Game-Based Learning for Enhancing Climate Change Knowledge and Environmental Awareness Among Secondary School Youth

Addressing the global climate crisis demands transformative pedagogical interventions capable of translating abstract, systemic ecological data into actionable knowledge for younger generations. Traditional lecture-based instruction frequently struggles to convey complex feedback loops and foster sustained behavioral engagement among secondary school students. This paper evaluates the pedagogical efficacy of game-based learning (GBL) in augmenting climate literacy, dynamic systems thinking, and environmental self-efficacy. Employing a quasi-experimental pre-test, post-test, control-group design, this study investigated N=140tenth-grade secondary school students across two high schools. The experimental cohort (n=70) engaged with EcoVanguard, a digital serious simulation game modeling carbon cycle interactions, mitigation policies, and socio-economic trade-offs over a four-week intervention. The control cohort (n=70) received textbook-driven, lecture-based didactic instruction covering an identical curriculum. Assessment was conducted using the Climate Change Knowledge Assessment Test (CC-KAT) and the Climate Attitude and Self-Efficacy Survey (CASES), with a delayed post-test administered four weeks post-intervention to measure conceptual retention. Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA), controlling for baseline pre-test variations, revealed that the GBL cohort exhibited statistically significant gains in systemic climate knowledge compared to the control group (F1,137=46.82,p<.001,η_(p)^(2)=.255), alongside a pronounced effect size on long-term retention (d=0.98). Attitudinal dimensions—specifically perceived agency and systemic environmental responsibility—also demonstrated statistically significant elevation in the gaming cohort. These findings confirm that experiential, interactive game environments serve as an effective cognitive scaffold for complex environmental education, offering a scalable instructional design model for sustainable development curricula.