ABSTRACT
This article centres on young people’s experiences of climate change education (CCE). There is much written on CCE (e.g. what it is, what it should be, how it should be taught, where it should be taught), but there is little exploring young people’s views on learning about climate and the climate crisis. This Spotlight On article considers data collected as part of 21 focus groups, which engaged more than 100 young people in Bristol (UK), Galway (Ireland), Genoa (Italy) and Tampere (Finland). The article outlines key themes that transect young people’s experiences of CCE. The authors then consider how prominent themes inform the guiding principles for future CCE according to the young people participating in the CCC-CATAPULT European project.
Funding acknowledgements
The CCC-CATAPULT project is funded under the SOLSTICE programme – an initiative of the Joint Programming Initiative Connecting Climate Knowledge for Europe (JPI Climate). In the UK, this work was supported by the UK Economic and Social Research Council (Grant Number ES/V014048/1). In Ireland, this project is funded under the Irish EPA Research Programme 2021-2030 (Grant Number 2020/CCRP/MS69). The EPA Research Programme is a Government of Ireland initiative funded by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications. In Finland, this work is supported by the Academy of Finland (Grant Number 337453). In Italy, the work is supported by the Directorial Decree n. 1452 of the 28 June 2021 by the Ministero dell’Università e della Ricerca. The contributions of the wider CCC-CATAPULT research consortium are also acknowledged.
Notes
1 In line with institutional ethical guidelines pseudonyms have been used to preserve the anonymity of participating young people.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Kathy Reilly
Kathy Reilly School of Geography, Archaeology & Irish Studies, University of Galway, Ireland.
Bronagh Dillon
Bronagh Dillon School of Geography, Archaeology & Irish Studies, University of Galway, Ireland.
Frances Fahy
Frances Fahy School of Geography, Archaeology & Irish Studies, University of Galway, Ireland.
Dean Phelan
Dean Phelan, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.
Essi Aarnio-Linnanvuori
Essi Aarnio-Linnanvuori Faculty of Education and Culture, Tampere University, Finland.
Laura De Vito
Laura De Vito School of Architecture & Environment, University of the West of England, UK.
Ilaria Gnecco
Ilaria Gnecco Department of Civil, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Genoa, Italy.
Deepak Gopinath
Deepak Gopinath School of Architecture & Environment, University of the West of England, UK.
Andrew Holmes
Andrew Holmes School of Architecture & Environment, University of the West of England, UK.
Sophie Laggan
Sophie Laggan School of Architecture & Environment, University of the West of England, UK.
Anette Mansikka-aho
Anette Mansikka-aho Faculty of Education and Culture, Tampere University, Finland.
Anna Palla
Anna Palla Department of Civil, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Genoa, Italy.
Rosamund Portus
Rosamund Portus School of Architecture & Environment, University of the West of England, UK.
Inkeri Rissanen
Inkeri Rissanen Faculty of Education and Culture, Tampere University, Finland.
Sabrina Sposito
Sabrina Sposito Department of Civil, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Genoa, Italy.
Sara-Jayne Williams
Sara-Jayne Williams School of Architecture & Environment, University of the West of England, UK.
Lindsey McEwen
Lindsey McEwen School of Architecture & Environment, University of the West of England, UK.