The aim of this article is to assess the potential of painting as a didactic tool in environmental education, with particular emphasis on its influence on students' understanding of spatial processes and the development of ecological awareness. The article takes the form of a critical review and is based on an analysis of empirical studies examining the use of paintings in environmental and geography education published between 2010 and 2025. A systematic literature review was conducted, encompassing both quantitative and qualitative research in which painting constituted a central element of the instructional intervention or students' cognitive processes. The findings indicate that painting effectively supports the visualization of complex environmental processes, fosters cause-and-effect reasoning, and facilitates the integration of scientific knowledge with aesthetic and emotional experience. The reviewed studies confirm a positive impact of image-based learning on students' understanding of human-environment relationships, learning motivation, and cognitive engagement. At the same time, the results highlight that the educational effectiveness of painting strongly depends on the selection of artworks, the manner of their interpretation, and the teacher's pedagogical competence. The conclusions suggest that painting can serve as a valuable complement to traditional approaches in environmental education, supporting the development of critical thinking, ecological reflection, and a deeper understanding of spatial processes.
In secondary geography education, developing students' geographical thinking about World-Systems Theory remains challenging due to the abstract nature of core-periphery relations and unequal exchange. This action research examined how experiential role-play can scaffold students' conceptual development from everyday commodity consumption toward systemic geographical thinking. Thirty-five tenth-grade students in Taiwan participated in a coffee commodity chain simulation involving differentiated roles across the Global South and the Global North. Data sources included student worksheets (n = 35), observer reports (n = 2), and classroom field notes, analysed using qualitative content analysis. The findings suggest that simulated wage polarization functioned as a form of cognitive scaffolding, supporting the concretization of abstract concepts. All students mapped the coffee production chain, while 91% correctly identified spatial divisions of labour and 91% articulated unequal exchange through comparative reasoning. Beyond role enactment, students demonstrated emerging systemic critique: 40% proposed structural reforms, 34% suggested industrial upgrading, and 26% emphasized human capital development. The differentiated "Observer Reporter" role supported metacognitive reflection and facilitated system-level analysis. Overall, the study suggests that theory-informed experiential simulations grounded in everyday geographical practices can support secondary students in visualizing and critically examining mechanisms of global economic inequality.
Incorporating climate change education into secondary curricula is a pressing challenge in the context of the climate emergency. In Spain, policy promoted a transversal framing of sustainability, but climate change remained only partially specified across subjects, raising concerns about effective implementation. Drawing on the theoretical lens of social representations, this study examines differences in students' climate change knowledge and beliefs, risk perception, and attribution of responsibility through a cross-sectional comparison between the first and final years of secondary education in a sample of 6,398 students in Spanish Compulsory Secondary Education (ESO, ISCED 2-3). Results show a statistically significant improvement in students' knowledge and beliefs between the first and final years of secondary education, but the effect size is small, indicating limited educational relevance. No meaningful progress was observed in responsibility attribution or risk perception, with some indicators even declining. These findings suggest that transversal and fragmented curricular approaches, focused primarily on scientific literacy, are insufficient to foster meaningful awareness of climate change. Future reforms should provide dedicated curricular space that connects scientific, social, and ethical dimensions, enabling students to develop more robust and engaged representations of the climate crisis.
Geography education integrates perspectives from the natural and social sciences and is therefore particularly promising for Climate Change Education. Against this background, and in view of the encouraging potential of Inquiry-based Learning in climate education, a geographical-scientific propaedeutic seminar on climate change in upper secondary schools in Germany (Bavaria) was developed. This 18-month intervention was aimed at facilitating integration of scientific inquiry with local climate challenges. For the present study, the effects of the seminar on students' self-assessed certainty, risk perception, and interests, each regarding anthropogenic climate change, were investigated in a quasi-experimental pre-post-test design with an experimental group (N = 89) and a control group (N = 71). Mixed-design ANOVAs and ANCOVAs with repeated measures revealed positive effects of the treatment group compared to the control group, with moderate effect sizes for certainty and interest and a small effect size for risk perception. These results indicate that integrating locally anchored, long-term, inquiry-based approaches into geography education can effectively foster components of climate science literacy to address the educational and societal challenges of climate change.
