Secondary school students' views of climate change in Hong Kong

Abstract

Though there has been an increased focus on climate change in Hong Kong's educational policy and curriculum over the last decade, little is known about the impact of curricular implementation on young people's environmental and climate change-related views, attitudes, awareness, or behaviors. This paper examines the state of climate change education in Hong Kong based on findings from a multi-pronged investigation. The main research questions addressed are: (1) What are Hong Kong secondary students' understandings of and attitudes towards climate change issues?, and (2) Is there any significant difference between students studying in local and international schools in Hong Kong? The paper provides a content analysis of climate change curriculum in local and international schools, and reports on a large-scale survey of international and local school students' environmental attitudes, and qualitative interviews of their awareness and behaviors related to climate change. We conclude with reflections on the implications of this study for climate change education in Hong Kong in the future and vital areas for further research.

Youth perceptions of climate change: A narrative synthesis

“…Belief and concern were higher in lower middle and upper middle income countries than in high income countries. There were 13 studies which detailed participants' levels of belief that climate change is occurring (Ambusaidi et al, ; Boyes et al, ; Boyes, Skamp, & Stanisstreet, ; Boyes & Stanisstreet, ; Chhokar et al, , ; Devine‐Wright et al, ; Malandrakis et al, ; Skamp et al, ; Stevenson et al, ; Stevenson, Peterson, & Bondell, ; Stevenson, Peterson, & Bradshaw, ; Tranter & Skrbis, ) and 15 studies which examined participants' level of concern about climate change (Ambusaidi et al, ; Boyes et al, ; Boyes, Skamp, & Stanisstreet, ; Boyes & Stanisstreet, ; Boyes, Stanisstreet, & Yongling, ; Chhokar et al, , ; Hermans & Korhonen, ; Jackson & Pang, ; Line et al, ; Malandrakis et al, ; Prudente et al, ; Skamp et al, ; Stevenson, Peterson, & Bondell, ; Tranter & Skrbis, ). These studies employed a Likert‐scale questionnaire (one study investigating belief utilized a 1–10 scale; Tranter & Skrbis, ).…”

“…There were 26 studies that detailed participants' reported perceptions about the causes of climate change (Andersson & Wallin, ; Boyes et al, ; Boyes & Stanisstreet, , ; Chang & Pascua, ; Dawson, ; Frappart et al, ; Garg & Lal, ; Hestness et al, ; Jackson & Pang, ; Karpudewan et al, ; Kilinc et al, ; Koulaidis & Christidou, ; Lee et al, ; Mason & Santi, ; Özdem et al, ; Prudente et al, ; Pruneau et al, ; Punter et al, ; Puttick et al, ; Scott‐Parker & Kumar, ; Shepardson et al, , ; Stevenson, Peterson, & Bradshaw, ; Taber & Taylor, ; Varma & Linn, ). The studies mostly employed questionnaires (Boyes & Stanisstreet, ), but also used interviews (Chang & Pascua, ; Karpudewan et al, ; Mason & Santi, ; Pruneau et al, ), draw and explain tasks (Shepardson et al, , ), open‐ended writing prompts (Lee et al, ), interviews and drawing tasks (Hestness et al, ), and focus groups (Scott‐Parker & Kumar, ).…”

“…Overall, 18 studies outlined participants' reported perceptions about the impacts of climate change (Boyes et al, ; Boyes & Stanisstreet, ; Dogru & Sarac, ; Frappart et al, ; Garg & Lal, ; Hermans & Korhonen, ; Hestness et al, ; Jackson & Pang, ; Karpudewan et al, ; Kilinc et al, ; Lee et al, ; Mason & Santi, ; Pruneau et al, ; Punter et al, ; Scott‐Parker & Kumar, ; Shepardson et al, , ; Stevenson, Peterson, & Bradshaw, ). Questionnaires were the most frequently used method of data collection (Kilinc et al, ).…”

“…Questionnaires were the most frequently used method of data collection (Kilinc et al, 2008). Studies also employed open-ended writing prompts (Lee et al, 2007), interviews (Jackson & Pang, 2017;Karpudewan et al, 2015;Mason & Santi, 1998;Pruneau et al, 2003), draw and explain tasks (Shepardson et al, 2009(Shepardson et al, , 2011, interviews and drawing tasks (Hestness et al, 2016), and focus groups (Scott-Parker & Kumar, 2018).…”

“…A majority of studies (40) reported participants' perceptions about potential solutions to climate change (Ambusaidi et al, 2012;Andersson & Wallin, 2000;Bofferding & Kloser, 2015;Boyes et al, , 2014Boyes, Skamp, & Stanisstreet, 2008;, 2012Boyes, Stanisstreet, & Yongling, 2008;Byrne et al, 2014;Chhokar et al, 2011Chhokar et al, , 2012Daniel et al, 2004;Devine-Wright et al, 2004;Francis et al, 1993;Frappart et al, 2016;Garg & Lal, 2013;Hermans & Korhonen, 2017;Hestness et al, 2016;Jackson & Pang, 2017;Karpudewan et al, 2015;Kilinc et al, 2008;Kirk, 2008;Lee et al, 2007;Line et al, 2010;Malandrakis et al, 2011;Mason & Santi, 1998;Özdem et al, 2014;Pruneau et al, 2003;Punter et al, 2011;Puttick et al, 2015;Scott-Parker & Kumar, 2018;Shepardson et al, 2009Shepardson et al, , 2011Skamp et al, 2009Skamp et al, , 2013Sternäng & Lundholm, 2011, 2012Taber & Taylor, 2009;Wilks & Harris, 2016). The studies mainly used questionnaires (Kilinc et al, 2008).…”