Ci a ion: Ga cía-Vinuesa, A.
Empowe ing Seconda y Educa ion
Teache s o Sus ainable Clima e
Ac ion. Sus ainabili y 2024,16, 7941.
h ps://doi.o g/10.3390/su16187941
Academic Edi o : Ad iana Del Bo ghi
Recei ed: 8 Augus 2024
Re ised: 29 Augus 2024
Accep ed: 6 Sep embe 2024
Published: 11 Sep embe 2024
Copy igh : © 2024 by he au ho .
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Swi ze land.
This a icle is an open access a icle
dis ibu ed unde he e ms and
condi ions o he C ea i e Commons
A ibu ion (CC BY) license (h ps://
c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/
4.0/).
sus ainabili y
Sys ema ic Re iew
Empowe ing Seconda y Educa ion Teache s o Sus ainable
Clima e Ac ion
An onio Ga cía-Vinuesa
SEPA-In e ea Resea ch G oup, Acua ic One Heal h Resea ch Cen e (iARCUS), Educa ion Sciences Facul y,
Uni e sidade de San iago de Compos ela, 15705 San iago de Compos ela, Spain; [email p o ec ed]
Abs ac : Clima e change educa ion plays an impo an ole in sus ainable clima e ac ion, bu he e
is a lack o knowledge abou how middle and high school eache s add ess i . This p esen s an
oppo uni y o explo e he esea ch on hese essen ial agen s o educa ion in p omo ing sus ainable
beha io s among adolescen s. This s udy aims o sys ema ically iden i y and analyze he exis ing
scien i ic li e a u e conce ning he knowledge, pe spec i es, challenges, and oppo uni ies o middle
and high school eache s ega ding clima e change as an educa ional opic. The e iew p o ocol
adhe es o he PRISMA ex ension o scoping e iew s a emen s. The me hodology includes he
es ablishmen o eligibili y c i e ia, consul a ion o Scopus and Web o Science da abases, implemen a-
ion o a sea ch s a egy based on a p elimina y scoping exe cise, and he u iliza ion o he CADIMA
online ool o acili a e he selec ion and da a collec ion p ocesses. This sys ema ic p ocess esul ed
in a sample o 41 s udies, which we e igo ously analyzed. Resul s sugges mul iple ac o s ha
challenge how eache s add ess clima e change in hei class ooms. Cu icula cons ain s, limi ed
school ime, con o e sy su ounding he phenomenon, and lack o aining eme ge as po en ial
obs acles. Howe e , hese challenges also p esen oppo uni ies o imp o e and p omo e sus ainable
clima e ac ion among young s uden s.
Keywo ds: sys ema ic e iew; en i onmen al educa ion; eache s; sus ainable clima e ac ion
1. In oduc ion
Clima e change educa ion (CCE) has eme ged as a p ominen esea ch ield in he
educa ional a ena o e he las decade [
1
–
3
]. CCE ocuses on how human-caused clima e
change (CC) has been inco po a ed in o educa ional sys ems as a complex socioscien i ic
issue posing a signi ican challenge o con empo a y socie ies [4,5].
As a esul o i s inc easing impo ance, CCE has led o he publica ion o se e al
e iews aimed a syn hesizing he eme ging knowledge p oduced in ecen yea s. Some
o hese e iews ocus on issues ela ed o s uden s’ knowledge, a i udes, pe cep ions, o
beha io s [
6
,
7
]. Meanwhile, o he s aim o iden i y e ec i e educa ional in e en ions and
eaching p ac ices [
8
,
9
] ela ed o he p o essional de elopmen o CCE [
10
]. In addi ion, a
scoping e iew was conduc ed on he sou ces o in o ma ion om which eache s access
in o ma ion on CC [
11
]. Despi e he g owing in e es in CCE, no e iews we e ound ha
speci ically ocused on seconda y educa ion eache s (bo h lowe and uppe seconda y
educa ion) as he p ima y pa icipan s and in which CCE was he main educa ional opic.
Howe e , wo exis ing e iews add ess simila opics and may help jus i y he need o he
p esen e iew.
