Representations of climate change among Tunisian secondary school students

SIRINE MAGHREBI, KAOUTHAR LAMOUCHI CHEBBI, HÉDIA HANNACHI

Abstract

Climate change education is of great importance for raising awareness among younger generations about environmental issues and supporting the ecological transition, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDGs 4 and 13. In Tunisia, however, this education remains marginal in school curricula, with no explicit teaching on climate change. In this context, this exploratory research aims to identify the social representations of climate change among Tunisian secondary school students. The study was conducted among 300 second-year secondary school students (science section) using a questionnaire. The data collected were subjected to quantitative and qualitative analyses focusing on representations, knowledge, sources of information, and emotions. The results show that the majority of students surveyed recognize the existence of climate change, but develop fragmented representations of it, mainly focused on observable local manifestations. These representations reveal a lack of understanding of the scientific mechanisms of the phenomenon. In the absence of structured teaching, the media and the Internet are the main sources of information, while a feeling of concern remains widely expressed.

Keywords

Climate change, climate change education, social representations, climate knowledge, High school students

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References

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.26220/mje.5662

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