719-0409 DDI:203.262, Santiago, Chile doi: 10.7764/PEL.57.2.2020.5 Pensamiento Educativo. Revista de Investigación Educacional Latinoamericana 2020, 57(2), 1-20 gender differences in adolescent’s climate change knowledge and perceptions 2 Resumen ¿Existen diferencias de conocimiento acerca del cambio climático entre adolescentes mujeres y hombres? ¿Cómo perciben los adolescentes la crisis climática en función del género? Con el fin de dar respuesta a estas preguntas se realizó un metaanálisis con una muestra de 84 artículos internacionales seleccionados con la metodología de revisión bibliográfica sistematizada, para lo cual se identificaron aquellos en los que —de acuerdo con la variable de género— existían diferencias de conocimiento, percepciones y/o valoraciones entre los adolescentes que cursaban educación secundaria. Del total de artículos —que se concentró entre 1993 y 2017— 26 de ellos (30,95%) abordaban las diferencias de género en relación con el cambio climático. El metaanálisis reveló que las mujeres obtenían menores puntuaciones que los hombres respecto de los conocimientos en esta temática, con una diferencia aumentada conforme se avanzaba en los respectivos cursos de educación secundaria, aunque atribuían un mayor riesgo a la crisis climática, presentaban mayor preocupación por el problema y, a diferencia de los hombres que evidenciaban una cosmovisión más tecnicista, estas mostraron mayor disposición ecocéntrica para aceptar las medidas contra la crisis climática. Palabras clave: adolescentes, cambio climático, estudiantes, género, metaanálisis. Introduction Because of its complexity and multidimensionality, climate change (hereinafter CC) has been included as curricular content in a space between the teaching of sciences and environmental education. In the case of the former, this is based on knowledge of its physical-chemical bases, approaching it mainly as a atmospheric phenomenon (Serantes-Pazos, 2017), drawing from literacy approaches founded on the theory of conceptual change (Oliva, 1999). In the case of the latter, this is based on social constructivism, which seeks to understand the construction of subjective meanings of the relationships between human societies and the environment through social, historical, and cultural norms (Creswell, 2013). The long history of both disciplines can be seen in the prolific amount of literature, in which we can find studies, reviews, and meta-analyses related to existing gender differences in terms of knowledge, perceptions, or attitudes towards scientific-technical and socio-environmental content, which enables us to approach our topic of study: climate change and gender differences in how it is represented. In this respect, Fisher, Thompson, and Brookes (2020) carried out a review of the scientific literature with the aim of understanding what factors influenced the low number (less than 15%) of Australian women enrolled in university courses related to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) subjects. In their research, of a total of 26 studies, 20 were identified as finding a higher percentage of women who declared that they had a lower level of self-efficacy than men when it came to scientific abilities and skills, even in areas where there was a higher percentage of women enrolled, such as in biology. So, despite the fact that the study did not explicitly examine traits of self-efficacy, the results showed that the women had less confidence in their knowledge and skills. The authors emphasize that the perception of selfefficacy is one of the main elements of motivation, ahead of possession of knowledge, which is a determining factor of gender inequality in this type of educational experience. In this regard, Schönfelder and Bogner (2020) examined the existing interactions between science education and environmental values, a cross-cutting gender differences in adolescent’s climate change knowledge and perceptions 3 topic that is usually related to teaching science. This study shows that there is a higher level of self-efficacy when solving problems related to scientific-technical content among men, which could influence the lower intrinsic motivation of women towards science. For his part, McCright (2010) conducted an analysis between 2001 and 2008 based on public surveys (Gallup polls) that were focused on issues related to the environment. The data revealed that there were differences in scientific or ecological knowledge depending on gender, with women declaring lower levels of knowledge, a difference that increased over the years and as the level of educational increased. According to Finucane, Slovic, Mertz, Flynn, and Satterfield (2000), this is related to women’s lower confidence in their scientific skills and knowledge, which conditions future choices in their academic orientations and increases—even more, if possible—the gender gap. On the other hand, various authors claim that a lower disposition towards science and technology is related to certain teaching methods in which individualistic and competitive practices—which are less interesting to women—are present in a large proportion of teaching-learning processes in the sciences. Likewise, there are explanations that highlight the lack of relevant female scientific figures, as well as the expectations of making a professional scientific career compatible with forming a family (Dijkstra & Goedhart, 2011). With reference to this point, Fisher et al. (2020) found that 15 of the 36 studies selected examined the opinions of teaching-learning processes in STEM subjects, where the anxiety produced by the assessment of this type of knowledge is