Fi s ly, Chen and Xiao [
12
] conduc ed a sys ema ic e iew ocusing on science eache s
and hei iews on eaching socioscien i ic opics. Gi en ha CC is a socioscien i ic opic
ha equi es conside ing mul iple ela ionships o elemen s om social science and na u al
science ields [
4
], hei wo k is ele an o he pu pose o he cu en s udy. The au ho s
scanned he Web o Science, Educa ion Resou ces In o ma ion Cen e (ERIC), and PsycINFO
da abases and iden i ied 25 pape s ha i wi hin he scope o hei e iew, bu only one
Sus ainabili y 2024,16, 7941. h ps://doi.o g/10.3390/su16187941 h ps://www.mdpi.com/jou nal/sus ainabili y
Sus ainabili y 2024,16, 7941 2 o 15
esea ch pape ocused on CC. Hence, he expec a ion o he p esen ed e iew is o p o ide
an addi ional syn hesis o knowledge dis inc om ha o Chen and Xiao [12].
Secondly, Nep aše al. [
13
] conduc ed a li e a u e e iew on CCE, iden i ying 43 a -
icles published be ween 2001 and 2020 in he Web o Science da abase. Thei e iew
ocused on s udies a ge ing s uden s and eache s a In e na ional S anda d Classi ica ion
o Educa ion (ISCED) le els 1 and 2, which co espond o p ima y and lowe seconda y
educa ion. Howe e , uppe seconda y and pos -seconda y non- e ia y eache s we e ex-
cluded om hei analysis, and only 6 ou o he 43 a icles ocused on eache s. The e o e,
he cu en s udy aims o build on he wo k o Nep aše al. [
13
] by examining eache s’
pe spec i es on CCE ac oss all le els o seconda y educa ion and by including a icles om
he Scopus da abase.
Taking in o conside a ion he a o emen ioned in o ma ion, he objec i e o he cu en
esea ch is o in es iga e how middle and high school eache s app oach CC in hei daily
wo k. By syn hesizing his knowledge, he aim is o enhance he comp ehension o he
accomplishmen s and e olu ion o CCE om he eache s’ pe spec i e. The indings a e
an icipa ed o p o ide a syn hesis o knowledge abou eache s’ pe spec i es on CCE
ha could be use ul o cu iculum c ea o s, highe educa ion ins i u ions, and li elong
educa ion s akeholde s in in eg a ing he clima e c isis in o middle and high schools.
Howe e , i is c ucial o acknowledge ha e e y li e a u e e iew has i s own limi a ions.
The e o e, he e iew p ocess has been elucida ed in as much de ail as possible o ensu e
anspa ency, eplicabili y, and upg adabili y.
Below, a de ailed epo is p o ided on he s eps aken in acco dance wi h sys ema ic
scoping e iew ecommenda ions [14,15].
2. Ma e ials and Me hods
The sys ema ic e iew p o ocol ollowed in his s udy [
16
] adhe ed o he ecommen-
da ions p o ided o conduc ing scoping e iews [15] (see Supplemen a y Ma e ials [17]).
To sys ema ically conduc he p o ocol, he open-access web-based so wa e ool CADIMA
e s. 2.2.4.2. was u ilized. This ool suppo s and guides h ough all he necessa y s eps o
p o ocol implemen a ion [18].
I look o wa d o answe ing he ollowing esea ch ques ion:
Wha challenges and oppo uni ies o p omo ing CCE among seconda y educa ion
eache s eme ged om he e iew?
Fi e inclusion/exclusion c i e ia we e es ablished o iden i y documen s ha i he
esea ch in e es s. The i s h ee c i e ia ela e o he PIT ques ion ype [
19
], while he
emaining wo c i e ia pe ain o he publica ion ype and language limi a ions o he
au ho s. The inclusion c i e ia a e as ollows:
1. The p ima y pa icipan s mus be middle and high school eache s.
2. The documen s mus ocus on CCE.
3.
The esul s mus be ela ed o he comp ehension o CC and educa ional in e en ions.
4. Only a icles a e conside ed o inclusion.
5. Documen s mus be w i en in English, Spanish, o Po uguese.
Web o Science and Scopus da abases we e u ilized o he s udy sea ch and iden i ica-
ion p ocess. The sea ch was conduc ed on 23 Feb ua y 2023. Addi ionally, he e e ence
lis o simila e iews p e iously men ioned was examined o iden i y any s udies ha
migh ha e been missed du ing he e iew.
