Embracing uncertainties in climate change education: design and implementation of a future-oriented science education approach to develop sustainability competences

Climate change is a complex phenomenon that demands an interdisciplinary approach to understanding its scientific, social, economic, and political dimensions. The inherent complexity of climate systems, characterised by nonlinear causality and uncertainties, complicates efforts to predict, educate, and act on climate-related issues. This doctoral research explores how climate change education can address these challenges by fostering sustainability competences, emphasising sustainability, uncertainty, and future thinking. Guided by the European framework for sustainability competences, the GreenComp, the research is structured into two parts. The first examines the context and background of climate change education and includes three case studies. The first case study analyses the role of uncertainties in climate science using risk-based and storyline approaches, assessing their potential to develop sustainability competences. The second investigates sustainability education within a six-month collaboration with the National Consortium of Packaging (CONAI), highlighting the complexity of stakeholder engagement in sustainability. The third focuses on interdisciplinary approaches to uncertainty through an activity at a European summer school for pre-service teachers in STEM disciplines. Building on these insights, the second part presents a novel educational approach integrating sustainability, uncertainty, and futures studies to address climate change. This approach culminated in the course “Towards New Future Scenarios: The Role of Physics in Dealing with Climate Change Challenges,” involving high school students. The course was evaluated using qualitative methods, focusing on learning outcomes related to climate concepts, sustainability competences, and decision-making in uncertain scenarios. Further investigations explored students' responses to personal climate-related experiences and their influence on learning, integrating insights from disaster education during a research visit to the University of Southampton. The research findings, disseminated through publications and collaborations, contribute to advancing climate change education as a tool for fostering critical competences and future-oriented action. The dissertation concludes with recommendations for further research and implementation in educational settings.