Secondary school students’ (mis-)conceptions of urban adaptation strategies for climate change

Melissa Hanke; Lilly Kemmereit; Sandra Sprenger

doi:10.3112/erdkunde.2025.04.01

Authors

Melissa Hanke https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9652-8958
Lilly Kemmereit
Sandra Sprenger https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9599-8103

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3112/erdkunde.2025.04.01

Keywords:

students’ conceptions, climate change adaptation strategies, urban climate, educational geography, education for sustainable development

Abstract

The aim of this study is to provide an insight of students’ (mis-)conceptions of urban adaptation strategies for climate change. For this purpose, drawings and texts were produced by secondary school students (n = 87) aged 16-18 years from four secondary schools in Hamburg, Germany. The data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The results show that the majority of students cannot distinguish between climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies. Regarding climate adaptation strategies in urban areas, students predominantly focus on non-building-related approaches, while some strategies in the field of building-related strategies and policy are not taken into account. There are no major differences between the drawn and text elements. Regarding the (mis-)conceptions and gaps in knowledge, there is a need for climate education to focus more thoroughly on urban adaptation strategies to successfully achieve conceptual change and enhance urban adaptive capacity.

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