The sea ch s a egy was designed o iden i y s udies ha in ol e middle and high
school eache s as he p ima y pa icipan s, wi h a ocus on ISCED le els 2, 3, and 4 (see
de ails o he p o ocol [16]). The inal sea ch s ing is as ollows:
(TITLE-ABS-KEY (“clima e change” OR “global wa ming”) AND TITLE-ABS-KEY
(“ eache *” OR “p o esso *”) AND TITLE-ABS-KEY (“seconda y” OR “school*”) AND
NOT TITLE-ABS-KEY (“elemen a y school*” OR “p e-se ice eache *”))
P io o selec ing he s udies s age, h ee ounds o consis ency checks we e conduc ed
using CADIMA so wa e and he Kappa index o abs ac s. Fo y-one eco ds (10%)
Sus ainabili y 2024,16, 7941 3 o 15
we e andomly selec ed o his check. Th ee e iewe s, wo ex e nal e iewe s (see
Acknowledgmen s sec ion), and he au ho o he s udy independen ly sc eened each
eco d. I ook h ee ounds o de ine clea and consensus-based eligibili y c i e ia ha
achie ed an app op ia e in e - e iewe ag eemen . A e he second ound, he esul s
we e discussed among he h ee e iewe s o esol e any doub s o di e gences in he
esul s, and he c i e ia we e ede ined. The hi d consis ency check showed excellen
in e - e iewe ag eemen (K = 0.869).
3. Resul s
Figu e 1illus a es he lowcha ha ep esen s he sea ch and selec ion p ocess
ca ied ou in acco dance wi h he p e iously es ablished p o ocol, ollowing he PRISMA
s a emen o scoping e iews. The ou come o his p ocess led o he iden i ica ion o
41 s udies ha sa is ied he eligibili y c i e ia. The u iliza ion o he CADIMA ool acili a ed
he sequen ial, documen ed, and sys ema ic execu ion o he p ocess, he eby assis ing in
documen iden i ica ion and con en analysis.
Figu e 1. Selec ion p ocess. Flow diag am in acco dance wi h PRISMA-ScR [15].
Table 1p o ides an o e iew o he ga he ed esea ch. In 19 ou o 41 o he s udies,
he pa icipan s consis ed solely o science eache s, wi h wo o hem conduc ed among
ma ine science eache s. In 14 ou o 41, he pa icipan sample included eache s om
a ious disciplines. The emaining s udies in ol ed he pa icipa ion o geog aphy eache s
in se en ou o 41, and 1 s udy included ag icul u e eache s.
The esea ch opics a e di e se, encompassing a ious cogni i e elemen s, expe iences,
and ins uc ional p ac ices. They also in ol e he implemen a ion o s a egies and ac i i ies
o in eg a e CC in o he class oom o cu iculum.
Sus ainabili y 2024,16, 7941 4 o 15
Table 1. Thema ic da a ex ac ed.
S udy Yea Teache ’s Specializa ion Educa ional Le el Topic (Based on he Aims and Resea ch Ques ions S a ed by he Au ho s)
[20] 2022 Geog aphy eache s Seconda y School In eg a ion o CCE in class oom lessons
[21] 2022 Miscellaneous High School * Teache s’ pe cep ions abou CC
[22] 2022 Ma ine science High School In luence o pe sonal belie s eaching CC and he impac o poli ical con o e sy on CC ins uc ion
[23] 2022 Miscellaneous High School Teache s’ iewpoin s on CC and hei willingness o include CC conce ns in classes
[24] 2022 Miscellaneous Seconda y School Teache s’ clima e science li e acy and i s in luence on exp essed aining needs.
[25] 2022 science eache s High School Teaching CC and he implemen a ion o epis emic ac i i ies o p ac ice-o ien ed science ins uc ion
[26] 2022 science eache s Seconda y School Teache s’ implemen a ion o clima e- ocused cu icula in e en ions
[27] 2021 Miscellaneous Seconda y School * Views o eache s abou CCE in he cu iculum
[28] 2021 Ma ine science High School Teache belie s abou CC
[29] 2021 Miscellaneous High School Emo ions in eaching abou CC and hei handling/coaching o emo ional eac ions in he class oom
[30] 2021 Science eache s Middle School Pe cep ions o CC ba ie s and unde s anding o CC
[31] 2021 Science eache s Seconda y School CC pe cep ions o seconda y science eache s
[32] 2020 Miscellaneous Lowe Seconda y Teache s iew CC a p esen and in he u u e and he p ac ices ha can be inse ed in o he
school con ex
[33] 2020 Miscellaneous Senio Seconda y Awa eness o CC and willingness o adop p o-en i onmen al beha io
[34] 2020 Science eache s Middle and High Schools Time spen on CC in he class oom, use o a consensus-in o med app oach, and s a e-le el
cu iculum s anda ds
[35] 2020 Miscellaneous Middle School Teache s p ac ices and emo ions
[36] 2020 Ag icul u e eache s Seconda y Educa ion Teache s’ knowledge, he choice o hei p ac ices, and hei belie s abou GCC
[37] 2019 Science educa o s Miscellaneous Cul u al alues, wo ld iews, and suppo o he opic
[38] 2019 Science eache s Seconda y School * A gumen s in a o o and agains CC denial heo ies
[39] 2018 Science eache s Middle and High Schools Teaching p ac ices ( ime, emphasis, deba es), con en knowledge, and ideology ega ding CC
[40] 2018 Miscellaneous Seconda y School Gaps and di e ences be ween isk and pe cei ed isk and e ec i e and sus ainable
adap a ion s a egies.
