Comparative Evaluation of State-Centric and Subaltern Adaptation Frameworks
Examining institutional climate adaptation reveals a fundamental tension between centralized policy architecture and grassroots vulnerability. State-centric models, such as those analyzed in top-down urban sustainability frameworks (Toward a Theoretical Framework for Studying Climate Change Policies, 2017), prioritize structured bureaucratic compliance and macro-level mitigation targets. However, when applied to educational institutions situated within ecologically vulnerable regions of the Philippines, these technocratic mechanisms often fail to engage with site-specific vulnerabilities. In contrast, the subaltern adaptation paradigm articulates resilience from the perspective of marginalized subnational communities, underscoring the strategic agency inherent in localized networks (Subaltern Climate Change Adaptation, 2025). This theoretical divergence becomes particularly salient when assessing school-based sustainability initiatives. Bridging the conceptual divide between macro-level mandates and everyday educational practice requires adopting participatory approaches that place community experience at the center of institutional design (Chambers, 1983). While national directives provide necessary regulatory baselines, they frequently overlook the immediate spatio-social disruptions experienced by peripheral academic communities during acute environmental shocks. Connecting subaltern frameworks to Philippine institutional realities demonstrates that sustainable campus governance cannot function merely as an administrative extension of central state policy; rather, it demands decentralized strategies where students, faculty, and local stakeholders actively co-produce adaptation measures suited to their distinct ecological landscape.