Formal schooling frequently lacks both democratic learning culture and effective climate change education (CCE). This study analyzes the effects of the participatory CCE initiative k.i.d.Z.21 and the impacts of the current Fridays For Future (FFF) climate protests on teenagers’ climate change awareness. The mixed-methods approach comprises online pre-and post-tests, and personal interviews with selected students. k.i.d.Z.21 follows moderate constructivist, inquiry-based learning approaches and addresses 14-year old students from secondary schools in Austria and southern Germany. Considering the effectiveness of the CCE intervention of school year 2018/2019 (N = 169), quantitative findings reveal an increased mean of major components of climate change awareness, including climate-friendly behavior. When separating participants and non-participants in Fridays For Future, personal concern and refusing meat have both increased significantly only among protest participants. A closer examination of this group identifies an enhanced feeling of self-efficacy that might be triggered by perceived collective efficacy. Besides, more climate-friendly consumption behavior, as well as enhanced multiplicative action, are detected. The interviewed students also clearly assigned increased action-related components of climate change awareness to the attendance of FFF. From the findings, we conclude that democratic learning in and out of school can enhance action-related components of climate change awareness, and a combination of both can have an even stronger effect.

This article looks at transdisciplinary research and discusses the possibilities of translating this concept into a new type of education, which we will call Transdisciplinary Education. Following the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals by the community of states, there has been increased international recognition of education as being a key driver for sustainable development. Considering the global grand challenges of the 21st century, the integration of Education for Sustainable Development at all school levels ought to be prioritized in order to empower young people to contribute to sustainable development. Collaborating with out-of-school partners and doing research on real-world problems within their lifeworld, help students develop the competences necessary for responsible citizenship, while at the same time contributing to community well-being. Both concepts transdisciplinary research and Transdisciplinary Education acknowledge the responsibility of addressing social relevant problems and the significant role of those who are and who will be affected by these challenges. The project Science Education for Action and Engagement Towards Sustainability (SEAS) aims at analyzing different partnerships between schools and out-of-school institutions in European countries. By comparing the collaborative formats and providing a concept and method pool for educators, SEAS targets facilitating the integration of Transdisciplinary Education in formal schooling in the future. This article gives insights into the Austrian research-education collaboration k.i.d.Z.21. Drawing on experiences of k.i.d.Z.21 and taking up characteristics of transdisciplinary research, opportunities and challenges of integrating Transdisciplinary Education in formal schooling are discussed.

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.

Climate change represents an increasing source of stress for adolescents and young adults, contributing to higher risks of anxiety and impaired mental heal