Human-nature connection is a core learning outcome in environmental and sustainability education (ESE), yet most measurement evidence is Western, limiting comparability for curricula and evaluation in the Global South. We examined the six-item Nature Relatedness Scale (NR-6) for Philippine ESE across three independent samples (n = 266; 326; 230), which involved two cohorts of tertiary learners and one adult community sample, and two languages (English, Filipino). Confirmatory factor analyses supported a theory-guided, modified one-factor solution, indicating essential unidimensionality suitable for brief classroom and field assessments. Multigroup models demonstrated configural and metric cross-linguistic invariance between English and Filipino forms, establishing linguistic equivalence for mixed-language delivery and program comparisons. Critically, the Filipino form showed configural and metric temporal invariance over two weeks, evidencing structural stability across measurement occasions and supporting defensible pre-post tracking in courses and outreach programs. This study offers the first integrated factorial, cross-linguistic, and temporal evidence for the NR-6 in a non-Western, climate-vulnerable setting. Findings position the NR-6 as a practical ESE indicator for monitoring change, comparing language groups on associations with attitudes/behaviors, and evaluating interventions that aim to strengthen human-nature connection, thereby expanding the global evidence base for robust, equity-aware assessment in environmental education.
This study examines how geography-based activities can enhance sustainable environmental behaviors in preschool children. The research was conducted with 24 children attending a private kindergarten in Eski & scedil;ehir, Turkey. A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest control group design was employed. The experimental group participated in an eight-week geography-based environmental education program, while the control group continued with the standard curriculum. Data were collected using the Sustainable Environmental Behavior Assessment Scale for children aged 60-72 months, which consists of two subdimensions: environmental awareness and environmental consciousness. Since no significant difference was found between the groups' pretest scores, the experimental group received geography-based activities twice a week for eight weeks. At the end of the intervention, post-test results revealed statistically significant improvements in environmental awareness and environmental consciousness in the experimental group compared to the control group. However, in the control group, changes were observed only in the environmental awareness subdimension. These findings suggest that integrating geography-based activities into early childhood education enhances children's environmental responsibility and engagement in sustainability practices. Future research should investigate the long-term retention of sustainability-related behaviors and assess the effectiveness of geography-based environmental programs in diverse educational settings.
Educational escape games are a practical approach to enhancing Geography and Environmental education. By encouraging engagement, collaboration, and practical application of knowledge, these games can help pupils develop the skills and understanding necessary to address complex environmental issues. Using gamification, educators can create dynamic and interactive learning experiences tied to specific places. The present study focuses on the intersection of gamification elements and the educational effectiveness of escape games. It evaluates specific gamification elements and examines them from the perspective of pre-service teachers. This focus provides insight into how specific game mechanisms can enhance learning outcomes, significantly contributing to geography and environmental education and developing pupils' key competencies.
Geography textbooks are not passive repositories of knowledge but powerful pedagogical artefacts that shape how students understand space, culture, environment, and global interdependence. This study applies a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) of 53 peer-reviewed journal articles published between 2004 and 2024 to systematically map dominant research themes, methodological approaches, and research gaps in school geography textbook studies. The synthesis identifies recurring attention to curriculum alignment, cultural representation, geographical skills, and the role of visuals, alongside a strong methodological reliance on content analysis. At the same time, the review highlights persistent structural, conceptual, and methodological gaps: an overrepresentation of European contexts, a narrow focus on national identity and climate change, and limited use of user-centered, classroom-based, and longitudinal research designs. A key contribution of this review lies in distinguishing between quality gaps in textbook design and research gaps in scholarship. By doing so, it underscores the need for a more inclusive, contextualized, and methodologically plural research agenda. By consolidating two decades of international scholarship, this review offers both a state-of-the-art synthesis and a roadmap for reimagining geography textbooks as strategic tools for cultivating spatial reasoning, critical thinking, and global citizenship in the twenty-first century.