highlighted mainly amongst women and this has a direct relationship with the low levels of selfefficacy mentioned above. Moreover, this study continues the trend of those that identify traits of masculinization of STEM subjects, such as the “geek” stereotype in technology1, with which the female students stated they did not feel identified, one of the conclusions that has been supported and detailed by Cheryan, Plaut, Davies, and Steele (2009) regarding the reasons why women are not attracted to computer science. These authors coined the concept of “ambient belonging” and developed a simulation that made it possible to identify a low sense of belonging among women to these types of places, clearly stereotyped by people interested in computing. McCright (2010) also suggests that women declare greater concern for local environmental problems that affect health and that involve possible risks to the safety of their community, perceptions that decrease when considering problems more distant from local areas and which increase in situations that could lead to trouble. Meanwhile, Jenkins and Pell (2006) found that women showed greater expectation that their individual actions would contribute to improving the most serious environmental problems, although they showed less confidence in science and technology as a solution to the environmental crisis. We also found reviews and meta-analyses where investigation was done into various topics related to the teaching of CC; however, only two of these studies showed differences related to gender. One of these was a study by Bozdoğan (2011), which indicated that women had more positive attitudes and were more sensitive to environmental problems, although it did not show a correlation between the teaching styles of the teaching body. Monroe, Plate, Oxarart, Bowers, and Chaves (2019) also argued that, women—unlike men, who do not show geographical bias—learn more through local rather than global examples. Considering this situation, the literature suggests there are certain gender differences when it comes to the acquisition or provision of scientific content by showing that women demonstrate a more ecocentric worldview compared to the technocentric worldview of men (Jenkins & Pell, 2006; Schönfelder & Bogner, 2020). 1. The term “geek” refers to a person who has a somewhat fanatical interest in technology or computing. Its use is close to the more recognizable “nerd”, but in each cultural context there may be variations in the specific characteristics of the people who are labeled with this nickname. gender differences in adolescent’s climate change knowledge and perceptions 4 Study objective The study examined the results in the scientific literature regarding the existing gender differences in secondary school students (12-18 years) regarding the knowledge and representation of CC, as a synthesis of the knowledge generated around this topic in the period between 1993 and 2017. Methodology A systematic bibliographic review (SBR) is a standardized search strategy that allows bibliographic research to be conducted in relation to a specific topic. The sequencing and systematization of the research strategy (selection of sources and thesauri, dates of access, search algorithms, inclusion/exclusion criteria, processes of refinement, etc.) allow the information to be reviewed, replicated, and updated. The singularity of this methodology, the impetus of which dates back to the late 1970s, makes it possible to identify constituent studies in a specific field of study, in addition to synthesizing their results (Littell, Corcoran, & Pillai, 2008). Its application to the field of social sciences lies in its simple and instantaneous access to a large amount of digitized information from current databases, as well as certain guidelines for its application, such as the PRISMA statement (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses). Although this is a methodology devised for biomedical sciences, it offers a standardized protocol to improve the quality of meta-analysis reports, in addition to being adaptable to other scientific disciplines. Its characteristics of transparency, replicability, and updatability allow its findings—which represent the evidence from other studies—to be supervised and assessed by the rest of the interested scientific community. However, an SBR may—or may not—result in a meta-analysis. The difference is that the review is intended to identify and synthesize studies on a particular issue, while a meta-analysis, in its most quantitative expression, is a set of statistical techniques that allow the results of various studies to be combined to obtain overall findings. In this respect, although they are different, the recommendation is to conduct a meta-analysis after the SBR, in order to avoid bias (Littell et al., 2008). In this case, we conducted a qualitative meta-analysis (Timulak, 2009) through the use of analysis techniques from other types of reviews, such as narrative reviews or conceptual syntheses, with the aim of looking more closely at the results and going beyond a merely causal explanation (Petticrew & Roberts, 2008). Systematic bibliographic review The flowchart in Figure 1 shows a summary of the steps in the SBR, which identifies the research relevant to the study of CC, with secondary school students (12-18 years) as participants and with a compendium of articles from between 1993 and 2017. An extensive and detailed explanation of the process carried out can be found in García-Vinuesa and Meira-Cartea (2019), where the bibliometric results and the detailed methodological design of this SBR are outlined. gender differences in adolescent’s climate change knowledge and perceptions 5 1st search sequence (Scopus, WoS, Dialnet, SciELO, Redalyc, and informal sources) 2,114 documents Is any relationship between education, climate change, and/or secondary education identified in the abstract of the document? 