Sus ainabili y 2024,16, 7941 5 o 15
Table 1. Con .
S udy Yea Teache ’s Specializa ion Educa ional Le el Topic (Based on he Aims and Resea ch Ques ions S a ed by he Au ho s)
[41] 2018 Geog aphy eache s Lowe Seconda y Teache s’ belie s and class oom p ac ices when eaching wea he o ma ion and CC
[42] 2017 Miscellaneous Lowe Seconda y Knowledge, a i udes, and p ac ices owa ds CCE
[43] 2017 Geog aphy eache s High School CC science li e acy (p ocesses and causes o CC, CC impac s, CC esponses)
[44] 2017 Science eache s Middle School Teache s’ expe iences and mo i a ions in eaching CC
[45] 2017 Miscellaneous Seconda y School Goals, knowledge, compe encies, and alues abou CCE
[46] 2017 Miscellaneous Seconda y School Pe cep ions o isk educa ion
[47] 2017 Science eache s Seconda y School CCE expe iences, unde s anding o CC consensus and con o e sy, and speci ic p ac ices
[48] 2016 Geog aphy eache s Lowe Seconda y Emo ions abou he consequences o CC, s a egies o coping wi h emo ions, and iews on
CC mi iga ion
[49] 2016 Science eache s Middle and High Schools Aspec s o eaching CC, knowledge, and belie s
[50] 2016 Science eache s Middle School * Poli ically d i en CC belie s
[51] 2015 Miscellaneous Seconda y School * Pe sonal and p o essional belie s abou CC and CCE
[52] 2015 Science eache s Seconda y School CC science knowledge
[53] 2015 Science eache s Seconda y School * Social nego ia ion in he ad ancemen o CCE (a i udes, opinions, and expe iences)
[54] 2015 Geog aphy eache s High School Li e acy ega ding CC science
[55] 2015 Geog aphy eache s Seconda y School Unde s andings o CCE
[56] 2014 Miscellaneous Seconda y School CC opics included ac oss disciplines, iews o CC in he cu iculum, and ba ie s and oppo uni ies
[57] 2013 Science eache s Seconda y School Willing o con ey CC in o ma ion, abili y o add ess con o e sial opics, belie s in policy,
and economic
[58] 2013 Science eache s Seconda y School * Backg ound knowledge, need o cogni ion, need o closu e, opic emo ions, and
plausibili y pe cep ions
[59] 2010 Science eache s Middle and High Schools Views and p ac ices o CC as con o e sial opics: Mo i a ions and ba ie s
[60] 2002 Science eache s Middle School CC in he B i ish science cu iculum
Miscellaneous = a ious academic ields: Ma h, Fo eign languages, A s, His o y, Geog aphy, e c.; CC = clima e change; CCE = clima e change educa ion. * Mixed sample o eache s
om di e en educa ional le els (p e-se ice eache s, elemen a y educa ion, Highe Educa ion Ins i u ions, e c.) o s uden s.
Sus ainabili y 2024,16, 7941 6 o 15
4. Discussion
4.1. Teache s’ Unde s anding and Pe spec i es o Clima e Change
The complexi y o he clima ic sys em poses a g ea challenge o i s comp ehen-
sion and de ini ion by he gene al populace. While mos eache s acknowledge he ex-
is ence o CC [
21
,
36
,
49
,
50
] and appea o demons a e a highe deg ee o expe ise on
he subjec compa ed o he gene al popula ion, hey also g apple wi h comp ehension
hu dles [20,38,49,51].
Va ying le els o knowledge ega ding CC a e obse ed wi hin he eache coho s
hemsel es, wi h ins ances whe e he sample is nea ly e enly di ided, wi h app oxima ely
50% exhibi ing mode a e-low le els o unde s anding and he emainde demons a ing
mode a e-high le els o comp ehension [
42
,
53
]. I is no ewo hy ha ac o s such as age,
eaching expe ience, and specialized aining exe in luence on le els o clima e science
knowledge [23,39,42,43].
