Psychological Pathways in Climate Change Education: Hope, Climate Anxiety, Emotion, Self-Efficacy, and Agency A Narrative Integrative Review
Acceptance: 08/07/2026
Published: 28/07/2026
Abstract
Background. Climate change education is increasingly understood as a cognitive, affective, and action-oriented process rather than as the transmission of scientific information alone. Learners' emotional and motivational responses — including hope, anxiety, fear, anger, grief, self-efficacy, and perceived agency may influence whether climate learning is associated with engagement, avoidance, or psychological distress. Objective. This narrative integrative review synthesises research examining how psychological constructs are conceptualised and studied in climate change education and how they relate to climate engagement, pro-environmental behaviour, behavioural intentions, and psychological wellbeing. Methods. This narrative integrative review synthesises 44 peer-reviewed sources published between 2012 and 2026. Sources were identified through Elsevier-related scholarly resources, Google Scholar, and citation tracking, and were selected through title-and-abstract screening based on their relevance to climate change education and psychological constructs including hope, anxiety, emotion, self-efficacy, and agency. Due to substantial heterogeneity in study designs, populations, measures, and outcomes, findings were synthesised narratively and organised into six thematic areas. Results. The reviewed literature generally associates constructive hope, perceived efficacy, and agency with climate engagement and behavioural intentions. Climate anxiety and other negative emotions demonstrate more complex relationships with action: they may support attention, concern, and motivation when learners feel validated and have credible opportunities to respond, but may contribute to helplessness, avoidance, or distress when learners lack perceived control or emotional support. Participatory, place-based, experiential, and action-oriented approaches appear more promising than information-centred instruction alone. However, the evidence remains limited by the predominance of cross-sectional, self-report, and short-term studies, and few interventions explicitly assess emotional processing, sustained behaviour, or longer-term wellbeing. Conclusions. Climate change education should integrate accurate scientific knowledge with emotional literacy, realistic hope, mastery experiences, collective action, and meaningful participation. Future research should use clearer construct definitions, culturally responsive measures, longitudinal and experimental designs, and behavioural and wellbeing outcomes that extend beyond immediate self-reported intentions.
Keynote: climate change education; climate anxiety; eco-anxiety; climate emotions; hope; self-efficacy; agency; climate action; youth wellbeing
Author Name:
Shradha Yadav
Pages:
791-819
DOI Number:
10.5281/zenodo.22652712
Country:
India
Orcid:
Full Article
Reference
Aksel Stenberdt, V., & Makransky, G. (2023). Mastery experiences in immersive virtual reality promote pro-environmental waste-sorting behavior. Computers and Education, 198. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2023.104760
Benoit, L., R Lowe, S., Thomas, I., Amsalem, D., & Martín, A.S. (2025). Climate change hopefulness, anxiety, and behavioral intentions among adolescents: randomized controlled trial of a brief “selfie” video intervention. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, 19(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13034-025-00872-x
Buchanan, J., Pressick-Kilborn, K., & Fergusson, J. (2021). Naturally enough?: Children, climate anxiety and the importance of hope. The Social Educator, 39(3). https://doi.org/10.3316/informit.352027058417490
Finnegan, W. (2022). Educating for hope and action competence: a study of secondary school students and teachers in England. Environmental Education Research, 29(11), 1617-1636. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2022.2120963
Finnegan, W., & d’Abreu, C. (2024). The hope wheel: a model to enable hope-based pedagogy in Climate Change Education. Frontiers in Psychology, 15. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1347392
Gal, A. (2026). Children’s Environmental Communicative Agency for Sustainability: A Structural Equation Model Bridging the Knowledge–Action Gap. Sustainability (Switzerland), 18(12). https://doi.org/10.3390/su18125814
Galeotti, F., Hopfensitz, A., & Mantilla, C. (2024). Climate change education through the lens of behavioral economics: A systematic review of studies on observed behavior and social norms. Ecological Economics, 226. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108338
Garrison, J.D., & Houston, D. (2026). Paralysis or empowerment: climate anxiety, hope and action in planning education. Planning Practice and Research, 41(4), 966-985. https://doi.org/10.1080/02697459.2026.2649277
