Exploring university students’ future orientations towards climate change: perceptions of the future, hope and action competence

Purpose This study aims to investigate university students’ future orientations towards climate change by examining their perceptions of the future, hope and action competence. Future orientations – indicating students’ expectations and preparedness for climate challenges – are crucial in shaping their engagement with climate change. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from three waves of undergraduate students (n = 216) with prior climate change instruction. A survey including a word association (WA) test and two Likert scales was used. The WA test captured students’ perceptions of the future by asking them to provide three associated words, while the validated Likert scales measured levels of hope and self-perceived action competence. Measurement invariance was established to ensure comparability across waves. Findings The majority of WA responses were uncertain or neutral (42%), followed by negative (32%) and positive (26%) associations, with frequently mentioned terms such as “unknown”, “technology” and “uncertainty”. A network diagram illustrated co-occurrence patterns, such as “unknown” often appearing with “fearful” students who used positives words scored higher on both hope and self-perceived action competence, while those using negative words scored lower. Female students scored significantly higher than males in overall action competence and across most subscales of both scales. Alarmingly, seniors showed lower action competence and greater lack of way/willpower than their younger peers. Originality/value This study offers a multidimensional perspective on how students with climate instruction conceptualise the future. The findings highlight the importance of sustained, emotionally supportive and action-oriented climate education to maintain students’ agency and hope for the future.