This study aimed to examine the how a teaching intervention implemented in a preschool setting influenced children's knowledge about the importance of protecting the environment, their awareness of recycling, and their active participation in environmental protection through specifically designed educational activities.To achieve this goal, 25 children aged 5-6 years (12 girls and 13 boys) participated in the study, which was designed as a case study within qualitative research methods. Over an eight-week implementation period, Environmental Education (EE) activities were conducted once a week at a preschool in Ankara, Turkey. To collect data, a semi-structured interview form was utilized, and the data was analyzed using content analysis. The research findings revealed that environmental education significantly enhanced children's understanding of the importance of environmental protection. Their awareness of recycling increased, and they became more actively engaged in environmental conservation, particularly in maintaining cleanliness and promoting recycling practices.
In light of the current environmental crisis, environmental education is one of the most effective tools for preparing future citizens. This study analyses variations in environmental awareness in a sample of 239 Spanish primary school pupils across different grades, focusing on four domains: cognitive understanding, emotional connections, intentions, and active engagement, and highlights grade-based differences. The results revealed significant engagement in pro-environmental behaviors among younger students, followed by a gradual decline as they age, highlighting the importance of early and continuous environmental education. Gender differences were evident, with females displaying stronger emotional connections and greater engagement in eco-friendly behaviors. Addressing the knowledge-behavior gap and using emotional engagement can enhance environmental education effectiveness, empowering children to become proactive agents of the environment and contribute to a sustainable future.
Environmental education is increasingly seen as an important tool for addressing multiple intersecting crises. The climate and ecological crises are global crises, but multiple scales - local, regional, national, and global - connect and blur, and there are important senses in which these global crises are always produced and experienced in local places. Education similarly cuts across scales: schooling is embodied, local and highly place-specific, yet it is also bound up with global discourses, assessment exercises, geopolitics and governance regimes. This paper explores these themes and tensions by thinking across the cases of Azerbaijan and the Gal & aacute;pagos Islands, Ecuador. Analysis of the environmental education in these quite different environments offers insights into the place-specific nature of environmental education, discussed through the themes of pedagogy, attachment and action. Across each theme we argue that place is deeply connected to environmental education, but this strong relationship manifests in some quite different ways, including at times enabling, and at other times restricting. The findings prompt questions about justice, equity and the role of environmental education in producing - rather than only reproducing - young people's engagements with and constructions of their local places.
Children and young people's access and entitlement to climate change and sustainability education within school is dependent on teachers, and the ways in which teachers' work is shaped by the wider education system. Drawing upon a climate change and sustainability education survey of teachers in England, we focus on a sub-set who reported that they were teaching geography in primary and/or secondary schools. Through this survey, we examine the teachers' participation in professional development and how they incorporate climate change and sustainability in their teaching of geography. Within the data, teachers of geography show that they are embedding some aspects of climate change and sustainability education in geography curricula, though the teacher development this rests upon is often reported as a 'self-taught' approach rather than through formal initial or continuing professional development. The paper finishes by considering enablers and constraints for geography curriculum-making for climate change and sustainability education, and identifying priorities for professional development agendas for teachers of geography.
This study aims to develop a valid and reliable scale for evaluating students' awareness of global issues, which include critical and current challenges such as climate change, global warming, migration, hunger, terrorism, war, disasters, epidemics, and environmental pollution. A total of 845 students participated in the research: The first implementation involved 75 students (38 girls and 37 boys), while the second implementation included 770 students (385 girls and 385 boys). To assess the validity and reliability of the initial 43-item draft scale, both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed, informed by expert opinions. The results indicated that the scale should be reduced to a 35-item draft, comprising two factors: cognitive and affective dimensions related to global issues. The findings demonstrate that the scale is reliable and valid, making it a robust tool for assessing awareness of global issues. Furthermore, the scale can contribute to determining students' awareness at different educational levels after adaptation.