The challenge o comp ehending he clima ic sys em appea s o pe sis e en among
eache s specializing in science o geog aphy, disciplines whe ein CC ypically ea u es as
obliga o y con en . P incipal challenges a e iden i ied in connec ion wi h gene al knowl-
edge o clima e science and wi h he scien i ic consensus su ounding i s an h opogenic
causa ion [
22
,
24
,
30
,
31
,
42
,
47
,
49
–
53
,
55
,
59
]. Wi h espec o he scien i ic consensus on he
causes o human-induced CC, Sezen-Ba ie and colleagues concluded ha eache s migh
s ill doub he an h opogenic causes o clima e change when eache s (a) do no ha e a
comp ehensi e unde s anding o sea ice s. land ice, unc ions o he ecosys em, sola
cycles, and wea he s. clima e; (b) ely on a single sou ce; o (c) lack unde s anding o
how clima e da a a e collec ed and alida ed in models [38] (p. 16).
In he case o eache s who s uggle wi h comp ehension, de ini ions o CC o en ocus
on isola ed aspec s o he phenomenon, such as ising empe a u es, empo al aspec s,
o me eo ological changes. This skewed unde s anding, p ima ily in i s a mosphe ic
and me eo ological dimension, ails o conside he eali y o a complex sys em and he
nume ous aspec s, ela ionships, and eedback loops ha should be pa o a scien i ically
accu a e ep esen a ion o he phenomenon. A o he imes, hese ep esen a ions con ain
misconcep ions commonly sha ed by he gene al popula ion [
31
,
49
,
52
,
55
,
59
]. Tau ologies
o denialis a gumen s a e used o a lesse ex en o de ine i [38,52].
Rega ding knowledge o he causes, consequences, and solu ions o CC, eache s
appea o ollow he end obse ed in o he esea ch in ol ing seconda y educa ion
s uden s as he a ge popula ion. Consequen ly, i seems ha eache s possess a s onge
g asp o he p ocesses and unde lying causes o CC compa ed o hei comp ehension o
i s social, economic, and heal h epe cussions, as well as po en ial solu ions [42,53].
Conce ning hei knowledge o he causes, inconsis encies a ise in hei pe spec i es.
Despi e a g ea pe cen age o eache s con i ming hei ag eemen ega ding he exis ence
o a scien i ic consensus on CC causes, hey ha bo doub s abou he na u e o hese
causes [
27
,
28
,
30
,
38
,
49
]. These doub s s em om belie s ha he e idence su ounding he
phenomenon is weak o lawed, ha he employed me hods lack eliabili y, o ha na u al
o ces a e signi ican con ibu o s o he ongoing CC [31,36,38,42,47,50,59].
Rega ding solu ions, eache s a ibu e esponsibili y o mi iga ion ac ions o indi id-
uals and poli icians, wi h poli icians bea ing a g ea e bu den due o hei decision-making
powe . Addi ionally, economic powe s a e also iden i ied as p ima y agen s esponsible
o implemen ing mi iga ion policies and ac ions [
48
]. Howe e , in he case o a unique
B azilian s udy, eache s do no pe cei e hemsel es as pa o he solu ion due o he
de alua ion o he eaching p o ession in hei coun y [32].
Fu he mo e, He mans [
48
] analyzes he discou se o Finnish eache s and iden i ies
wo ca ego ies ela ed o mi iga ion s a egies. On he one hand, he e a e con ex ual
s a egies such as he de elopmen o clima e- iendly echnology, he implemen a ion o
ca o -and-s ick policies, and in e na ional ag eemen s. On he o he hand, mo i a ional
s a egies eme ge a ound he ela ionship be ween knowledge, a i ude, and beha io .
When discussing mi iga ion measu es a he pe sonal le el, hey p opose wo ypes o
Sus ainabili y 2024,16, 7941 7 o 15
ac ions: hose wi h di ec impac aimed a add essing he p oblem and hose wi h indi ec
impac in ended o in luence o he s o pa icipa e in he solu ion. Among di ec ac ions,
eache s sugges ac ions ha do no equi e a pe sonal sac i ice o hei li es yles (e.g., e-
cycling, u ning o ligh s, e c.), al hough some also ques ion he impac o hei li es yles
and accep o he ac ions, such as educing showe ime o using hei ca s less. Finally,
indi ec ac ions a e di ec ly ela ed o hei wo k ime h ough eaching [
28
]. These ac ions
a e u he ein o ced by a ious ypes o mo i a ion, including being a ole model, a sense
o pe sonal esponsibili y, o conside a ions ela ed o heal h and pe sonal inances.
