Climate Change Educational Standards within U.S. K-12 Social Studies Frameworks

To date, the majority of research evaluating climate change education in K-12 environments has focused on the realms of the physical sciences, while relatively little attention is paid to the topic within social studies subjects. As a global issue requiring an interdisciplinary solution, investigation into how non-physical-science fields are incorporating climate change into curriculum is warranted. This study examined the frequency and spatial distribution of K-12 climate change related educational standards at a state resolution across the United States via content analysis. Here we show only 23 states (45%) include climate change standards within their state-level frameworks. In comparison, 48 states (over 94%) include language related to the climate system not specific to climate change. The majority of climate change related standards were addressing social-dimensions of a changing climate, such as impacts to people and resources, and climate politics and solutions. Results indicate that the length of time since the publication, or most recent updating, of a state's standards was a significant predictor of the frequency of climate change related standards; states that had more recently updated their standards (2017 or later) had significantly more climate change related standards than those updated less recently (prior to 2017).