1,839 excluded 1st sequence of refinement Do the concepts climate change or climate literacy appear in the abstract or the keywords? 54 excluded 2,030 excluded from the SBR 84 included in the SBR 26 included for the Gender-CC meta-analysis 2nd sequence of refinement Does the research focus on any dimension of climate literacy or the CC representation by secondary school students? 63 excluded 3rd sequence of refinement Does the research provide results disaggregated by gender? 58 excluded Does it comply with the basic format? (gray literature, documents in languages other than English, Spanish, and Portuguese, books, documents without access are excluded) 58 excluded Erratum = 1 Duplicates = 11 Figure 1. Flowchart of the SBR (García-Vinuesa & Meira-Cartea, 2019). Source: Prepared by the authors Qualitative meta-analysis A single SBR can contain multiple meta-analyses (Littell et al., 2008). In this specific case, conducting this qualitative meta-analysis involved a third sequence to refine the SBR results (Figure 1). An automatic examination of keywords was thus carried out in the 84 documents, while we also analyzed the textual setting in which they appeared, in order to identify the studies that provided results from a gender perspective. The following search terms were used: female, women, woman, girl, and gender; femenino, mujer, niña, and género (in Spanish); garota, rapariga, mulher, menina, and género (in Portuguese); and muller, nena, and xénero (in Galician). In order to verify that no study had been excluded, we read all of the sections relating to the results and the discussion of the research included in the SBR, a process that confirmed the initial results and allowed the identification of a total of 26 studies. gender differences in adolescent’s climate change knowledge and perceptions 6 Analysis of results Table 1 shows the selection of the 26 studies that demonstrate gender differences regarding the understanding of CC and provides a general summary of the results to characterize the studies according to the country of origin of the participants, educational levels, object of study, and statistically significant differences between the genders. We also established categories based on the description of the object of study and the different elements explored in each of them, which was a difficult task in terms of structuring due to the diversity of the terminology used to name the elements of representation of CC in the different studies, whether from the point of view of the perceptions, conceptions, knowledge, or beliefs, as Cubero (1994) had previously warned. This categorization considered the justifications of the researchers, as well as the methodology used, in such a way that three analytical categories emerged during the data recording process: one that encompassed the results of studies that explored different specific knowledge; the second including information regarding personal perceptions and values; and the third entailing elements related to the teaching-learning processes. Grouped into categories, these results show the variables or topics where statistically significant differences were obtained for p <0.05 or p <0.01. Results Of the 26 studies identified, three are based on a qualitative methodological design, while 23 studies have quantitative designs (Table 1). With the exception of two cases in which the samples were small (24 and 29 participants)—coinciding with the qualitative studies (Lin, 2017; Rye, Rubba, & Wiesenmayer, 1997)—the studies examined large samples, with a range from 188 to 1,532 participants. In three studies (Ambusaidi, Boyes, Stanisstreet, & Taylor, 2012; Boyes, Chuckran, & Stanisstreet, 1993; Boyes & Stanisstreet, 2012) elementary school students took part (10-12 years old). In terms of the object of study, we found various elements of representation of CC, which enabled us to establish three broad categories: A. Knowledge of CC. This first category involves the information about CC that the subjects possess in the form of objectified knowledge. These studies examine knowledge in two of the classic typologies: conceptual and attitudinal (Tables 2 and 3). B. Personal perceptions and opinions. This category refers to subjective processes in the sphere of personal perceptions and opinions (Table 4). In this case, the authors of the studies in the resulting sample offer a wide range of terms to refer to their objects of study, such as conception, perception, understanding, ideas, worldviews, beliefs, attitudes, and concerns, among others. C. Teaching-learning processes. This category includes results related to the teaching-learning processes. gender differences in adolescent’s climate change knowledge and perceptions 7 Table 1 Selection of studies where the object of study explores elements of the representation of CC in students from 12-18 years of age Study Country NG7 G8 G9 G10 G11 G12 Object of study Differences Methodology Boyes et al. (1993)* England 702 **** Understanding of the greenhouse effect No Quantitative Rye et al. (1997) United States 24 *** Understanding of global warming (GW) No Qualitative Daniel, Stanisstreet, & Boyes (2004) England 582 * * Ideas about mitigation of GW Yes Quantitative Boyes, Stanisstreet, & Yongling (2008) China 676 * * Beliefs: mitigation actions Yes Quantitative Boyes, Skamp, & Stanisstreet (2009) Australia 