This paper addresses the issue of climate change as a cause of distress and anxiety for many children. It includes an investigation of the problem and offers recommendations on how educators can use hope-inspired pedagogy to support children's emotional responses to climate change. The related discussion is based on current literature identified through a search using such search terms as climate anxiety, children, school, and pedagogy.
Research indicates that worry is the most common emotion experienced by children in relation to climate change. Coping strategies used by children for dealing with their emotional reaction to climate change tend to be problem-focused, emotion-focused, meaning-focused, and placing trust in others to address climate change. Of these, meaning-focused strategies seem to be the most influential in motivating children to be more environmentally engaged and are more closely linked to positive feelings and life satisfaction than the other coping strategies. One concept highlighted throughout the paper relates to children's need for support in coping with climate change anxiety. Such support is needed to strengthen both the children's wellbeing and their contribution to climate change mitigation. Other highlighted concepts relate to (a) the importance of hope in coping with climate change and (b) “education as central to climate change mitigation, adaptation and building the resilience critical to supporting children's emotional responses.”
Three components of hope are discussed in relation to a pedagogy of hope for climate change education: goals (desired outcome/vision of a possible future); pathway thinking (awareness of pathways to reach the goal); and agency thinking (the motivation/belief in agency to achieve the goal). Exemplars of programs and individuals working from a hope-inspired approach are provided. These examples illustrate the capacity of children to take action for climate change mitigation. Also provided is a discussion about how the “General capabilities” of the Australian Curriculum lend themselves to a cross-curricular study of sustainability. Finally, specific recommendations are offered on how to implement the pedagogy of hope in sustainably engaged and active classrooms.
A pedagogy of hope encourages and supports children's involvement in activities to mitigate and adapt to climate change. This approach, rather than dismissing children's feelings of distress and anxiety, can promote a sense of hopefulness, self-efficacy, resilience, and agency, as well as a sense of responsibility.
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