School-based Intervention to Address Climate Change Emotions

The goal of this study was to qualitatively document the social validity of an intervention combining creative arts and philosophy inquiry and to examine its acceptability, the perceived goals, and perceived benefits for children's mental health and ability to cope with climate change from the perspective of one elemetary-school class students and their teacher.

The guiding research question was: How do children and their teacher perceive the acceptability, the goals and the benefits of the intervention? The participants were asked to participate in a seven-week creative arts and philosophical inquiry intervention. Once a week, a research assistant led a workshop using creative arts and group philosophical inquiry to discuss the topic of climate change and the emotions that can arise. Students participated in a brief individual interview after the intervention. The teacher also participated in an individual online interview.

Completed

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Key information

Conditions

Eco-anxiety

Age range

8 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Bishop's University

Sherbrooke, Quebec, J1M 1Z7, Canada

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

Elementary school students between the ages of 8 and 12 years old who's teacher accepted to participate in the study
Elementary school teacher

Treatment and study plan

Making room for climate emotions in the classroom

Other

The "Making room for climate emotions in the classroom" program is designed to address emotions as students learn (formally or informally) about climate change. Each session features a drawing, photography, Lego sculpture, rock painting or collage/drawing workshop to address themes, explore emotions/feelings/experiences and initiate discussions on topics related to climate change.

Primary outcomes

Social validity of the intervention

Time frame: Immediately after the end of the intervention (at week 7)

The social validity comprises of the perceived acceptability, goals and benefits of the intervention from participants' perspectives. It was measured using semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions to allow children and teachers to freely describe in detail their experience of the intervention. The interview guide was developed by the research team and piloted in previous research project to ensure that children understood the questions and that it allowed both positive and negative elements related to the intervention to emerge.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Université du Québec a Montréal

Other

Collaborators

Bishop's University

Registry information

Official study title

I Want to Talk About Climate Change, But I Wish I Didn't Have to… A Descriptive Qualitative Study of an Intervention Combining Creative Arts and Philosophical Inquiry to Help Elementary School Students Cope With Climate Change Emotions

Important dates

Study start: 2023
Primary completion: 2024
Study completion: 2024
First posted: Jan 17, 2025
Registry last updated: Aug 5, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.

Completed