Data informed resilience protecting children and young people from heat stress via wearable techology in physical education lessons: A design thinking approach

Résumé

Climate change is reshaping the conditions under which children and young people learn and move. Rising temperatures and more frequent heatwaves expose pupils to increased physiological strain,heightening risks to health, wellbeing, and learning during Physical Education (PE). While heat-safetyguidance exists, it remains largely reactive, threshold-based, and externally imposed, offering limited pedagogical support for teachers’ real-time decision-making or children’s understanding of their own

physiological responses. This paper conceptualises children’s heat stress as a pedagogical design problem arising from persistent mismatches between physiological strain, perceptual awareness, and educational practice. Drawing on interdisciplinary literature and prior research on children’s hydration and perceptual mismatches in physical activity (PA), the paper synthesises evidence on physiological vulnerability, differential risk (including obesity, diabetes, and medication-related thermoregulatory impairment), and educational impact.