Systemic Barriers in Climate Education: How Secondary Science Reinforces Extractive Narratives Over Socio-Ecological Solutions

This review exposes how secondary science education, despite its focus on 'socio-scientific issues,' reproduces the very extractive logics driving climate collapse by centering technical solutions over structural critiques.

The omission of Indigenous and Global South pedagogies—rooted in relational accountability—reveals a colonial knowledge hierarchy that privileges Western STEM frameworks while marginalizing the voices of those most impacted by climate change. Historical patterns of corporate interference in education (from 1970s denialism to today’s 'green' PR campaigns) demonstrate how climate education has been weaponized to delay systemic change. Future pathways must dismantle these power structures by co-designing curricula with Indigenous and youth leaders, redirecting funding from fossil fuel-aligned institutions to community-led initiatives, and embedding climate justice literacy in national standards. The synthesis underscores that climate education is not merely a pedagogical challenge but a site of struggle over who defines 'solutions' and who bears the cost of inaction.