Schubert JC, Velling H, Höhnle S (2026)
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2026
Pages Range: 1-22
DOI: 10.1080/13504622.2026.2648633
Students’ beliefs shape how they perceive, evaluate, and engage with information, particularly on socially relevant and emotionally charged topics such as climate change. Drawing on constructivist and sociocultural perspectives, this study examines the climate change beliefs of 3,708 secondary students (grades 9 and 10) in Bavaria, Germany, surveyed during geography lessons. Beliefs were assessed with three items capturing the perceived severity of climate change, its expected local impact, and the perceived possibility of mitigation—dimensions that relate to concepts such as psychological distance and climate-related fatalism. Using k-means clustering, four distinct clusters were identified: informed and concerned (35%), desperate (26%), globally concerned, locally unconcerned (25%), and skeptics (14%). These profiles differed significantly in gender distribution and school type, with boys overrepresented among skeptics and school students from academically demanding tracks more frequently showing informed and concerned profiles. The perceived local impact of climate change emerged as the most discriminating belief dimension across clusters. The findings highlight substantial heterogeneity in school students’ belief systems and underscore the importance of differentiated approaches in climate change education. By linking belief patterns to psychological constructs and identifying belief-sensitive entry points for teaching, the study offers both theoretical contributions and practical implications for climate-related instruction, particularly in geography classrooms.
APA:
Schubert, J.C., Velling, H., & Höhnle, S. (2026). Exploring climate change beliefs among german secondary school students in geography education: a cluster analysis. Environmental Education Research, 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2026.2648633
MLA:
Schubert, Jan Christoph, Hanna Velling, and Steffen Höhnle. "Exploring climate change beliefs among german secondary school students in geography education: a cluster analysis." Environmental Education Research (2026): 1-22.
BibTeX: Download