Secondary Education Teachers and Climate Change Education: A Complementary Bibliometric and Methodological Review

Abstract

Climate change is the most significant socio-environmental challenges of our time, and education has been recognized as a fundamental strategy to confront it. Yet research efforts have focused more on students than on teachers, despite the latter's key role in mediating between scientific and curricular knowledge and classroom practice. This study set out to characterize the field of educational research on climate change from the perspective of secondary school teachers. To this end, we conducted a systematic review and bibliometric analysis of 50 peer-reviewed studies from 15 countries (2010-2023). The results show a growing interest over time, with increases associated with international milestones such as the IPCC reports and the Paris Agreement, while declines are observed in connection with political shifts and the COVID-19 pandemic. Consolidated academic reference points were identified, including Eric Plutzer and Maria Ojala, alongside influential international organizations such as the IPCC and UNESCO, suggesting the presence of schools of thought and institutional frameworks that structure the field. Methodologically, descriptive and exploratory studies predominate, with a notable reliance on qualitative and mixed-methods designs using small samples, reinforcing the difficulty of accessing teachers as a research population. Overall, this review highlights significant gaps, particularly the geographical bias toward the Global North, and underscores the urgency of broader, more inclusive, and critically engaged research that positions teachers as essential agents of transformative educational responses to the climate crisis.