500 **** Beliefs: mitigation actions Yes Quantitative Rodríguez, Boyes, & Stanisstreet (2010) Spain 1,460 **** Beliefs and attitudes for action Yes Quantitative Chhokar, Dua, Taylor, Boyes, & Stanisstreet (2011) India 768 **** Beliefs and attitudes for action No Quantitative Dijkstra & Goedhart (2011) Europe 1,370 ******Attitude towards science Yes Quantitative Kılınç, Boyes, & Stanisstreet (2011) Turkey 897 **** Beliefs and attitudes for action Yes Quantitative Malandrakis, Boyes, & Stanisstreet (2011) Greece 1,444 **** Beliefs and attitudes for action Yes Quantitative Liarakou, Athanasiadis, & Gavrilakis (2011) Greece 626 **** Knowledge Yes Quantitative Ambusaidi et al. (2012)* Oman 1,532 ******Beliefs and attitudes for action Yes Quantitative Boyes & Stanisstreet (2012)* England 961 **** Beliefs and attitudes for action Yes Quantitative Dijkstra & Goedhart (2012) Europe 671 ****** Pro-environmental behavior, knowledge, and attitudes Yes Quantitative Barros & Pinheiro (2013) Brazil 323 ******Understanding of CC -Qualitative Harker-Schuch & Bugge-Henriksen (2013) Austria/ Denmark 188 (361) *Knowledge and opinions Yes Quantitative Yazdanparast et al. (2013) Iran 1,035 *** Knowledge and views of CC Yes Quantitative gender differences in adolescent’s climate change knowledge and perceptions 8 Özdem, Dal, Öztürk, Sönmez, & Alper (2014) Turkey 646 * Concerns, experiences, beliefs, attitudes, values, etc. Yes Quantitative Stevenson, Peterson, Bondell, Moore, & Carrier (2014) United States 378 * * Knowledge and risk Yes Quantitative Bodzin & Fu (2014) United States 956 * * Knowledge about CC Yes Quantitative Stevenson & Peterson (2016) United States 1,267 * * Hope and concern Yes Quantitative Stevenson, Peterson, & Bradshaw (2016) United States 369 * * Knowledge and beliefs Yes Quantitative Stevenson, Peterson, & Bondell (2016) United States 426 * * Beliefs and perceptions Yes Quantitative Hermans & Korhonen (2017) Finland 549 *Attitudes, views, and disposition Yes Quantitative Lin (2017) China 39 *Knowledge and actions Yes Qualitative Stevenson, King, Selm, Peterson, & Monroe (2017) United States 950 * * Beliefs and perceptions Yes Quantitative Note: G7 = 12-13 years; G8 = 13-14 years; G9 = 14-15 years; G10 = 15-16 years; G11 = 16-17 years; G12 = 17-18 years. * Participants of primary studies. Source: Prepared by the authors. Considering the results presented, 88.46% of the studies show significant differences between adolescent women and men (Table 1). In the case of the study by Barros and Pinheiro (2013), this was coded considering that there were no significant differences, since the authors state that their results do not allow a distinction to be made by gender; however, they do show a difference regarding the conservation messages stated by the participants, these being mostly expressed by women. From the data presented in Tables 2, 3, and 4, we can highlight that, in the items or in the specific content in which the studies report statistically significant differences, women obtain higher percentages (eight out of 10 cases). However, this data should be qualified with respect to the subcategory of conceptual knowledge (Table 2), since although men—in 25% of cases—obtained higher percentages of correct answers, women obtained the same percentage of incorrect answers, with this section being where the significant differences are distributed equally between both genders. It should be added that in the two studies where the significance values are provided when comparing the total results of a questionnaire on general knowledge of CC according to gender (Harker-Schuch & Bugge-Henriksen, 2013; Yazdanparast et al., 2013), it was confirmed that men obtained better scores than women. Knowledge about CC The studies that either generally or partially explore diverse knowledge about CC have been grouped in this category. Table 2 only shows the results with statistical significance for p <0.05 or p <0.01, and in which only the gender variable was considered as a factor. gender differences in adolescent’s climate change knowledge and perceptions 9 This category, as stated previously, has been divided into two subcategories: conceptual and attitudinal knowledge. Conceptual knowledge. Table 2 shows the specific conceptual contents regarding CC that demonstrated statistically significant differences when comparing the results according to gender. Table 2 Contents related to conceptual knowledge of CC with statistical significance when comparing results according to gender Study Object of study Specific content W M Daniel et al. (2004) Beliefs about actions for mitigation of CC Reducing sea pollution* 53% 41% Reducing garbage in rivers* 53% 45% Reducing nuclear production* 74% 63% Reducing emissions of CFCs* (chlorofluorocarbons) 72% 63% Reducing use of oil 62% 68% Reducing use of coal 69% 71% Using electric vehicles 75% 82% Boyes et al. (2008) Beliefs about actions for mitigation Reducing sea pollution* 73% 64% Reducing garbage * 61% 50% Protecting exotic species* 56% 46% Importance of education 83% 76% Use of unleaded gasoline* 79% 71% Boyes et al. (2009) Actions for mitigation Using smaller cars 59% 46% Switching off electronic devices 53% 36% Increasing use of nuclear energy 40% 30% Rodríguez et al. (2010) Beliefs about actions Effectiveness of planting trees * Kılınç et al. (2011) Ideas/beliefs about actions for mitigation Production of nuclear energy 57% 49% Improving home insulation 63% 52% Reducing domestic energy consumption 75% 60% Reducing use of artificial fertilizers 71% 56% Using more energy-efficient household appliances 63% 56% Importance of education 85% 79% Buying fewer new