Despi e seconda y educa ion eache s asse ing a s onge g asp o CC knowledge com-
pa ed o he gene al popula ion, hey also hold misconcep ions abou he phenomenon
[31,32,36].
A signi ican po ion o eache s ends o accep he exis ence o a leas wo alid expla-
na ions o he causes o CC: na u al cycles and human ac i i ies [
22
,
36
]. This pe cep ion
con as s wi h he scien i ic eali y o he phenomenon [
4
], and as Nicholls and S e en-
son indica e his ep esen a ion “does no p esen a ealis ic pic u e o unde s anding
o CC” [
51
] (p. 26). The na u al g eenhouse e ec , i s al e a ion by human ac i i ies, o
misunde s andings ega ding he ozone laye and i s deple ion u he con ibu e o he
con usion su ounding he unde s anding o CC and a e ound in a small subse o he
eaching s a [31,42,49,52,55,59].
Rega ding he emo ions igge ed by he CC, eache s iden i y eelings o conce n,
ange , ea , guil , o hopelessness when con empla ing he consequences o he CC [
28
,
48
].
Bu he e a e also some eache s who exp ess hope ulness in dealing wi h CC in school, e en
hough hey a e no in he majo i y [
38
]. The conce n, a ed as mode a e, is p ojec ed owa d
he u u e, na u e, o he upcoming gene a ions, sugges ing ha hey do no pe cei e
CC as a cu en issue ha may pe sonally a ec hem. Howe e , hey simul aneously
hold a nega i e ep esen a ion o he p esen and u u e s a e o he plane [
32
]. Thei
ange is di ec ed a majo ins i u ions, co po a ions, na ions, o he poli ical es ablishmen ,
a ibu ing p ima y esponsibili y o he CC o ac o s beyond hei day- o-day con ol.
Addi ionally, emo ions play a signi ican ole in shaping pe cep ions o he plausibili y o
CC. Hopelessness appea s o be posi i ely co ela ed wi h such pe cep ions, whe eas ange
shows a nega i e co ela ion.
Fac o s such as mo i a ion and gende also play a ole in shaping he emo ions elici ed
by CC. Fo ins ance, among eache s who a e mo i a ed by he subjec , “ eaching abou
clima e change p o ides impo an psychological bene i s o hem. I b ings hem joy
and gi es hem hope o he u u e” [
44
] (p. 18), while women end o exp ess heigh ened
conce n abou he issue [29].
Finally, Anyanwu and Le G ange [
43
] conclude ha male geog aphy eache s achie e
highe knowledge sco es compa ed o hei emale coun e pa s, a end also iden i ied in
ano he s udy [
42
]. Al hough hese indings a e consis en wi h o he esea ch in ol ing
s uden popula ions, i is impo an o no e ha hese s udies a e limi ed o he Wes e n
Cape P o ince in Sou h A ica and Teh an, I an. As he same au ho s acknowledge,
con i ming hese esul s would equi e la ge sample s udies in ol ing eache s om
di e se coun ies and specializa ions.
4.2. Teaching Clima e Change in Seconda y Educa ion
The s a egies employed o each i a y, anging om using ex books, in e ne e-
sou ces, epis emic p ac ices, o lec u es o p ac ical assignmen s, labo a o y expe imen s,
o deba es, among o he app oaches. These p e e ences appea o be mo e in luenced by
pe sonal choices han p o essional ones, o en s emming om pas expe iences, wo ld-
iews, class oom dynamics, he subjec being augh , he socioeconomic and pe sonal
backg ounds o he s uden s, as well as physical and cu icula cons ain s. Simila ly, he e
is a di e gence o opinions ega ding which discipline should ake on he esponsibili y
o i s educa ional in eg a ion [
26
,
34
,
36
–
38
,
40
,
41
,
45
,
55
,
59
]. The di e gence o opinions and
pe spec i es wi hin hese communi ies mus be aken in o accoun while also conside ing
in e nal social di isions, since, as Walshe and colleagues indica e:
Sus ainabili y 2024,16, 7941 8 o 15
While he e is a gene al ag eemen ha clima e change is a human-induced p ob-
lem and a h ea o socie y, i is clea ha he e is conside able in e g oup and coun y
di e si y in pe cep ions o clima e change. This di e si y is p oblema ic o in eg a e
in o he op–down policy-led in e en ions, pa icula ly hose ha a e mul i-na ional in
scale [40] (p. 315).
