From Science to Storytelling: Advancing a Climate Knowledge-Action Framework through Reflections on Youth-Focused, Participatory Action Research in Vietnam

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Bibliographic Details
Title: From Science to Storytelling: Advancing a Climate Knowledge-Action Framework through Reflections on Youth-Focused, Participatory Action Research in Vietnam
Language: English
Authors: Lisa Jones (ORCID 0000-0001-9463-639X), Huệ Lê, Katie J. Parsons, Thu T. Võ, Florence Halstead
Source: British Educational Research Journal. 2026 52(1):61-87.
Availability: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 27
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Descriptive
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Climate, Environmental Education, Indigenous Knowledge, Youth, Experiential Learning, Affective Objectives, Story Telling, Learning Processes
Geographic Terms: Vietnam
DOI: 10.1002/berj.70004
ISSN: 0141-1926
1469-3518
Abstract: Climate change presents urgent global challenges that demand swift and transformative responses. However, current efforts often fall short, revealing a crisis not only of environmental concern but also of social action. Responses to this have included climate change and sustainability education and communication, though these have tended to be knowledge-heavy, operating under outdated knowledge deficit-based assumptions that merely providing more information will drive action. Such responses and assumptions have also privileged scientific knowledge while overlooking diverse epistemologies and ways of knowing. This paper challenges these assumptions and puts forward a redefining of what it means to 'know' and 'act' on climate change. Within this, we propose integrating diverse knowledge systems, embracing both scientific and historically marginalised local knowledges, including indigenous, youth-led, experiential, emotional and affective perspectives. Importantly, we also propose a novel way to operationalise this democratically through utilising participatory action research and creative storytelling. Drawing upon our international collaboration with youth in three provinces along the Red River Catchment in northern Vietnam in 2022, a region facing significant climate challenges and injustices, we illustrate the potential of this research approach to bridge the knowledge-action gap. We conclude by introducing our holistic CLIMATE Knowledge Framework that encapsulates this pluralistic and democratic view of knowledge co-creation. This framework serves as a set of guiding principles for educators, researchers and policymakers to advance a more democratic, critically engaged, justice-framed and action-oriented paradigm, facilitating the envisioning and implementation of tangible solutions.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1499205
Database: ERIC
Description
Abstract:Climate change presents urgent global challenges that demand swift and transformative responses. However, current efforts often fall short, revealing a crisis not only of environmental concern but also of social action. Responses to this have included climate change and sustainability education and communication, though these have tended to be knowledge-heavy, operating under outdated knowledge deficit-based assumptions that merely providing more information will drive action. Such responses and assumptions have also privileged scientific knowledge while overlooking diverse epistemologies and ways of knowing. This paper challenges these assumptions and puts forward a redefining of what it means to 'know' and 'act' on climate change. Within this, we propose integrating diverse knowledge systems, embracing both scientific and historically marginalised local knowledges, including indigenous, youth-led, experiential, emotional and affective perspectives. Importantly, we also propose a novel way to operationalise this democratically through utilising participatory action research and creative storytelling. Drawing upon our international collaboration with youth in three provinces along the Red River Catchment in northern Vietnam in 2022, a region facing significant climate challenges and injustices, we illustrate the potential of this research approach to bridge the knowledge-action gap. We conclude by introducing our holistic CLIMATE Knowledge Framework that encapsulates this pluralistic and democratic view of knowledge co-creation. This framework serves as a set of guiding principles for educators, researchers and policymakers to advance a more democratic, critically engaged, justice-framed and action-oriented paradigm, facilitating the envisioning and implementation of tangible solutions.
ISSN:0141-1926
1469-3518
DOI:10.1002/berj.70004