Aiming Higher? Implications for Higher Education of Students’ Views on Education for Climate Justice
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Date
2023-10
Authors
Rolleston, Caine
Nyerere, Jackline
Brandli, Luciana
Lagi, Rosiana
McCowan, Tristan
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
MDPI
Abstract
In 2023, a high number of climate disasters were recorded globally, highlighting the urgent
dangers inherent in climate change and the inequities that result from its uneven impacts. Higher
education institutions (HEIs) potentially play a crucial role in furthering climate justice through their
research, teaching, community engagement and public awareness. Many students enter HEIs with
high expectations concerning their education regarding climate change and more broadly of their
institution’s contribution to climate action. In this article, we explore these expectations alongside
the perceptions of students regarding how HEIs are delivering on them, i.e., the extent to which
students are satisfied with their HEIs’ policies and practice on climate change. We employ data
from a large-scale survey of more than 4000 students conducted by the Transforming Universities
for a Changing Climate (Climate-U) project collected in nine HEIs in three countries (Brazil, Fiji and
Kenya) during 2021–22. Results indicate that satisfaction among students in the sampled HEIs is
often low, while expectations are typically high. There is some evidence that students in contexts
already more directly exposed to the impacts of climate change were somewhat more active and more
satisfied. Overall, students frequently expected to learn more about climate change than they were
in fact learning and expressed high levels of environmental concern as well as some dissatisfaction
with HEIs’ wider activities to limit the impact of climate change and to promote understanding of the
issues. We discuss the findings in relation to the gaps between what students expect from their HEIs
and what HEIs are currently doing in the three countries. Furthermore, we consider how HEIs in
Brazil, Fiji and Kenya may improve their engagement with issues of climate change and respond to
students’ views and expectations, including the promotion of preparedness for and resilience to the
climate crisis and its effects.
Description
Article
Keywords
climate change education, climate justice, education for sustainable development, environmental concern, student survey
Citation
Rolleston, C., Nyerere, J., Brandli, L., Lagi, R., & McCowan, T. (2023). Aiming Higher? Implications for Higher Education of Students’ Views on Education for Climate Justice. Sustainability, 15(19), 14473.