Challenging the Climate Crisis: Children’s Agency to TAckle Policy Underpinned by Learning for Transformation (CCC-CATAPULT)

CCC-CATAPULT (Dec 2020 – Nov 2023), funded through the JPI CLIMATE initiative, examines children’s climate agency, value-action gap and means to exceed this gap. The project researches young people’s social norms, worldviews, and emotions connected to climate change. It deep maps insights to enable transformation and creates a vision and policy recommendations to develop climate change education.  

The international research project is carried out in collaboration with four universities: University of the West of England Bristol (United Kingdom), University of Galway (Ireland), University of Genoa (Italy), and Tampere University (Finland). Case studies are executed in four European cities. The Finnish sub-project is funded by the Academy of Finland. 

Climate change is a threat to the existence of humankind that requires collaborative action from the whole society. Lately, young people have set themselves in the frontline of climate action and demanded more decisive actions from governments. This situation also challenges climate change education: we need better understanding of the cultural and worldview basis of children’s climate thinking, if we wish to educate engaged climate literate young people that are able to develop solutions now and in the future. 

Climate literacy refers to an understanding of the complicated relationships between the climate system, individual people, and the society. Developing climate literacy can be supported by holistic climate change education that supports empowerment of the learner and discusses climate related worldview issues and emotions alongside climate science.

CCC-CATAPULT will co-create a framework that enables young people to express how growing up in their particular contexts and spaces (including formal education, relationships, communities and extracurricular spaces) plays a role in their worldview formation and openness to new ways of thinking and doing. The project develops climate change education that is grounded on recognition of and sensitivity to children’s norms, values, attitudes, beliefs, and cultural meaning-making processes.  This is a multi-method research with a participatory approach. A large survey data will be collected in all four European cities. In addition, the project will work with young people and educators in different educational organizations. The results will guide the development of recommendations to support education praxis.

JPI Climate transnational call SOLSTICE. The Finnish sub-project is funded by Academy of Finland.