Integrating risk in mathematics classrooms for sustainable futures

Abstract This article explores how the concept of risk can be meaningfully integrated into mathematics education to address pressing global challenges. As crises like climate change, pandemics, and social instability grow more complex, education must equip learners to act responsibly under uncertainty. The focus is on fostering risk literacy—the ability to understand, assess, and make informed decisions in risk situations. The paper begins by unpacking the conceptual ambiguity of “risk” and introduces a three-part typology based on vulnerability, objectivity, and subjectivity. Building on key theoretical foundations, it presents a comprehensive framework that combines classical and contemporary views. Risk literacy is conceptualised as a hybrid competence blending statistical and probability literacy and intuitive judgement. This is linked to education for sustainability, suggesting that mathematics should enable learners not only to analyse data, but also to engage ethically and socially with uncertain outcomes. The didactic model draws on the concept of argument-based mathematical inquiry developed by James Fielding (2025), which guides students in integrating context knowledge, statistical knowledge, and argumentation knowledge throughout the inquiry process. A classroom example on wildfire risk illustrates how students can work with real data, reflect on probabilities, and make socially responsible decisions. The article concludes that integrating risk into mathematics fosters critical skills for sustainable development and global citizenship. Despite challenges in aligning formal models with subjective experience, it offers a conceptual bridge between abstract risk theory and its pedagogical application.