Narratives and impacts of formal climate education experienced by young climate activists

Abstract

Education has recently gained new attention as a key strategy for addressing climate change. Much of these efforts are aimed at young people via formalized climate change education. At the same time, young people are increasingly engaging with climate change via activism and social movement participation. But to what extent does existant climate education actually supporting action? This research article addresses this question through oral histories with young climate activists to explore their experiences of climate education. These narratives reveal that most young activists learned about climate change through formal, school-based science learning. The pedagogies that these youth experienced framed climate change as an abstract, scientific issue, removed from daily life. However, this framing failed to address the political and justice-related aspects of climate change, as well as strategies for addressing it. The impact of the pedagogies is that youth were immobilized and experienced panic and dread about climate change. The implications of these findings are discussed, including recommendations for climate pedagogies that support substantive climate action.