Climate Change Education in the 21st Century: A Policy Framework for Transformative and Contextual Learning in Kenya

Abstract

Climate change is among the most pressing environmental, social, and developmental challenges of the 21st century, with prolonged droughts, recurrent floods, rising temperatures, ecosystem degradation, and biodiversity loss increasingly threatening livelihoods, food security, public health, and community resilience in Kenya. Addressing these challenges requires more than technological and policy interventions; it also calls for education that shapes the knowledge, values, attitudes, and competencies necessary for meaningful climate action. This paper examines how climate change education can be restructured to respond effectively to Kenya’s diverse ecological, socioeconomic, and cultural realities. It argues that conventional educational approaches that emphasise awareness and information transmission are insufficient because they give limited attention to critical inquiry, ethical decision-making, Indigenous and local knowledge, practical adaptation skills, and collective action. The paper proposes a policy-oriented framework for transformative and contextual climate change education that integrates scientific knowledge with learners’ lived experiences, local ecological realities, community knowledge, and environmental ethics. The framework emphasises critical consciousness, ethical responsibility, adaptive capacity, practical competencies, ecological citizenship, and environmental agency as core outcomes of climate change education. By positioning learners as active agents capable of interpreting climate risks, developing contextually appropriate responses, challenging unsustainable practices, and participating in mitigation and environmental stewardship, the framework strengthens education’s contribution to climate resilience. The paper concludes that transformative and contextually grounded climate change education prepares informed, adaptive, and environmentally responsible citizens and contributes to a resilient and environmentally sustainable future.