Voices of the Future: rhetoric, myth, and science in children’s climate discourse

Article

Siebers, J. and Ambreen, S. 2026. Voices of the Future: rhetoric, myth, and science in children’s climate discourse. Oxford Review of Education. 52 (2), pp. 177-189. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2026.2617328
TypeArticle
TitleVoices of the Future: rhetoric, myth, and science in children’s climate discourse
AuthorsSiebers, J. and Ambreen, S.
Abstract

This article addresses the rhetorical dimensions of the language of children and young people around trees and climate change. Via an analysis of statements and stories by children, made in educational settings, the complex constellation of experience, meaning, scientific understanding, mythical imagination and the affective dimensions of fear and hope, that structures children’s environmental awareness, is brought out. In particular, the mythical use to which scientific ideas and terms are put is discussed. In order to foster agency and empowerment with respect to climate futures, environmental education should not only rely on the epistemic regime of scientific thinking but should also adopt a critical rhetorical perspective.

Keywordsenvironmental education; rhetoric; science curriculum; myth; discourse studies; climate change
Sustainable Development Goals13 Climate action
Middlesex University ThemeSustainability
Research GroupEnglish Language and Literature
PublisherTaylor & Francis (Routledge)
JournalOxford Review of Education
ISSN0305-4985
Electronic1465-3915
Publication dates
Online02 Mar 2026
Print04 Mar 2026
Publication process dates
Accepted10 Sep 2025
Deposited10 Oct 2025
Output statusPublished
Publisher's version
License
File Access Level
Open
Copyright Statement

© 2026 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properlycited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) orwith their consent.

Web address (URL)https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03054985.2026.2617328#abstract
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2026.2617328
LanguageEnglish
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