Modelling, Assessment, and Promotion of Climate Literacy
Several studies show that students often lack conceptual knowledge and show multiple misconceptions when explaining climate change (e.g, Boyes & Stanisstreet, 1993; Flener-Lovitt, 2014; Shepardson et al., 2011). Hence, it is often argued that science education should focus on conveying sufficient conceptual knowledge about climate change, its causes, consequences, and potential ways of adaptation and mitigation. However, besides scientific content knowledge, decision-making and the intention to act in a climate-friendly manner seem also to be influenced by non-scientific factors such as attitudes and value attribution (Dietz, Dan, & Shwom, 2007). The USGCRP (2009) thus promotes to focus education on climate literacy, which includes specific knowledge about climate change, as well as skills and attitudes relevant to the topic. So far, studies examining the impact of climate literacy on actual decision-making are scarce, and the general picture about other factors that contribute to young learners' conceptions of climate change – including the media, family, peers, but also emotional attachment and risk perception – remains somewhat unclear. In this related paper set, we aim to elaborate how climate literacy can be modelled and assessed, how it can be promoted through meaningful instruction, and how teacher professional development can contribute to this.
2022.