Dear Colleagues,

Call for contributions to the special issue of the International Review of Education (IRE):
‘Multi-stakeholder approaches to promote ALE and lifelong learning
for climate action: The context of learning cities’
(Abstracts to be sent to Ms E. Hammer at:  [log in to unmask] by 1st April 2024)

The International Journal of Education – Journal of Lifelong Learning (IRE) publishes guest-edited special
issues within its core remit of lifelong and life-wide learning and education in international and
comparative contexts. A current special issue now being prepared is titled
‘Multi-stakeholder approaches to promote ALE and lifelong learning
for climate action: The context of learning cities’, to which we now warmly invite for abstracts.

Climate change, and the need for climate action, are issues which are rapidly rising to the top of policy-
makers’ agendas. The world’s climate system has been destabilized by human activity. Many effects of
climate change can already be observed in both urban and rural settings, including floods, heatwaves,
droughts and other types of extreme weather. 

Against this backdrop, this special issue focuses on the role of learning
cities in combatting climate change from a governance perspective. Within this context, it invites scholarly
contributions that address a diverse array of themes, including innovative local strategies to promote
climate action through lifelong learning; multi-level governance and participatory stakeholder
commitment; the role of formal and non-formal education providers; the support and empowerment of
vulnerable groups, youth and women; the use of technology in facilitating climate learning; the links
between citizenship and climate action; and research methodologies applied in the field, among other
possible topics.

Submitted contributions shall have a strong theoretical foundation and contain original knowledge based
on new research in the field. By featuring theoretical analysis, empirical research, case studies and
practical insights, this issue aims to shed light on how strategic measures to promote lifelong learning for
climate action can effectively underpin climate awareness and green skills development in urban
communities, enhance urban resilience, and contribute to the sustainable and green transformation of
cities.

Papers may focus on the following themes, among others:
• Strategic approaches towards climate action in learning cities: Exploring local policy-making,
planning and financing of lifelong learning for climate action, taking into account the diverse
needs of urban and peri-urban communities.
• Multi-stakeholder engagement: Examining governance approaches to involve formal and non-
formal learning institutions (schools, universities, adult education and community learning
centers, etc.) and other public and private stakeholders in whole-of-city strategies in support of
green skills development and community resilience.
• Urban learning spaces and learner-oriented pedagogies: Studying enabling spaces for lifelong
learning in cities and how they may influence learning processes and outcomes; considering
collective forms of learning such as family learning, intergenerational approaches and learning
circles.
• Leveraging learning technologies for climate action: Exploring the potential of learning
technologies to scale up lifelong learning opportunities for climate action in urban settings and
beyond.
• Global citizenship and youth movements: Investigating cities’ approaches to promote global
citizenship, providing people with an understanding of interrelated global challenges and
supporting solidarity and climate justice within local communities and at global level; studying
the role of civil society organizations and youth movements as important change agents to
address the climate crisis, considering that more and more young people take up the mantle of
climate action.
• Growing inequalities and vulnerabilities: Examining the interrelation between climate impacts
and drivers of urban inequality, considering the disproportional affect that climate change has
on disadvantages groups such as refugees and migrants, people living in informal settlements,
Indigenous groups and women, among others; investigating ways to protect vulnerable groups,
help them to build resilience and provide them with learning opportunities and viable
perspectives in light of climate impacts.
• New epistemologies and forms of knowledge creation: Exploring more inclusive forms of
knowledge production that consider contributions by a diversity of academic and societal actors,
including from the global South and Indigenous communities to advance climate action;
reflecting on the diversity of knowledge-systems and introducing innovative, experiential
research methodologies that are able to capture processes of social transformation and the
complexity of climate change responses in cities.


Timetable and milestones:
Submission of abstracts, including possible co-authors 1st April 2024
Submission of draft papers to guest editors for ‘internal’ peer review 15 June 2024
Submission of revised papers to the Springer system for external peer review 15 November 2024
Finalization of the paper for copyediting and eventual inclusion in special issue April 2025
Estimated date of publication August 2025

Abstracts should be sent to Ms E. Hammer at:  [log in to unmask] by 1st April 2024
Rgds,
The Editors (please do not reply to this note, kindly send your abstract to: [log in to unmask])

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