Mo eo e , he complexi y and con o e sy su ounding he phenomenon lead o a
si ua ion whe e, al hough a po ion o eache s in science- ela ed disciplines decla e eel-
ing com o able eaching CC, 14% exp ess discom o [
57
]. These pe cen ages inc ease
o
40–60%
among eache s in o he disciplines ela ed o social sciences, humani ies, eco-
nomics, and ma hema ics [56].
The eaching o CC o en ocuses on i s causes and consequences, p ima ily om
exclusi e pe spec i es o he na u al sciences [
21
,
25
,
29
,
36
,
44
,
45
,
49
,
51
]. Al hough in some
cases, eache s emphasize ha “[CCE] includes social jus ice and pa icipa ion in social
ac ion as pa o he school cu iculum” [
27
] (p. 1675), he e is gene ally limi ed explo a ion
o he social and economic causes and consequences. Two dis inc pe spec i es eme ged
ha di e en ia e how science eache s and ag icul u al eache s app oach he con en
o CC [
56
]. Science eache s base hei s a egies on impa ing he scien i ic p inciples ha
unde lie he causes o clima e change, while eache s in ag icul u al science and echnology
concen a e on he impac s and adap a ion measu es. On he o he hand, business eache s
a gue ha i is unnecessa y o g asp he basic p inciples o clima e science, leading hem o
inco po a e CC p ima ily h ough he lens o economic impac s s emming om a ious
ex eme e en s. Despi e eache s exp essing an in e es in in eg a ing CC in o hei eaching
p ac ice, he ime in es ed is limi ed due o a ious ac o s such as cu iculum cons ain s,
lack o knowledge, and he di icul y o aligning CC con en wi h eaching s anda ds,
among o he s [34,36,49,56].
The po en ial and mos e ec i e solu ions, bo h a he indi idual and collec i e le els,
also appea o ha e a limi ed ole in CCE. When hey a e add essed, he ocus ends o
be on echnological solu ions and en i onmen ally iendly ac ions, o en o e looking
poli ical solu ions. Unde s anding he impo ance o poli ical solu ions is c ucial o
gaining accep ance among he b oade popula ion [
31
]. This cu icula pe spec i e, which
con ines he lea ning o CC o speci ic na u al science disciplines, does no go unno iced.
Some au ho s a gue ha mode n educa ion o en neglec s pos mode nis ideas and a
di e si y o pe spec i es [
60
]. This de iciency is e lec ed in mos eaching p ac ices, which
do no ac i ely seek o o success ully cul i a e he c i ical hinking skills necessa y o
e alua ing con o e sial si ua ions. In his sense, science and geog aphy eache s exp ess
he di icul y o p oposing s a egies and me hodologies ha os e s uden s’ in e es in
pa icipa ing, discussing, and a guing—skills ha a e de eloped in o he social science
subjec s mo e closely connec ed o hei social eali y [
45
]. Fu he mo e, hey emphasize
wo king on clima e- ela ed con en i i allows hem o achie e o he o e a ching objec i es
such as [27,45,51,55,57,60]:
•Fos e ing esponsible and in o med decision-making.
•
G asping he bounda ies o science and he dynamic p ocess o cons uc ing sci-
en i ic knowledge, g ounding in e idence, and esponsi e o en i onmen al and
social challenges.
•Cul i a ing c i ical awa eness o social inequali y and injus ice.
•Acknowledging he exis ence o in ica e, global-local ela ionships.
•Es ablishing connec ions be ween science and e e yday li e.
•
Nu u ing he abili y o discuss and nego ia e in pu sui o solu ions o complex and
con en ious socioscien i ic.
•De eloping ci ic compe ence.
When i comes o discussing he clima e opic in class, he e a e di e en opinions
on how o include i and in wha con ex , whe he o mal o in o mal [
59
]. Mo eo e ,
al hough educa ional cu icula a e ypically cen alized and p esc ip i e, he way CC is
add essed in he class oom a ies depending on he eache s [
55
], wi h poli ical o ien a ion
Sus ainabili y 2024,16, 7941 9 o 15
and wo ld iews being one o he in luencing ac o s ha could impac he eaching o CC
in public schools in he US [31,37].
