On the Streets and in the Classroom; The state of climate education
In my previous blogs, I introduced the ZeroWaste SG’s programme — ZeroWaste’s Schools, and talked about the value of these type of programmes. I want to take a step back and look a little bit more at the state of climate education generally.
Whose job is it anyway?
The purpose of school level education is to send kids into the world, armed with the skills they need to survive and thrive. Given that the climate crisis is the biggest challenge that is facing the human race, shouldn’t schools be putting this front and centre of their curriculum? Because if the schools don’t take climate change seriously, who will?
To date, the focus of climate education tended to be based on training or retraining the people already in the labour force, rather than enabling children with the skills, knowledge and mindset to be able to address the climate crisis in the long run. However, a recent study suggests there would be benefits to shifting this focus to the classroom, showing that if only 16% of school students in high- and middle-income countries were to receive climate change education, there would be a 19 gigaton reduction of CO2 in the atmosphere by 2050 (Cordero et al, 2020). By helping students build a strong connection to climate solutions, plus a sense of agency and empowerment, it flows through to their individual decisions and behaviours that contribute to their carbon footprint over their lifetime (Kwauk and Winthrop, 2021).
Children want it in the classroom, not just on the streets…
The recent youth movements, such as Fridays for Future movement / the Climate Strikes, have shown that children are becoming increasingly vocal and demanding about wanting a thorough and relevant education. A survey in Europe showed that only 4% of students felt they knew enough about climate change, versus 42% who felt they had learnt very little or nothing. 57% said they wanted to learn more (Kwauk and Winthrop, 2021). In particular, they want to learn about the science — to help them to understand it and make it more accessible, allowing them to communicate to the wider population (BBC World Service, 2021).
And it isn’t just the kids — their parents want to see it in the classroom too. In the US, 80% of parents support it, while in the UK 77% do. They want to see their children being taught to be civil minded and prepared to take active roles in the green economies. Teachers also feel the same, with 86% of teachers in the US believing climate change should be taught in the classroom (Kamenetz, 2019), and 71% of teachers in Europe agreeing that it is a serious enough topic that it should form a core part of the education system.
Great! So, we all agree then??
So, if everyone supports this, why are we not seeing the change?
Rather depressingly, the OECD has estimated that it takes 9–15 years to change the school curriculum at a national level (BBC World Service, 2021). This is down to several factors. Even if there is widespread support at the high level, it takes a long time to get stakeholders aligned on the details. As well as this, politicians tend to only be in role for 4–6 years (in line with the election cycle), which isn’t enough time to really establish the change and take important decisions. And of course, as with so many things, it also comes down to who is going to pay for it…
While the teachers are supportive, the majority don’t feel like they have the knowledge and resources to teach it. In a survey of teachers across Europe, the most common reason they did not include climate change education in their plans, followed by a lack of climate education resources (51%) (School Education Gateway, 2020). So even if at a national level, the policy changes to mandate climate change education, until you train the teachers and fund the resources, nothing will happen. These changes need the backing of politicians and their commitment to investing in these changes, but they often have other immediate concerns.
Like with many industries the pandemic offers them on opportunity to ‘build back better’ — if the politicians could only see it. There needs to be a greater sense of urgency and a recognition that climate education for our children should form a core part of each government’s climate strategy.
So what needs to happen…
As with so many of these things, the change needed can seem daunting. So perhaps it would be good to start with some baby steps…
For younger kids, propose some small tasks they are responsible for — turning off the lights when everyone leaves the classroom, checking their friends have finished their food to avoid waste, ensuring the doors are closed if the aircon / heating is on. These are all small tasks they can embed in their everyday lives, both at school and will be likely to take them home…
For older students it comes down to assessment — if something is not assessed, it will not be taught. It will be deprioritised versus those topics that are, by the students, teachers and schools. So perhaps it is just introducing one specific module to start? Or just always adding the question of ‘what impact climate changes will have to this topic’ into the other modules they are teaching. Encouraging discussion, critical thinking and keeping it front and centre would be a small start, but a big step.
BBC World Service, (2021), What do we tell the kids?, The Climate Question, Available at : BBC World Service — The Climate Question — Downloads; Accessed 06/08/2021.
Cordero EC, Centeno D, Todd AM (2020) The role of climate change education on individual lifetime carbon emissions. PLoS ONE 15(2): e0206266. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.020626
Kamentz, A, (2019), Most teachers don’t teach climate change; 4 in 5 parents wish they did, NPR, Available at:Climate Change Earth Day Poll: 4 In 5 Parents Want It In Schools : NPR; Accessed 10/08/2021
Kwauk, Christina and Rebecca Wintrop, (2021), Unleashing the creativity of teachers and students to combat climate change: An opportunity for global leadership, The Brookings Institute, Available at: Unleashing the creativity of teachers and students to combat climate change: An opportunity for global leadership (brookings.edu), accessed 08/08/21
School Education Gateway (2020), Survey on climate education — Results, Erasmus+, Available at: Survey on climate education (schooleducationgateway.eu), Accessed 08/08/2021
