Critical minds for a warming planet: a case study of children’s socioscientific reasoning (SSR) and critical information literacy (CIL) in climate change education

In an era of climate disruption and digital misinformation, developing students’ capacity to critically evaluate sources and communicate persuasively about socioscientific issues (SSI) is increasingly essential. This qualitative case study explores how Grade 5 students assess the credibility of climate change information and construct persuasive arguments. Grounded in critical information literacy (CIL) and socioscientific reasoning (SSR) frameworks, the study involved 36 students in eastern Canada who participated in interactive interviews, including ranking source credibility and selecting evidence to persuade a peer. Findings show that students consistently trusted scientific and educational authorities (e.g. NASA, teachers), valued traceable sources, and expressed scepticism toward open platforms such as YouTube. Their reasoning reflected emerging CIL, with attention to authorial intent and evidence quality. When constructing arguments, students combined personal narratives with empirical data, demonstrating audience-aware communication, which are hallmarks of SSR. These results suggest that with explicit scaffolding, elementary students can engage in complex evaluative and rhetorical reasoning. The study underscores the importance of integrating CIL and SSR into climate change and science education to foster digital discernment, ethical reflection, and civic agency from an early age.