Climate Justice and Emotional Growth: Preservice Teachers’ Journey From Climate Overwhelm to Teaching Empowerment

• In Event: Climate Emotion, Agency, and Justice in Formal and Informal Settings

Abstract

Objectives. Young people increasingly experience ecoanxiety and climate distress, with growing evidence that climate emotions impact learning and civic engagement (Coffey et al., 2021; Hickman et al., 2021). Preservice elementary teachers often enter preparation programs carrying their own unprocessed climate emotions, yet receive limited training to teach about the climate crisis (Boon, 2016; Liu et al., 2015). Hufnagel (2015) found varied emotional responses to climate change among preservice teachers, suggesting teacher education programs can foster productive emotional engagement with climate issues.
Theoretical Framework. This study draws on sociocultural theories of identity (Wenger, 1998; Gee, 2000) and research on climate emotions in education. We conceptualize climate change identity as how individuals position themselves in relation to climate issues, including their agency and commitment to integrating climate education into teaching. This builds on Walsh and Tsurusaki’s (2018) work with youth and Drewes’ (2025) framework with practicing teachers. Climate change identity development entails navigating interconnected dimensions—cognitive, emotional, behavioral, social, and professional—within complex emotional landscapes.
Design/Procedure. This qualitative case study employed life-history methodology (Atkinson, 2007) to trace emotional trajectories alongside identity development among three preservice elementary teachers participating in a three-week WISE intervention on "Global Climate Change and Urban Heat Islands" (Linn et al., 2018). The intervention integrated climate justice perspectives, examining redlining, environmental inequities, and systemic factors, aligning with calls for transformative climate change education that positions justice as foundational (Sezen-Barrie et al., 2025)
Participants and Setting. Participants were three preservice teachers enrolled in a required science methods course at a southeastern public university. Purposefully selected (Patton, 2015), all described early childhood climate distress triggered by exposure to environmental imagery, offering rich insight into emotional transformation processes.
Data Sources/Evidence. We collected multiple data sources focused on emotional dimensions: pre/post surveys measuring climate beliefs, knowledge, identity, and teaching efficacy (Harrod & Rolland, 2021; Li et al., 2021); exit ticket reflections on evolving emotions during the intervention; WISE module assessment responses; and 60–90-minute life-history interviews exploring early climate experiences, family influences, emotional impacts of the intervention, and shifts in teaching identity.
Results. Our analysis revealed consistent emotional transformation patterns: participants moved from climate distress triggered by polar bear imagery through knowledge-based empowerment catalyzed by WISE modules to teaching-focused agency. As Vivien articulated, "not knowing where to start in teaching and advocating made me feel hopeless. And then seeing the little things that you could do to inform people made me feel hopeful." Participants maintained emotional complexity rather than simple progression, holding concern and hope, anxiety and empowerment. Climate justice components strengthened rather than complicated their environmental commitment.
Scholarly Significance. This study shows how justice-centered climate education can transform overwhelming emotions into sustainable empowerment by supporting teaching identity development. It extends Lombardi and Sinatra’s (2013) findings that emotions influence teaching decisions. Rather than avoiding climate emotions, effective interventions can help preservice teachers channel ecoanxiety and grief into professional purpose and collective action. These findings offer concrete guidance for teacher educators seeking to support both the emotional well-being and instructional capacity of future climate educators.

Authors

• Amal Ibourk, Florida State University

• Sukanya Chakraborty, Florida State University

• Patrick Sonde, Florida State University