fashionable products 27% 34% Using renewable energies 60% 66% Liarakou et al. (2011) Knowledge The temperature of the planet is increasing ** The polar icecaps are increasing* ** CC will intensify extreme meteorological events ** CC will affect food production ** Incandescent lights save energy ** gender differences in adolescent’s climate change knowledge and perceptions 16 The results therefore support the conclusions of the literature reviewed, where women show significant differences compared with men regarding elements that are framed within more ecocentric and communitarian worldviews, providing more coherent responses with an appropriate representation of the climate crisis (Cantell, Tolppanen, Aarnio-Linnanvuori, & Lehtonen, 2019). On the contrary, there is specific content—such as that related to nuclear energy, an element that we can include in a technical worldview—which, depending on the study, show results according to gender, suggesting it is necessary to study them in greater depth to understand the reason for this ambivalence. With regard to the differences found, and their reproduction and exacerbation throughout the course of secondary education, it seems that gender differences emerge and are reinforced at this educational/evolutionary level. On the one hand, and as expected, the acquisition and possession of knowledge seem to increase in proportion to the progress of the courses (Boyes et al., 2008), however, gender differences also increase—as suggested by the studies by Harker-Schuch and Bugge-Henriksen (2013) and Yazdanparast et al. (2013)—with students between 16 and 17 years of age and between 15 and 17 years of age, respectively, where men obtained a higher total score on a questionnaire referring to general knowledge of CC. The same is true—but inversely—in terms of perceptions, where gender differences relating to levels of concern, responsibility, and willingness to act in an environmentallyfriendly manner decrease proportionally with age. In this vein, Chokkar et al. (2011) found a strong relationship between higher educational levels and respect for the environment, with a decrease in the proportion of students at higher levels who indicated that they felt “very” or “quite” respectful of the environment. This trend is similar to that identified by Boyes et al. (2009) among students from 12 to 16 years of age, although—as stated—this may be due to greater demand for judgment among older students (Boyes et al., 2009). On the other hand, in the study by Stevenson et al. (2016), in which 110 elementary school students between 11 and 14 years old participated—some 25% of the sample—the authors suggest that the trend of greater concern for CC among women is maintained among both younger and older students. Compared with the studies we consulted, these results suggest that gender socialization processes take place in parallel—and interact—with socio-educational processes, that is, in terms of disposition towards certain scientific-technical content regarding greater or lesser disposition towards pro-environmental/climate behavior and in the field of perceptions of risk, concern, responsibility, or confidence. Conclusion With this study our intention was to examine and synthesize the results of the scientific literature regarding possible gender differences between adolescent students (12-18 years) in terms of knowledge and representation of CC. In order to achieve this, we identified and synthesized the findings produced by the scientific literature in this field of research. The results support the conclusions of the research project of which this study is part (Meira-Cartea, Bisquert, García-Vinuesa, & Pérez, 2018), which is aimed at understanding how students in secondary education represent CC. In this respect, and considering that the objective of this study is not to assess the achievements of the various educational systems, the results suggest that educational approaches to face the challenge of climate change—whether based on the different versions that fall within the broad spectrum between the positivist and the constructivist paradigms (Busch, Henderson, & Stevenson, 2019)—seem to have reached a ceiling as an educational response to CC. gender differences in adolescent’s climate change knowledge and perceptions 17 The climate crisis thus takes shape as compartmentalized content in the field of science and technology without establishing the necessary link with its socio-economic and cultural causes, as well as with the risks that humanitarian disasters and the exacerbation of the vulnerability of certain social groups pose to the world population. This view reinforces alternative conceptions regarding the explanation of the phenomenon and that—as this analysis appears to indicate—reproduces discriminatory gender patterns. This is a situation that limits the essential skills in which we must educate ourselves in order to tackle an agenda of decarbonization— already overdue—(González-Gaudiano & Meira-Cartea, 2020) which promotes eco-citizenship that participates, demands, and accepts the urgent measures and policies for which the scientific community has been calling since the middle of the last century; that is, actions aimed at drastically reducing the emission of greenhouse gases and our impact on the biosphere. It is difficult to carry out these essential changes from a positivist scientific perspective of education for climate change since, although science explains its causes in the interactions of physical-chemical elements, they lie in the hyper-consumerist and fossil-fuel-dependent lifestyles of most industrialized societies. For this