BLOG: Why climate change should be embedded in the school curriculum
Radya Syed explores the major role education can play in empowering young people to take climate action.
The findings presented in our latest report, Youth in a Changing Climate show that most young people think climate education in schools is inadequate. In our survey of 500 young people:
- 66% felt they did not learn enough about climate change in school.
- Over 50% said they learned the most about climate change from documentaries and social media, compared to just 13% who learned the most from school or college.
Although climate change is a global issue already being felt by most of the world population, many young people in the UK have only encountered discussions of climate change through distressing news stories and social media posts.
Education empowers young people to act as agents of change
The Fridays for Future protests led by Greta Thunberg demonstrate how youth movements can have a huge impact on the wider community. Her courage sparked the interest of thousands of young people globally who took part in the protests urging their governments to take action.
Cultivating an understanding of how humans adversely impact our natural environment and how we can collectively prevent environmental degradation is necessary for the youth of today. It is vital for young people to understand climate change and how they are key stakeholders in the climate crisis. Understanding climate change is the first step in encouraging people to take action, whether that’s a change in lifestyle or getting involved in campaigning – a collective effort has to potential to make a big difference.
Learning about climate change and the environment can also help to open up different career options for young people. A new report by a committee of MPs recommends that climate and sustainability should be embedded in all school and college courses and argues that this could help to boost diversity in the environmental sector.
I personally remember learning very little about climate change during secondary school. I learned about the brunt of its effects during my Undergraduate Geography course, where climate change was part of every topic we discussed. It made me think – if something affects the world we live in so dramatically, why doesn’t everyone know about it?
The current school curriculum only vaguely mentions the topic of climate change in core science and compulsory geography. Its wider implications are rarely discussed in the earlier stages of young people’s education. I personally remember learning very little about climate change during secondary school, despite choosing Geography as a GCSE option. I learned about the brunt of its effects during my Undergraduate Geography course, where climate change was part of every topic we discussed. It made me think – if something affects the world we live in so dramatically, why doesn’t everyone know about it?
Education has long been emphasized in various climate debates since the establishment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 1988. In 1992, the 172 nations represented agreed on a plan of action called Agenda 21. The agenda stated that:
‘Education is critical for promoting sustainable development and improving the capacity of the people to address environment and development issues… To be effective, environment and development education should deal with the dynamics of both the physical/biological and socio-economic environment and human development, should be integrated in all disciplines.’
Encouraging people to have a deep personal understanding of the climate crisis and its human and environmental implications allows them to adopt environmentally aware behaviours. Understanding how individual actions contribute to the climate crisis may be the first step in contributing to a solution. Therefore, it is vital that we prioritise climate education in the UK’s path the net-zero.
What next?
As climate change rises up the political and cultural agenda, more and more people are looking at its place in the education system. MPs debated the inclusion of climate and sustainability in the national curriculum last week, prompted by the youth led Teach the Future campaign.
The youth have shown hope for change, it should be the responsibility of government to empower them as stakeholders in the future.
Schools across the UK are being encouraged to engage in conversation about climate change with their pupils to promote environmental awareness. COP26 launched an education pack for schools this summer to help teachers and schools be a part of the growing green momentum. Although this is a great initiative to enable environmental awareness, it is unclear how the educational pack will have a longstanding influence on the curriculum and students understanding of the climate crisis.
COP26 should not be a one-off opportunity for young people to learn about the environment and climate change. It should be an immediate priority of our government to implement climate education in the national school curriculum and provide adequate training to teachers to deliver climate-related discussions. The youth have shown hope for change, it should be the responsibility of government to empower them as stakeholders in the future.
Blog by Radya Syed, Groundwork UK Policy & Research Trainee and co-author of Youth in a Changing Climate