How communication fosters climate-related communicative self-efficacy among young people: insights from a pedagogical intervention in Climate Change Education

Climate Change Education increasingly emphasizes participation and agency alongside knowledge acquisition. Within this context, self-efficacy plays a central role, yet the relationship between communication and self-efficacy in climate education remains ­underexplored. To investigate this relationship empirically, a communication-based workshop entitled ‘Climate Talks: Speak Up – Cool Down!’ was conducted with 140 secondary school students aged 14–18 in Tyrol, Austria. The intervention followed a democratic, participatory, and dialogue-oriented approach and included reflection tasks, message development, peer discussions, and structured feedback processes. Data were collected through pre- and post-intervention questionnaires assessing general self-efficacy and climate communicative self-efficacy (CCSE). The findings show that students initially rated their CCSE significantly lower than their general self-efficacy. Following the intervention, CCSE increased significantly, indicating that communication-oriented educational settings can strengthen learners’ confidence in engaging with climate-related discussions. The study therefore highlights communication as a realistic and accessible domain in which young people can experience effectiveness and participation in relation to climate change.