reason, a transformative reform would be necessary to facilitate the ecological transition in all of the economic sectors that are most affected (energy, the automotive industry, air transport, food, etc.) accompanied by educational innovation towards a socio-critical and transformative paradigm that enables us to keep pace with the essential economic and cultural changes required by the climate crisis (Busch et al., 2019). It therefore seems necessary to reflect on the suitability of certain educational practices that encourage disinterest and disaffection towards scientific and environmental knowledge among half of the student population (women), but also the persistence of incorrect attitudes and perceptions to mitigate and adapt to CC among male students. There are two areas of representation in which we encounter gender differences that must be eradicated, since maintaining literacy approaches as a socio-educational response to the climate crisis involves situations of discrimination, reinforced by other processes of socialization outside the school, where half of the student population (the males) seem to know about and be more interested in science. However, although women show lower achievements regarding the acquisition of scientific knowledge, they represent the climate crisis more consistently in terms of risk perception, responsibility for its causes, and responses in accordance with environmental and community values. These results suggest that the possession and application of scientific knowledge, along with the processes of gender socialization, do not facilitate a perception of the problem that is consistent with scientific knowledge and which is thus ineffective from the perspective of adaptation and resilience. As in any scientific field, it is necessary to develop a critical spirit that questions absolute truths and which contrasts and creates hypotheses—through the scientific method—that allow problems to be solved and human development to advance. Therein lies the need for a society that questions and contrasts gender traditions, roles, and stereotypes reproduced by an historically patriarchal system (Lagarde, 1997). From this perspective, “feminizing” spaces of primary socialization, as well as educational spaces, should not imply attacking men, but rather a proposal that allows male patterns and stereotypes to be contrasted in order to advance in the reconstruction of new identities, in which respect and care for the environment and other living beings are not behaviors that are exclusive to women and unappealing to men. There is also evidence that approaches based on the knowledge deficit theory and which justify their utility based on the premise that better knowledge leads to more appropriate and coherent behavior do not constitute an adequate socio-educational response to the environmental crisis (González-Gaudiano & Meira-Cartea, 2019). The results do not support this premise and suggest that as students progress in terms of educational level, and under the assumption that they have acquired more appropriate, complex, and advanced knowledge, they do gender differences in adolescent’s climate change knowledge and perceptions 18 not influence behaviors such as self-efficacy, motivation, or perceptions of responsibility and risk. This analysis reveals that age does influence positive attitudes towards the environment, a depressing situation, but one that paves a way for the professional attention of teachers and eco-citizens. By way of conclusion, in a situation of risk that is now timeless, there are records and experiences—both past and present—and forecasts of the future that confirm the exacerbation of such scenarios. Faced with this and sexist, racist, and classist CC produced by a socioeconomic system that prioritizes economic benefits over human disasters, it is of urgent importance to promote a structural and cultural transformation that is founded on ecofeminism and on climatic and social justice. The original article was received on May 14th, 2020 The revised article was received on July, 22nd 2020 The article was accepted on August 31rd, 2020 References Ambusaidi, A., Boyes, E., Stanisstreet, M., & Taylor, N. (2012). Omani students’ views about global warming: Beliefs about actions and willingness to act. International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 21(1), 21-39. https://doi.org/10.1080/10382046.2012.639154 Barros, H. C. L. & Pinheiro, J. Q. (2013). Dimensões psicológicas do aquecimento global conforme a visão de adolescentes brasileiros. Estudos de Psicologia (Natal), 18(2), 173-182. https://doi.org/10.1590/s1413-294x2013000200002 Bodzin, A. M. & Fu, Q. (2014). The effectiveness of the geospatial curriculum approach on urban middle-level students’ climate change understandings. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 23(4), 575-590. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-013-9478-0 Boyes, E., Chuckran, D., & Stanisstreet, M. (1993). How do high school students perceive global climatic change: What are its manifestations? What are its origins? What corrective action can be taken? Journal of Science Education and Technology, 2(4), 541-557. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00695323 Boyes, E., Skamp, K., & Stanisstreet, M. (2009). Australian secondary students’ views about global warming: Beliefs about actions, and willingness to act. Research in Science Education, 39(5), 661-680. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-008-9098-5 Boyes, E. & Stanisstreet, M. (2012). Environmental education for behaviour change: Which actions should be targeted? International Journal of Science Education, 34(10), 1591-1614. