Development and validation of the Climate Change Literacy Questionnaire (CCLQ) for children aged 10 to 11 in Denmark

This study developed and validated a novel 30-item Climate Change Literacy Questionnaire (CCLQ) for children aged 10 to 11 in a Danish context. The CCLQ operationalizes climate change literacy (CCL) as a multidimensional construct encompassing four domains: self-perceived knowledge of climate change causes, consequences, mitigation and adaptation; climate-relevant behavior in everyday contexts; motivation related to climate change learning and action; and systemic and collective orientation toward the social, collective and cross-contextual dimensions of climate change. Two independent samples of 4th-grade pupils (N = 1691) were recruited across two phases: a development phase involving item generation, focus group interviews, pretesting, expert assessments, and exploratory factor analysis; and a validation phase including large-scale testing, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), internal reliability (Cronbach’s α, McDonald’s Ω), test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient, ICC), convergent validity (regression analysis), and measurement invariance. Results supported a bifactor model with a global CCL factor, strong internal reliability (α = 0.905, Ω=0.903), high test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.901), consistent model fit across gender and SES groups, and convergent validity with sustainable food literacy. The CCLQ should be interpreted as an age-appropriate measure of these four domains of CCL in children aged 10 to 11, rather than an exhaustive measure of all climate change education outcomes. The CCLQ may support research and evaluation of climate change education initiatives in Danish primary school settings and provide a basis for future translation, cultural adaptation and validation in other languages and educational contexts.