Evaluating Climate Change Fake News in German Primary Education: The Role of Students’ Conceptions

The ability to critically evaluate information related to climate change and to recognise fake news is highly relevant even at primary school age, as children increasingly encounter digital media and climate-related discourses. The aim of this study is to explore primary school stu-dents’ conceptions of climate change as well as of fake news and their abilities to evaluate cli-mate change related information, with a focus on the role of the conceptions of climate change in evaluating fake news. A qualitative cross-sectional study was conducted with 28 Year 3 and Year 4 students in Germany using problem-centred interviews and evaluation tasks in June 2025. Almost half of the students were able to describe characteristics of fake news such as manipulative intent or their lack of evidence. However, students’ conceptions of climate change varied considerably in depth and accuracy. Different types of evaluators can be identi-fied, which vary in terms of how differentiated students’ conceptions of climate change are, how they approach the evaluation process, how many decision criteria they apply, whether or not they draw on their conceptions, and the amount of correctly identified news. The study highlights the need for targeted educational strategies to foster climate-related conceptions and evaluation skills at an early age.