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2011.584079 Boyes, E., Stanisstreet, M., & Yongling, Z. (2008). Combating global warming: The ideas of high school students in the growing economy of South East China. International Journal of Environmental Studies, 65(2), 233-245. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207230701284543 Bozdoğan, A. E. (2011). A collection of studies conducted in education about “global warming” problem. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 11(3), 1618-1624. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ936338.pdf Busch, K. C., Henderson, J. A., & Stevenson, K. T. (2019). Broadening epistemologies and methodologies in climate change education research. Environmental Education Research, 25(6), 955-971. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2018.1514588 Cantell, H., Tolppanen, S., Aarnio-Linnanvuori, E., & Lehtonen, A. (2019). Bicycle model on climate change education: Presenting and evaluating a model. Environmental Education Research, 25(5), 717-731. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2019.1570487 Cheryan, S., Plaut, V. C., Davies, P. G., & Steele, C. M. (2009). Ambient belonging: How stereotypical cues impact gender participation in computer science. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 97(6), 1045. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0016239 gender differences in adolescent’s climate change knowledge and perceptions 19 Chhokar, K., Dua, S., Taylor, N., Boyes, E., & Stanisstreet, M. (2011). Indian secondary students’ views about global warming: Beliefs about the usefulness of actions and willingness to act. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 9(5), 1167-1188. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-010-9254-z Creswell, J. (2013). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Five different approaches. California: SAGE. Cubero, R. (1994). Concepciones alternativas, preconceptos, errores conceptuales... ¿distinta terminología y un mismo significado? Investigación en la Escuela, 23, 33-42. Retrieved from https://idus.us.es/bitstream/handle/11441/59603/R23_3.pdf?sequence=1 Daniel, B., Stanisstreet, M., & Boyes, E. (2004). How can we best reduce global warming? School students’ ideas and misconceptions. International Journal of Environmental Studies, 61(2), 211-222. https://doi.org/10.1080/0020723032000087907 Dijkstra, E. M. & Goedhart, M. J. (2011). Evaluation of authentic science projects on climate change in secondary schools: A focus on gender differences. Research in Science & Technological Education, 29(2), 131-146. https://doi.org/10.1080/02635143.2011.581631 Dijkstra, E. M. & Goedhart, M. J. (2012). Development and validation of the ACSI: Measuring students’ science attitudes, pro-environmental behaviour, climate change attitudes and knowledge. Environmental Education Research, 18(6), 733-749. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2012.662213 Finucane, M. L., Slovic, P., Mertz, C. K., Flynn, J., & Satterfield, T. A. (2000). Gender, race, and perceived risk: The “white male” effect. Health, Risk & Society, 2(2), 159-172. https://doi.org/10.1080/713670162 Fisher, C. R., Thompson, C. D., & Brookes, R. H. (2020). Gender differences in the Australian undergraduate STEM student experience: a systematic review. Higher Education Research & Development, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2020.1721441 García-Vinuesa, A. & Meira-Cartea, P. Á. (2019). Caracterización de la investigación educativa sobre el cambio climático y los estudiantes de educación secundaria. Revista Mexicana de Investigación Educativa, 24(81), 507-535. Retrieved from http://www.scielo.org.mx/pdf/rmie/v24n81/1405-6666-rmie-24-81-507.pdf González-Gaudiano, E. J. & Meira-Cartea, P. Á. (2019). Environmental education under siege: Climate radicality. The Journal of Environmental Education, 50(4-6), 386-402. https://doi.org/10.1080/00958964.2019.1687406 González-Gaudiano, E. J. & Meira-Cartea, P. Á. (2020). Educación para el cambio climático: ¿educar sobre el clima o para el cambio? Perfiles Educativos, 42(168), 157-174. https://doi.org/10.22201/iisue.24486167e.2020.168.59464 Harker-Schuch, I. & Bugge-Henriksen, C. (2013). Opinions and knowledge about climate change science in high school students. Ambio, 42(6), 755-766. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-013-0388-4 Hermans, M. & Korhonen, J. (2017). Ninth graders and climate change: Attitudes towards consequences, views on mitigation, and predictors of willingness to act. International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 26(3), 223-239. https://doi.org/10.1080/10382046.2017.1330035 Kılınç, A., Boyes, E., & Stanisstreet, M. (2011). Turkish school students and global warming: Beliefs and willingness to act. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education, 7(2), 121-134. https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmste/75187 Jenkins, E. W. & Pell, R. G. (2006). “Me and the environmental challenges”: A survey of English secondary school students’ attitudes towards the environment. International Journal of Science Education, 28(7), 765-780. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500690500498336 Lagarde, M. (1997). Género y feminismo: desarrollo humano y democracia. Madrid: Horas y Horas. Liarakou, G., Athanasiadis, I., & Gavrilakis, C. (2011). What Greek secondary school students believe about climate change? International Journal of Environmental and Science Education, 6(1), 79-98. Retrieved from https://www.pegem.net/dosyalar/dokuman/138390-20140102114018-5.pdf Lin, J. (2017). Chinese grade eight students’ understanding about the concept of global warming. EURASIA Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 13(5), 1313-1330. