Where is climate education?
By Ben Murphy
As climate change intensifies across the world, education is becoming recognised as one of the most critical aspects underlying a societal transformation to sustainability. Moreover, the past 18 months has seen few other aspects of society come under the same amount of focus than education. The impact on young people missing large chunks of their schooling has had an un-quantifiable impact on an entire generation. Unfairly, this generation will be growing-up into an increasingly unstable and unliveable society subjected to the devastating consequences of a rapidly heating planet.
In the context of rising civic climate activism, a large part of which is led by youth voices, the quantity and quality of climate change education provided to young people is coming under increasing scrutiny. Around the world youth voices have taken centre stage in climate activism. Emerging from the intergenerational dimensions of sustainability and the inaction of older generations who are often in key decision-making positions, growing numbers of young people are becoming engaged in the climate crisis and sustainability. Civic activists have moved to engage governments about the content, structure, and approach of mainstream climate education across the world. Calls to give young people the skills and knowledge they will need to advance a more sustainable society. People from all corners of society have asked governments around the world to reimagine education to focus on skills for green jobs, and educate children about the consequences of, and more importantly, the solutions to, climate change.
Amidst the growing climate and ecological crises, climate change education (termed learning for sustainability in Scotland and education for sustainable development in Europe) is gaining attention. Scottish education has come under fire recently for a widening attainment gap, as well as its fragmented climate education approach. The current Scottish secondary curricula include limited and often non-mandatory education about climate change and the current ecological crises. Only recently were the ‘benefits’ of climate change removed from course material in Geography. Climate change education is squeezed into the curriculum for excellence (Scotland’s framework for state education), through brief inclusion in Geography, as well as being scattered across technology studies, religious and moral education, and social studies. Climate education, and Learning for Sustainability (LfS) is given minimal priority in young people’s education. In Scotland, a specific centre for sustainability education has been set up, influencing the current curriculum and raising the profile of climate education across the country.
As part of the University of Edinburgh’s school of education, Learning for Sustainability Scotland’s Regional Centre of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development acts as a ‘growing network of educators, practitioners and key partners, all working together to embed learning for sustainability and the UN Sustainable Development Goals into all that we do. [They] work across sectors, across all types of education, across the length and breadth of Scotland’ and aspire to the vision that LfS should involve the entirety of Scottish society, building our capacity to contribute to sustainability – locally, nationally and globally.
Due to the work done through LfSS Scotland is considered the gold-standard for climate education in the UK. This is concerning but gives reason for cautious optimism. LfS has helped raise the profile of climate education and generated huge amounts of resources for educators, filling the gaps left by outdated teacher training courses. However, despite LFSS’ presence and influence, climate education has been unable to find a coherent and respected place amidst Scotland’s fragmented curriculum. The influence of LfSS has been limited by the existing structures of education which, through their fragmentation, make it difficult for intersectional or interdisciplinary learning to take place. The set up of the regional centre, in Scotland, has struggled to facilitate the changes necessary to create a sustainable and hopeful education approach. As is often the case in Scotland, government is very good at creating policy, but struggles to implement it.
Rather than top-down learning solutions, it is vital that sustainability educators encourage learners to critically engage with present realities, envision alternatives and take collaborative action for sustainability in the places where they live.
A primary educational issue, nationally, is that taught content on sustainability is disconnected from other subjects and the scale and urgency of the crises is downplayed. Climate change is highly intersectional and fragmented learning contributes to the growing disconnect between society, lived experiences and the climate crisis. This disconnect is exacerbated by the peripheral framing of climate (in)justice in schools. This marginalisation is down, in many ways, to the divides between social and arts subjects and STEM subjects in schools. Increasingly, leaning for sustainability is being included in citizenship classes which focus on global equity, sustainable development, poverty and climate change. However, these classes are often surplus to requirements and seen as add-ons in school timetables. The inherent complexity of sustainability, as a concept and a practice should see sustainability taught through an interdisciplinary approach. Sustainability topics intersect with and give life to all of the traditional school subjects (e.g., social studies, math) and could be integrated across the curriculum, helping to address the growing divide between the arts and sciences. In many ways, the fragmentation of climate education reflects wider societal failures to collaborate and connect with regards to the transition to sustainability.
The segregation of subjects in schools is in part caused by an overemphasis on examinations. In Europe this is a UK specific issue, with UK schools having some of the highest numbers of pupil examinations across the continent. An overemphasis on examinations leads to teachers spending as much time doing admin as they would teaching pupils. A rigid and overwhelming examination system means the focus in schools is on exam preparation. As such the curriculum prepares children to pass exams rather than forming spaces that, through interdisciplinarity, teach critical thinking, creativity, local to global awareness and collective action. Rather than top-down learning solutions, it is vital that sustainability educators encourage learners to critically engage with present realities, envision alternatives and take collaborative action for sustainability in the places where they live.
A further issue in both Scotland and around the world is that the climate emergency and the ecological crisis aren’t included in teachers’ professional standards. Teachers aren’t given proper training during their teacher education on climate change, sustainable development or the ecological crisis, resulting in most teachers feeling uncomfortable, and often unable, to answer challenging questions around climate change. Learning for Sustainability is excluded from many teacher training programmes and given little emphasis in councils’ strategic approaches to education. Teachers have fed back into research stating how underprepared they are to teach about the climate emergency. Since young people often look to their teachers for inspiration and reassurance, as well as for education, the lack of climate education across all levels of the education system is extremely worrying.
Tackling climate change and transitioning to a sustainable society involves cross-sector and collaborative approaches. Education can play a pivotal role in this transition, if given priority and structured in a way that encourages intersectional approaches. The issues with current climate education in Scotland are in many ways rooted in the pedagogical approach of most Western countries. They reflect an outdated pedagogical model that is not fit for purpose in the 21st century. Education should liberate, inspire and galvanise young people to hope for a positive future. Schools should be spaces of shared ambition and collective thought and action. The lack of comprehensive educational content, from teacher training to geography classes represents a further nail in the coffin for the generation growing up amidst a ‘code red’ climate emergency.
