Concerned or skeptical? Spanish preservice teachers’ emotions about climate change and their relationship to their climate change competence

The education system plays a crucial role in addressing climate change, to improve understanding and promote action in the society. Pre-service teachers, as future educators, play a crucial role in shaping the next generation’s attitudes and responses to this pressing issue. This study examines the relationship between climate change competence and the emotional responses of pre-service teachers in Spain, aiming to identify potential implications for climate education. A survey was conducted with 870 pre-service teachers from four universities, assessing their knowledge, skills, attitudes, and emotions regarding climate change. Results revealed significant correlations between climate change competence and emotional responses, allowing to identify two distinct groups of pre-service teachers: the “concerned” and the “skeptical.” The concerned group demonstrated higher levels of competence and a greater willingness to teach about climate change, whereas the skeptical group exhibited lower levels of competence and a reduced inclination to act as change agents. This study provides empirical evidence that emotions regarding climate change should not be classified simply as positive or negative; rather, they should be understood in the context of whether they have an activating role, thus promoting climate action, or not, thus resulting in resistance to it.