This article presents an open schooling landscape education paradigm implemented in secondary education in Greece. Although Geography is the core subject addressing Environment and Sustainability Education (ESE) in the national curriculum, it remains significantly marginalized within the educational system. The article identifies and discusses the key dimensions of this systemic marginalization in order to inform the international academic community. Likewise, ESE as a whole is undervalued and insufficiently integrated into educational practice, a condition that is largely attributable to the diminished status of Geography itself. The paper argues that Geography matters and that it can be revitalized through landscape-based open schooling. Within this framework, landscape is introduced as a central geographical concept that enables a holistic, experiential, and applied understanding of space and environment. Twenty-eight students participated in this participatory qualitative research, employing methods including brainstorming, flipped classroom, collaborative group work, and project-based learning. Students were actively engaged both in classroom dialogue and as "young researchers" in the field, generating proposals for sustainable rural landscape management. Building on this framework, the study explores how open schooling landscape education, can cultivate scientific literacy, enhance environmental awareness, and strenthen student's engagement with sustainability through experiential, place-based, and problem-oriented learning. The landscape concept served as a multidisciplinary entry point, bridging geography, science, and education. Findings show that the approach promotes both theoretical and practical learning, nurtures key skills and attitudes, strengthens collaboration among schools and communities, and supports the science capital and spatial awareness. It further lays the groundwork for active citizenship and more responsible human-landscape relations. Integrating open schooling landscape education into the formal curriculum is strongly advocated.
The current study assessed the curriculum and subjects used in high schools in different countries in teaching environmental issues. The study reviewed current policy, curriculum, delivery and challenges associated with the implementation of the policies associated with teaching Environmental Education in high schools. A systematic review approach of peer-reviewed journals between 2003 and 2023 involving Environmental Education only in High Schools was used. The review showed that EE is included in the curricula of most of the high schools from different countries but with low visibility and implementation strategies. Currently, EE does not stand alone as a subject but is housed in different subjects and mostly taught in science subjects (Geography and Biology) in high schools. Students in arts and social sciences classes have little exposure to EE. The review further showed that teachers' attitudes and knowledge of environmental issues remain a major setback in the teachings of the subject. Lack of infrastructure, time and teachers' availability are other factors affecting EE at high school. Clear direction is needed for the implementation of the EE in High Schools. A subject that teaches EE as a subject may be considered so that it is not viewed as a supporting subject by the students.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) present education as a driver of transformation amid increasing environmental challenges and inequality. This study maps the global research landscape connecting environmental education and sustainable development through a bibliometric analysis of 2139 English-language articles and reviews in the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC; 1990-2024). It identifies leading outlets, institutions, countries/regions, and thematic structures, revealing three growth phases: exploratory (1990-2000), consolidation (2001-2015), and SDG-era expansion (2016-2024). Keyword networks emphasize environmental education, sustainability, ESD/EfS/EEfS, climate change, pro-environmental behavior, curriculum, and teacher education. Geography acts as a bridging discipline, strengthening spatial thinking, place-based inquiry, and local-global linkages. Alignment with SDGs was strongest for Goals 4 and 12-15, whereas Goals 5, 10, 16, and 17 remained underrepresented, revealing equity and governance gaps. Building on International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education (IRGEE) 1992-2009 themes, the analysis highlights continuity in teacher education, sustainability, and GIS/digital tools, alongside post-2010 shifts toward interdisciplinary, SDG-led, future-focused pedagogies oriented toward problem-solving. These findings have practical implications for curriculum design, assessment, and teacher learning, offering a concise, data-rich roadmap of research trends, gaps, and future directions for environmental and sustainability education.
