Work

Intergenerational climate conversations: a Foucauldian analysis on the potentials of reversing pedagogical relations among youth

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Young people today are exposed to information about environmental crises from an early age, and many of them feel threatened by how those crises impact their own future. To convince older generations of the importance of solving climate change-related questions, many young people are challenging traditional pedagogical relations with older generations by forming what we call reverse pedagogical relations. In reverse pedagogical relations, young people destabilise turn around traditional positions in pedagogical relations, in which older people typically act as educators, by educating older people. We analyse how young people identify, submit to or reverse traditional pedagogical relations through six focus group discussions. As knowledge and power relations are highlighted in young people’s discourses, we analyse the data through Foucauldian discourse analysis. These findings provide important insights to how young people identify limits and potentials to reversing existing power and knowledge relationships in education.

Source: Environmental Education Research

DOI: 10.1080/13504622.2026.2630279

Authors: Anette Mansikka-aho, Antti Saari, Rosamund Portus

Institutions: Tampere University, University of Tampere, University of the West of England

Language: English

Topic: Environmental and sustainability education

Subfield: Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Quality education, Climate action

Open Access status: hybrid

Funders: Academy of Finland, Economic and Social Research Council