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2017.00672a Littell, J. H., Corcoran, J., & Pillai, V. (2008). Systematic reviews and meta-analysis. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Malandrakis, G., Boyes, E., & Stanisstreet, M. (2011). Global warming: Greek students’ belief in the usefulness of proenvironmental actions and their intention to take action. International Journal of Environmental Studies, 68(6), 947-963. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207233.2011.590720 McCright, A. M. (2010). The effects of gender on climate change knowledge and concern in the American public. Population and Environment, 32(1), 66-87. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11111-010-0113-1 gender differences in adolescent’s climate change knowledge and perceptions 20 Meira-Cartea, P. Á., Bisquert, K. M., García-Vinuesa, A., y Pérez, A. (2018). RESCLIMA-EDU: A alfabetización climática en educación secundaria. Análise transcultural das representacións sociais do cambio climático en estudantes, docentes e material curricular. In A. Alonso-Ferreiro y A. Gewerc (Eds.), Conectando redes. La relación entre la investigación y la práctica educativa. Simposio REUNI+D y RILME (pp. 795-808). Santiago de Compostela: Grupo Stellae. Monroe, M. C., Plate, R. R., Oxarart, A., Bowers, A., & Chaves, W. A. (2019). Identifying effective climate change education strategies: A systematic review of the research. Environmental Education Research, 25(6), 791-812. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2017.1360842 Oliva, J. M. (1999). Algunas reflexiones sobre las concepciones alternativas y el cambio conceptual. Enseñanza de las Ciencias: Revista de Investigación y Experiencias Didácticas, 17(1), 93-107. Retrieved from https://www.raco.cat/index.php/Ensenanza/article/view/21563 Özdem, Y., Dal, B., Öztürk, N., Sönmez, D., & Alper, U. (2014). What is that thing called climate change? An investigation into the understanding of climate change by seventh-grade students. International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 23(4), 294-313. https://doi.org/10.1080/10382046.2014.946323 Petticrew, M. & Roberts, H. (2008). Systematic reviews in the social sciences: A practical guide. Oxford: John Wiley & Sons. Rodríguez, A. & González, R. (1995). Cinco hipótesis sobre las teorías implícitas. Revista de Psicología General y Aplicada: Revista de la Federación Española de Asociaciones de Psicología, 48(3), 221-229. Retrieved from https://dialnet.unirioja.es/descarga/articulo/2161352.pdf Rodríguez, M., Boyes, E., & Stanisstreet, M. (2010). Spanish secondary students’ willingness to undertake specific actions to combat global warming: Can environmental education help? Psyecology, 1(1), 73-89. https://doi.org/10.1174/217119710790709496 Rye, J. A., Rubba, P. A., & Wiesenmayer, R. L. (1997). An investigation of middle school students’ alternative conceptions of global warming. International Journal of Science Education, 19(5), 527-551. https://doi.org/10.1080/0950069970190503 Schönfelder, M. L. & Bogner, F. X. (2020). Between science education and environmental education: How science motivation relates to environmental values. Sustainability, 12(5), 1968. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12051968 Serantes-Pazos, A. (2017). El cambio climático en los libros de texto: cómo el sistema educativo contribuye a la construcción del saber sobre el cambio climático. In M. Blanco & P. Meira (Eds.), RESCLIMA: Aproximação ás claves sociais e educativas do cambio climático (pp. 81-91). Ferrol: Aldine Editorial. Stevenson, K. T., King, T. L., Selm, K. R., Peterson, M. N., & Monroe, M. C. (2017). Framing climate change communication to prompt individual and collective action among adolescents from agricultural communities. Environmental Education Research, 24(3), 365-377. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2017.1318114 Stevenson, K. & Peterson, N. (2016). Motivating action through fostering climate change hope and concern and avoiding despair among adolescents. Sustainability, 8(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.3390/su8010006 Stevenson, K. T., Peterson, M. N., & Bondell, H. D. (2016). The influence of personal beliefs, friends, and family in building climate change concern among adolescents. Environmental Education Research, 25(6), 832-845. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2016.1177712 Stevenson, K. T., Peterson, M. N., Bondell, H. D., Moore, S. E., & Carrier, S. J. (2014). Overcoming skepticism with education: Interacting influences of worldview and climate change knowledge on perceived climate change risk among adolescents. Climatic change, 126(3-4), 293-304. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-014-1228-7 Stevenson, K. T., Peterson, M. N., & Bradshaw, A. (2016). How climate change beliefs among US teachers do and do not translate to students. PLoS ONE, 11(9), 1-11, e0161462. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0161462 Timulak, L. (2009). Meta-analysis of qualitative studies: A tool for reviewing qualitative research findings in psychotherapy. Psychotherapy Research, 19(4-5), 591-600. https://doi.org/10.1080/10503300802477989 Yazdanparast, T., Salehpour, S., Masjedi, M. R., Seyedmehdi, S. M., Boyes, E., Stanisstreet, M., & Attarchi, M. (2013). Global warming: Knowledge and views of Iranian students. Acta Medica Iranica, 178-184. Retrieved from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23605603/