Young People's Pre-Conceptions of the Interactions between Climate Change and Soils - Looking at a Physical Geography Topic from a Climate Change Education Perspective

The interactions of climate change and soils (ICCS) are scarcely examined in Climate Change Education (CCE). Analyzing the pre-conceptions of secondary school students (n = 421) reveals a high number of missing answers (48.2%), while residual participants responded with either medium (33.3%) or low (11.5%) complexity levels. The natural and the human sphere are scarcely interconnected and mentioned positive feedback effects indicate students' spatial distance to the ICCS that occur in Alpine regions. In order to bridge these gaps with more elaborated and regional concepts, a careful consideration of ICCS content is urgently recommended for CCE.

Automated summary

The study examines the importance of interactions between climate change and soils (ICCS) in Climate Change Education (CCE). Analysis of secondary school students' pre-conceptions reveals a significant lack of knowledge in this area. Students' understanding of ICCS is low, with a spatial distance in their comprehension of ICCS occurring in Alpine regions. To address these issues, integrating more detailed and regional ICCS content is urgently recommended in CCE.