González-Muñoz, E., Meira-Cartea, P.Á., & Gutiérrez-Pérez, J. (2024). Looking for the emotional footprint of climate change in young people: connections with education, information sources and climate action. Environmental Education Research, 30(12), 2315-2339. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2024.2364799
Guimerà-Ballesta, G., Calafell-Subirà, G., Jiménez-Valverde, G., & Esparza-Pagès, M. (2026). Climate Change Education in Secondary Schools: Gaps, Challenges and Transformative Pathways. Encyclopedia, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.3390/encyclopedia6010008
Herranen, J.K., & Aksela, M.K. (2024). Fostering teachers as sustainability and climate change educators through understanding of teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs. LUMAT, 12(3), 30-52. https://doi.org/10.31129/LUMAT.12.3.2085
Hickman, C., Marks, E.M., Pihkala, P., Mellor, C., & van Susteren, L. (2021). Climate anxiety in children and young people and their beliefs about government responses to climate change: a global survey. The Lancet Planetary Health, 5(12), e863-e873. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(21)00278-3
Hohenhaus, M., Boddy, J., Rutherford, S., Roiko, A., & Hennessey, N. (2023). Engaging Young People in Climate Change Action: A Scoping Review of Sustainability Programs. Sustainability, 15(5), 4259. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15054259
Howard-Jones, P.A., Warren-Lee, N., & Aldred, C. (2023). Using evaluation data to inform climate education practice. Applied Environmental Education and Communication, 22(3-4), 177-192. https://doi.org/10.1080/1533015X.2023.2268107
Jackson, J.E., Rawson, R., Colman, R.D., & Kotera, Y. (2025). Building resilience and supporting emotional well-being in climate change education: a systematic review of school-based climate change literacy programmes for children. Environmental Education Research. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2025.2588268
Jang, Y. (2022). Can an Education Program alter Students’ Perceptions of the Causes of and Solutions to Climate Change?-A Case in South Korea. Journal of Environmental Science International, 31(10), 891-899. https://doi.org/10.5322/JESI.2022.31.10.891
Jones, V., & Whitehouse, S. (2021). “It makes me angry. REALLY angry”: exploring emotional responses to climate change education. Journal of Social Science Education, 20(4), 93-120. https://doi.org/10.11576/jsse-4551
Kim, J., & Kim, C. (2020). Analysis of Emotions of High School Students Participating in a School SSI Club Project Related to Climate Change. Asia-Pacific Science Education, 6(1), 70-96. https://doi.org/10.1163/23641177-bja00003
Kolenatý, M., Kroufek, R., & Cincera, J. (2022). What Triggers Climate Action: The Impact of a Climate Change Education Program on Students’ Climate Literacy and Their Willingness to Act. Sustainability (Switzerland), 14(16). https://doi.org/10.3390/su141610365
Kortam, N., & NasrAldeen, K.K. (2026). Metacognitive Guidance-Based Instruction for Sustainable Food and Climate Change Literacy: A Classroom-Based Quasi-Experimental Study Among Ninth-Grade Students. Education Sciences, 16(7). https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci16071002
Leger-Goodes, T., Malboeuf-Hurtubise, C., Mastine, T., Paradis, P.O., & Camden, C. (2022). Eco-anxiety in children: A scoping review of the mental health impacts of the awareness of climate change. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.872544
Li, C.J., & Monroe, M.C. (2019). Exploring the essential psychological factors in fostering hope concerning climate change. Environmental Education Research, 25(6), 936-954. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2017.1367916
Liu, Y., Gainer, M.J., & Wang, X. (2026). Biodiesel in the Lab: Integrating Green Chemistry and Climate Change Education to Foster Hope and Self-Efficacy. Journal of Chemical Education, 103(1), 140-150. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.5c01115
Mateer, T.J. (2024). A call for intergenerational solidarity in climate change education: Outlining a strategy to manage climate anxiety and facilitate action. European Journal of Education, 59(3). https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.12659
Michel, J.O., Zint, M., Muhich, T.E., & Sanders, L. (2026). Cultivating climate actors through participatory action research in higher education: student-experienced pathways linking learning and institutional climate action. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-06-2025-0534
Nimo, T.K.O.A., Akoto-Baako, H., Antiri, E.O., & Ansah, E.W. (2025). Coping strategies for climate change anxiety: a perspective on building resilience through psychological capital. BMJ Mental Health, 28(1). https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjment-2024-301421
