IN-PERSON MADRID FOCUS ON PEDAGOGY. SECTION A

Abstract

Young people care deeply about the accelerating climate crisis, yet the vastness, complexity, and political volatility surrounding the issue often generate anxiety, dread, and withdrawal. Many students feel powerless against climate disruption and discouraged by the broader political climate. In the United States, this is further complicated by heightened scrutiny on climate-related teaching in higher education. This paper examines universities’ potential to counter these dynamics by fostering forms of climate engagement that cultivate agency rather than despair. Qualitative data from environmentally concerned university students suggests that initial awareness and concern are frequently triggered in secondary-school science courses. However, higher education provides the most significant deepening of understanding. Exposure to interdisciplinary coursework enables students to grasp the multilevel social, economic, and political dimensions of climate change, moving their thinking beyond individualized responsibility toward systemic analysis. These findings, along with a critical case study on climate action in the classroom, highlight opportunities for higher education to act as a catalyst for meaningful student activation. Pedagogical strategies that immerse students in hands-on, real-world engagement, such as campus-as-living-laboratory approaches, experiential projects with measurable community outcomes, and social-action campaigns, appear especially powerful. Such approaches enhance comprehension and retention through practical application while strengthening students’ sense of efficacy, optimism, and commitment to climate action. The paper argues that, despite political pressures, higher education remains a critical site for transforming student climate anxiety into informed, collective, and purposeful action.