Critical emotional awareness (CEA) is essential for teacher education to help educators and students process emotions effectively when learning about climate change while maintaining critical consciousness

This theoretical article explores why critical emotional awareness is essential in climate change education and what components it should include. The author argues that while increasing attention is being paid to emotions in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), there is still a need for deeper theoretical discussion about how to effectively incorporate emotional awareness into teaching practice.

The article begins by establishing the importance of CEA through an examination of the existential nature of climate change. Climate change raises fundamental questions about human survival, prompts moral questions about ethical living, and challenges people's sense of meaning and agency. These existential aspects naturally evoke strong emotional responses that educators must be prepared to address. Current challenges in education compound this need, as teachers often lack formal training in handling emotions and rely on personal rather than research-based strategies. Many teacher education programs do not adequately prepare educators for the emotional dimensions of climate education.

The author argues that simple emotional intelligence approaches are insufficient for addressing climate-related emotions. These emotions are shaped by political and social forces, requiring critical awareness to avoid the trap of purely therapeutic approaches that might dampen legitimate concerns. Understanding both psychological and sociopolitical dimensions is essential for effective climate change education.

The article then identifies and elaborates on five essential components of CEA:

1. First, educators need a multidisciplinary understanding of emotions, drawing on psychology, sociology, and educational philosophy. This includes understanding how emotions like worry can motivate learning and action, while recognizing both adaptive and maladaptive aspects of emotional responses. 
2. Second, educators must learn to validate and verbalize emotions by creating safe spaces for emotional expression, helping students articulate their feelings, and using emotional expression to uncover underlying values.
3. The third component involves challenging pre-existing meta-emotions, requiring educators to examine their own beliefs about emotions and question assumptions about what emotions are "appropriate" in educational settings. 
4. Fourth, understanding coping strategies is crucial, as educators need to recognize different ways people regulate emotions and help students develop resilience while maintaining engagement. This includes identifying constructive versus destructive coping mechanisms and supporting meaning-focused coping approaches.
5. The fifth component emphasizes critical consciousness about emotions, requiring educators to understand how emotions are shaped by social norms and recognize power dynamics in emotional expression. This includes examining how political and economic forces influence emotional responses and supporting critical discussion of emotion norms in educational settings.

The author concludes that CEA should be incorporated into teacher education in ways that base emotional understanding in research rather than personal beliefs while maintaining critical awareness of social and political dimensions. The approach should avoid both purely therapeutic approaches and complete dismissal of emotions, instead supporting students in processing emotions while maintaining engagement with climate issues.

Throughout the article, Ojala emphasizes that CEA is not about promoting "correct" emotions but rather giving teachers tools to help students understand and work with their emotional responses to climate change in ways that support both learning and engagement. This requires carefully balancing psychological support with critical consciousness about how emotions are shaped by larger social and political forces. The ultimate goal is to prepare educators who can help students process their climate-related emotions while maintaining the critical awareness necessary for meaningful engagement with climate change issues.