Among he eache s who epo using speci ic s a egies o add ess he opic, hey
highligh hose ela ed o he na u e o science, in ol ing s uden s in da a collec ion,
analysis, and conclusion o mula ion [
57
]. O he s a egies hey men ion include explaining
scien i ic unce ain y, p esen ing he easoning behind di e en in e p e a ions o CC,
discussing he p os and cons o clima e- ela ed policies [
48
], explo ing he his o y o
CC science, engaging in discussions abou skep ical belie s [
59
], spa ial and empo al
easoning [38], and planning o cons uc ing e idence-based explana ions [44].
Plu ze and colleagues ound ou ha “ eache s who each CC, 31% epo sending
explici ly con adic o y messages, emphasizing bo h he scien i ic consensus ha ecen
global wa ming is due o human ac i i y and ha many scien is s belie e ecen inc eases
in empe a u e a e due o na u al causes” [
49
] (p. 664). In his ega d, a ious iewpoin s
exis ega ding he p oposal o p esen di e en pe spec i es on he o igins o CC causes,
wi h some eache s deeming i app op ia e and o he s no [
31
,
39
,
51
,
55
,
57
,
59
]. In his
scena io, he con lic eme ges be ween eache s who ad oca e in oducing s uden s o he
wo p ima y a gumen s ha explain he causes o he phenomenon, human s. na u al,
and hose who endo se he a gumen g ounded in he scien i ic consensus es ablished
by he IPCC, a ibu ing he dis up ion o he clima e sys em o human ac i i ies. Wang
and colleagues [
36
] iden i ied his pe spec i e among mos o hei pa icipan s, while
Nicholls and S e enson obse ed ha a small subse o eache s in hei sample asse ed
ha CC is “ ic i ious, a poli ically mo i a ed opic o biased owa d a poli ical agenda,
an unsuppo ed idea d i en by media, he esul o unsc upulous scien is s lying o
money, he unsuppo ed popula belie s o igno an people, o a combina ion o hese
poin s” [
51
] (p. 25). Fu he mo e, his pe spec i e may in luence eaching p ac ices, as
eache s om s a es wi h s anda ds emphasizing bo h sides we e less inclined o adop a
consensus-in o med app oach o ins uc ion [34].
Closely ela ed o his, ideology is also a ac o ha in luences how he opic is augh ,
wi h eache s who “display a small go e nmen ideology a e mo e likely o encou age
deba e and less likely o emphasize he scien i ic consensus“ [
39
] (p. 9). The public con o-
e sy su ounding he phenomenon leads eache s o main ain neu ali y when add essing
he opic in he class oom and o a oid engaging in a gumen a i e deba es
[22,28].
In
connec ion wi h his, Plu ze and Hannah [
39
] highligh he isk o using deba es in which
he e a e wo alid na a i es, po en ially causing con usion among s uden s abou he
scien i ic eali y o CC.
The isks associa ed wi h CC a e ano he a ea o in e es in CCE among eache s. Some
eache s highligh ed he need o add ess mo e isk- ela ed opics in schools [
46
]. They
also ecognized ha he p ima y isks hei s uden s will ace in he u u e will ha e a
socioeconomic na u e. Howe e , hei eaching p ac ices p edominan ly e ol e a ound
en i onmen al h ea s, o en wi hou linking hem o hei social and economic implica ions.
The au ho s explain ha his is due o he ma e ials used in class ooms being dic a ed by
he school cu iculum, which ou lines manda o y con en , and un o una ely, he social
and economic impac s a e o en omi ed.
In island con ex s, whe e he h ea s o CC a e mo e isibly mani es ed h ough ising
sea le els and ex eme wea he e en s, eache s equen ly s ess he impo ance o he opic
as a ele an educa ional subjec ha should be con ex ualized o add ess local conce ns and
engage he public in he clima e c isis [
36
,
40
]. Howe e , o he s udies indica e ha eache s
o en ail o es ablish hese connec ions wi h he local consequences o hei en i onmen s
in hei eaching p ac ices [22].
The isks and h ea s o CC gene ally e oke nega i e emo ions ela ed o conce n,
ange , guil , o hopelessness [
28
,
32
,
38
,
48
], which can ha e an impac on educa ional p ac-
ices. Howe e , when he ocus shi s o he emo ions o hei s uden s, opinions a y.
Some eache s pe cei e hei s uden s’ nega i e emo ions as i a ional and disapp o e
o add essing hem in he class oom, while o he s conside conce n o hopelessness as