Oberauer, K., Schickl, M., Zint, M.T., Stötter, H., & Keller, L. (2023). The impact of teenagers’ emotions on their complexity thinking competence related to climate change and its consequences on their future: looking at complex interconnections and implications in climate change education. Sustainability Science, 18(2), 907-931. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-022-01222-y
Ojala, M. (2012). Hope and climate change: The importance of hope for environmental engagement among young people. Environmental Education Research, 18(5), 625-642. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2011.637157
Ojala, M. (2023). Hope and climate-change engagement from a psychological perspective. Current Opinion in Psychology, 49, 101514. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101514
Park, N., Choe, S.U., & Kim, C. (2020). Analysis of Climate Change Education (CCE) Programs: Focusing on Cultivating Citizen Activists to Respond to Climate Change. Asia-Pacific Science Education, 6(1), 15-40. https://doi.org/10.1163/23641177-BJA00004
Pert, A., Diaconita, S., & Hundey, B. (2026). The interplay of climate change education and youth mental well-being. Environmental Research Communications, 8(7). https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7620/ae8371
Ratinen, I.J., & Uusiautti, S. (2020). Finnish students’ knowledge of climate change mitigation and its connection to hope. Sustainability (Switzerland), 12(6). https://doi.org/10.3390/su12062181
Rooney-Varga, J.N., Brisk, A.A., Adams, E., Shuldman, M., & Rath, K.A. (2014). Student Media Production to Meet Challenges in Climate Change Science Education. Journal of Geoscience Education, 62(4), 598-608. https://doi.org/10.5408/13-050.1
Ruiz-Mallén, I., Satorras, M., March, H., & Baró, F. (2022). Community climate resilience and environmental education: Opportunities and challenges for transformative learning. Environmental Education Research, 28(7), 1088-1107. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2022.2070602
Sachisthal, M.S.M., Zadelaar, J.N., & Raijmakers, M.E. (2025). A psychological network approach to engagement with climate change in Dutch youth. Acta Psychologica, 258. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105290
Salvi, F., & Scherer, L. (2025). ‘Once you see what it does and what it can do, you want to stop it’: The role of children’s agency in dealing with the consequences of climate crisis. Global Studies of Childhood. https://doi.org/10.1177/20436106251341216
Sanson, A.V., Van Hoorn, J., & Burke, S.E.L. (2019). Responding to the Impacts of the Climate Crisis on Children and Youth. Child Development Perspectives, 13(4), 201-207. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12342
Schwienhorst-Stich, E.-M., Schlittenhardt, C., Leutritz, T., Koenig, S., & Simmenroth-Nayda, A. (2024). Pre-post evaluation of the emotions and motivations for transformative action of medical students in Germany after two different planetary health educational interventions. The Lancet. Planetary health, 8, S9. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(24)00074-3
Shoreman-Ouimet, E. (2021). It’s time to (climate) change the way we teach Addressing anthropogenic climate change in social science classrooms. Learning and Teaching, 14(2), 76-86. https://doi.org/10.3167/latiss.2021.140205
Stevenson, K.T., Peterson, M.N., & Bondell, H.D. (2018). Developing a model of climate change behavior among adolescents. Climatic Change, 151(3-4), 589-603. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-018-2313-0
Trott, C.D. (2022). Climate change education for transformation: exploring the affective and attitudinal dimensions of children’s learning and action. Environmental Education Research, 28(7), 1023-1042. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2021.2007223
Wang, X., & Chen, J. (2022). Fear emotion reduces reported mitigation behavior in adolescents subject to climate change education. Climatic Change, 174(1-2). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-022-03419-7
Wu, Y., Wan, H., Zhao, L., Liu, J., Zhang, L., Mao, J., Sun, H., Zhao, Z., Wang, X., & Jing, X. (2026). Climate anxiety among nursing students: a scoping review. BMC Nursing. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-026-04656-2
Yildiz, M. (2025). Examining the levels of awareness, anxiety, and hope regarding global climate change among university students participating in activities at youth offices. Frontiers in Psychology, 16. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1655401
Writer Name
Shradha Yadav
Pages
791-819
DOI Numbers
10.5281/zenodo.22652712
Our Social Networks
AD EDUXIAN Publication is dedicated to advancing educational research and providing innovative learning solutions. We offer a wide range of services including publishing, editing, design, and marketing to support authors and researchers in their academic and professional endeavors.
Never miss any important news. Subscribe to our newsletter.
