Climate change deepens existing educational inequities for children and youth living in povertyChildren and youth living in poverty are disproportionately affected by the educational consequences of climate change. While all children are vulnerable to climate-related risks because of their physiological and developmental needs, poverty heightens this vulnerability by restricting access to adequate nutrition, health care, and stable educational environments. Consequently, families experiencing poverty and under-resourced schools have fewer resources to maintain educational continuity amidst climate hazards. Therefore, poverty functions as a threat multiplier, intensifying the educational impacts of climate-related disruptions. This systematic literature review was conducted to synthesize existing research examining how climate change affects learning and development for children and youth living in poverty within formal educational settings. The review was guided by the question: “What is currently known about the implications of climate change for the learning and development of children and youth living in poverty or of low socioeconomic status within educational contexts?”
A search of five academic databases was conducted to identify studies examining the effects of climate change and climate-related stressors—including heat, floods, storms, hurricanes, wildfires, and air pollution—on learning and developmental outcomes among children and youth (aged 24 years or younger) living in poverty or with low socioeconomic status within formal educational settings. Only primary studies published in English were eligible for inclusion in the review. The search identified 29 studies, conducted in 18 countries and published between 2010 and 2024. The majority were conducted in the US and South Asia (Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan). Studies were also conducted in Africa (Cameroon, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Malawi, South Africa, Uganda, and Zimbabwe), Europe (Denmark, Italy, and the UK), as well as Iran, China, Mongolia, and Haiti. Research designs were also diverse, including 11 quasi-experimental studies, ten cross-sectional studies, five cohort studies, two qualitative studies, and one mixed-methods study. An appraisal of study quality rated 19 studies as high quality, seven as moderate quality, and three as low quality. Findings across the studies were synthesized using a descriptive narrative approach.
Analysis revealed five interconnected themes illustrating how climate change impacts learning and development in formal education settings for children and youth living in poverty: (1) <em>observed educational performance loss</em>; (2) <em>compromised readiness to learn</em>; (3) <em>household economic and care pressures diverting children from schooling</em>; (4) <em>damage and disruption to learning environments and access</em>; and (5) <em>system capacity determining educational resilience</em>. Within the theme <em>observed educational performance loss</em>, 20 studies linked climate-related exposures to lower test scores, reduced grade point averages, increased absences, delayed school entry, and higher early school leaving rates. Air pollution was most commonly linked to reduced academic performance among low socioeconomic students. Temperature extremes and heat exposure were also linked to increased school absences and a reduced likelihood of completing schooling over long-term exposure. Five studies reported that climate-related stressors <em>compromised readiness to learn </em>by reducing students’ ability to focus, engage in school, and perform academically. For instance, heat exposure was commonly related to fatigue, dehydration, headaches, sleep loss, and loss of concentration in school. Further, exposure to air pollution was associated with reduced intelligence quotient scores, suggesting that climate factors can impact overall cognitive preparedness for learning. Evidence suggesting that <em>household economic and care pressures divert children from schooling</em> was documented across 14 studies. The impacts of droughts, floods, and other climate events strain household resources, reduce investments in schooling, and increase absenteeism, often due to reliance on child labor. Such impacts constrain children's access to education and reinforce cycles of poverty. Seven studies reported <em>damage and disruption to learning environments and</em> <em>access </em>due to climate change. Findings within this theme indicate that physical damage to educational infrastructure, unsafe or inaccessible routes to school, and prolonged school closures interrupt educational routines and access to learning for children living in poverty during and after extreme weather events. The final theme, <em>system capacity determines educational resilience</em>, emerged from seven studies that highlighted the vital role of institutional systems, infrastructure quality, and policy. For instance, policies to improve air quality can improve school attendance and strengthen educational resilience. Within this theme, “findings show that protecting learning under climate stress depends not only on individual or household adaptation, but also on the equity, capacity, and responsiveness of education and social systems that influence how different socioeconomic groups experience and recover from disruption.”
Overall findings of the review demonstrate that, across diverse geographical contexts, climate-related exposures deepen existing educational inequities for children and youth who are living in poverty. Specifically, “climate-related hazards undermine learning through multiple, interconnected pathways, including declines in academic performance, diminished readiness to learn, increased household and caregiving pressures, damage and disruption to learning environments and access, and limitations in system capacity.” These educational impacts are shaped by built, social, and institutional contexts that intensify the adverse effects of climate change on children living in poverty. Climate-related disruptions to education therefore represent violations of children's fundamental rights to survival, development, and education. The researchers call attention to the need to strengthen social protection systems that may enable families to sustain children’s schooling during climate events. The policy and practice implications of the review highlight the need for coordinated school-, community-, and system-level actions to protect children's educational rights in a changing climate.
The Bottom Line