Walshe, N.;
Perry, J.;
Healy, G.;
(2025)
Student perspectives on climate change and sustainability education in England: experiences and expectations.
UCL Open: Environment
, 7
, Article 6. 10.14324/111.444/ucloe.3341.
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Abstract
This paper presents findings from a large-scale survey of 2429 students in Years 7–9 (ages 11–14) in England, exploring their experiences and expectations of climate change and sustainability education. The study reveals that while most students learn about climate change and sustainability in school, primarily through geography and science lessons, there is a desire for a more comprehensive and engaging approach. Students express a strong interest in learning about the future impacts of climate change, practical solutions and global perspectives. They emphasise the importance of outdoor learning, hands-on activities and opportunities for meaningful participation in school and community initiatives. The findings highlight the need for climate change and sustainability education to be embedded across the school curriculum, to provide opportunities for outdoor learning, and to nurture student agency. Explored within a framework of children’s rights to education and wellbeing and respective inequalities, this research provides valuable insights for stakeholders seeking to improve climate change and sustainability education and empower young people to address the climate and environmental crisis.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Student perspectives on climate change and sustainability education in England: experiences and expectations |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.14324/111.444/ucloe.3341 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.14324/111.444/ucloe.3341 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © 2025 The Authors. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (CC BY) 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. |
| Keywords: | education, climate change, sustainability, children and young people, the environment, outdoor learning, student autonomy, green careers, health and wellbeing, educational inequalities |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10216541 |
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