School Governance and Climate Responsive Education: A conceptual framework for engagement in sustainable climate-responsive education.

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Climate change presents a profound threat to educational systems globally, particularly in developing countries like Kenya where vulnerabilities to climate-induced disruptions are high. Schools have the potential to act as transformative hubs for climate action through climate-responsive education—yet this potential remains underutilized due to governance-related challenges. This study critically examines how school governance constructs—namely leadership and vision, policy and planning, resource mobilization, and stakeholder engagement—influence the implementation of climate-responsive education in Kenya’s basic education subsector. Anchored in Transformational Leadership Theory and Ecological Systems Theory, the research adopts a desktop methodology, synthesizing policy documents, empirical studies, and international case examples. Findings reveal that visionary leadership significantly boosts environmental initiatives, but professional development in sustainability remains limited. School-level policies often fail to reflect national climate priorities due to weak enforcement mechanisms and inadequate planning capacity. Furthermore, resource constraints and donor dependence hinder the scalability of green infrastructure, while participatory structures for community and student involvement are inconsistently implemented. The study concludes that Kenya’s education system requires a systemic shift in governance—moving from reactive administrative compliance to integrated, transformative leadership. Key recommendations include embedding climate governance into school leader training, mainstreaming climate policy into school operations, mobilizing innovative financing mechanisms, and institutionalizing stakeholder participation. The study contributes to the growing discourse on climate-smart education governance and offers a conceptual framework for reimagining schools as agents of climate resilience and environmental stewardship.