Education is key to empowering young people to respond to climate change. It’s something that will reach into every aspect of their lives in complex ways. However, the national curriculum largely confines climate change to a few subjects, meaning teachers in other disciplines often feel out of their depth. A survey carried out in England in 2021 found […] … learn more→
Tag Archives: Climate change
How stories can teach young people about life in a changing climate
Gen Z and Baby Boomers are both suffering from climate change, no need to point fingers
Studies at the global and national levels show that many young people from Generation Z (Gen Z) and Millennials are very concerned about environmental issues and climate change. Gen Z is a global population group born between 1998-2012, while Millennials were born between 1981-1995. Their level of concern about the current state of the earth is higher than that […] … learn more→
School’s out: how climate change is already badly affecting children’s education
Schools across South Sudan have been ordered to close as a heat wave of 45°C sweeps across the country. In recent years, severe flooding has already caused major disruptions to schooling in South Sudan where, on average, children complete less than five years of formal education across their lives. As researchers interested in both climate change and learning, […] … learn more→
6 books to help talk to your child about climate change
Many children and young people are anxious about climate change and what it means for their futures. But adults can face the dilemma of how to talk to children about these incredibly serious issues without upsetting them further. We are educational linguists investigating how writers and illustrators communicate ideas related to climate change to children. Books are an important way to help conversations […] … learn more→
‘I tend to be very gentle’: how teachers are navigating climate change in the classroom
Climate change education is increasingly seen as an essential part of schooling. The main international test of 15-year-olds’ progress (which Australia participates in) has just announced the next round of testing will include environmental knowledge alongside English, maths and science literacy. Australia’s national curriculum (updated last year under the Morrison government) barely mentions climate change. But as a signatory to the […] … learn more→
Montana kids win historic climate lawsuit – here’s why it could set a powerful precedent
qSixteen young Montanans who sued their state over climate change emerged victorious on Aug. 14, 2023, from a first-of-its-kind climate trial. The case, Held v. State of Montana, was based on allegations that state energy policies violate the young plaintiffs’ constitutional right to “a clean and healthful environment” – a right that has been enshrined in the Montana Constitution since […] … learn more→
How should we teach climate change in schools? It starts with ‘turbo charging’ teacher education
The case for action on climate change no longer needs to be laid out. We see, almost daily, disturbing images of bushfires, floods or a mass extinction crisis. But however widespread that sense of urgency may be, we are struggling as a nation to respond in a substantive, coordinated way. One thing is clear: these responses will […] … learn more→
How universities could help whole communities tackle climate change
As centres of learning, universities have the potential to help whole communities learn about and address climate change. Education can lead us to change our attitudes and behaviour. It can also help us deal with the anxiety or fear of doom that can stun us into inaction. But there are aspects of how universities work that can […] … learn more→
Teachers need bolder action from our school boards to educate in and for a climate emergency
Climate change is the most urgent crisis facing our planet today. Youth have repeatedly called for action on tackling this crisis, including improved climate change education. Yet despite the many pledges made at high-profile world conferences to implement climate change curricula in all schools, the follow through has been far from satisfactory. The federal government, as a signatory of […] … learn more→
This is Australia’s most important report on the environment’s deteriorating health. We present its grim findings
Climate change is exacerbating pressures on every Australian ecosystem and Australia now has more foreign plant species than native, according to the highly anticipated State of the Environment Report released today. The report also found the number of listed threatened species rose 8% since 2016 and more extinctions are expected in the next decades. The […] … learn more→