UC Santa Barbara

ABSTRACT How are schools engaging with adaptation to climate change? A systematic review of 85 publications reporting research on climate adaptation activities at schools serving students ages 5–18 identifies three pathways of engagement: (1) Schools are places for teaching and learning about climate change adaptation; (2) Schools experience climate hazards and implement adaptation responses on their buildings and grounds; and (3) Schools collaborate with the communities they serve, exchanging climate adaptation information and providing support during climate disasters. Research most often positions schools as teaching and learning environments, with substantially less attention given to schools' roles as managers of infrastructure and as members of their communities. Most publications focus on a single form of school engagement with climate adaptation; only two of the 85 publications reviewed recognize schools as simultaneously engaging in all three pathways. There is also limited attention to justice in the publications reviewed. More broadly, research on schools and climate adaptation is dispersed across multiple disciplines and publication outlets, with few attempts to create a cumulative body of knowledge. In combination, these characteristics of the research literature impede recognition of the multiple and potentially synergistic roles schools can play in climate adaptation. The review concludes with recommendations for the field, researchers, and schools to advance school‐based climate adaptation activities across pedagogy, infrastructure, and community engagement.