Despite growing integration of climate content into higher education curricula, evidence remains limited that climate change education (CCE), as commonly enacted, leads to meaningful climate action. This study aims to examine how participatory action research shaped students’ experiences of CCE by identifying the processes through which participatory conditions connect learning with institutionally situated climate action.
This qualitative case study examines a two-credit course on advancing CCE that culminated in a university-wide participatory event co-designed and co-facilitated by students and instructors. Thirteen students (81% of those enrolled) participated in semi-structured interviews to explore how participatory learning influenced their understanding of CCE, sense of agency, legitimacy and development as climate actors. Data were analyzed thematically with attention to process–outcome linkages, connecting participatory conditions to learning and action.
Students reported deepened understanding of CCE, increased confidence in influencing peers and institutional stakeholders and a strong sense of accomplishment from contributing to campus-wide initiatives. These outcomes were described as emerging through three interrelated pathways: co-ownership, relational legitimacy developed through interaction with institutional actors and opportunities for public, consequential action. While students differed in how they conceptualized effective CCE, all emphasized participatory, action-oriented approaches as essential for cultivating climate actors.
By identifying student-experienced pathways that explain how and under what conditions participatory pedagogies connect learning with institutionally situated climate action, this study offers a process-oriented analytic contribution that extends prior research on participatory and action-oriented CCE in higher education.
