In this post, Prof. Lizzie Rushton, Prof. Nicola Walshe and Brian Johnston explore whether there is a place for justice-focused climate and sustainability education in the curriculum, using a case study of teachers from England.
Curriculum review, reform and change is evident across all education systems in the UK. In England, a review of the national curriculum and assessment framework led by Prof Becky Francis has just published an interim report. In Scotland, a cycle of curriculum improvement is underway; in Wales, a comprehensive, multi-stakeholder evaluation is taking place of Curriculum for Wales; and finally, in Northern Ireland, Lucy Crehan has been commissioned to lead a review of the curriculum, also due to report in 2025.
In England, questions have been raised concerning the focus that climate change and sustainability education (CCSE) will have in Secretary of State for Education Bridget Philipson’s vision of ‘a broader, richer, cutting-edge curriculum that drives high and rising school standards and sets all young people up for life and work’.
These questions may not be new, but they are certainly pressing given that CCSE is widely understood as an urgent and vital response to the complex environmental and social challenges facing the world, and the unequal capacity nations and communities have to respond to these challenges.
A survey of teachers’ practices
Through a national survey of teachers in England, we examined the practices of those working in primary and secondary schools in relation to CCSE.
Our research explored teachers’ practices through a critical lens of climate justice. This lens recognises the colonial and racial capitalist roots of the climate crisis where intersectional injustices (related to gender, race, intergenerational and disability) persist. Upon analysing over 800 responses from teachers with expertise in a wide range of subject specialisms, we identified both challenges and opportunities for climate justice-oriented CCSE.
Challenges and opportunities for justice-oriented CCSE
Across the survey responses, teachers shared practices which provided students with opportunities to develop the knowledge, understanding and skills to act collaboratively when it comes to CCSE. Their actions included those focused around communicating their views and experiences of climate change and sustainability, engaging in discussions and debates concerning decision-making related to climate and environmental issues and concerns, and being part of environmentally-focused projects and initiatives that explore alternatives and strategies for change. Teachers’ practices focused on action were often linked with clear ideas of student empowerment, including equipping young people with the knowledge and capabilities to act for the climate and the environment – both now and in the future – and to live with the consequences of climate-altered futures.
Teachers’ responses included examples of how they were empowered to act for the environment and the climate through their teaching, especially through their mediation of the official curriculum. However, consistent with previous research across the UK, the practices teachers shared underlined an absence of examples which are perhaps more in line with ideas of climate justice. For instance, teachers did not provide examples of CCSE which connects colonial legacies with past, present and future climate injustice or articulate an understanding of the intersectional nature of climate injustice. Also absent were practices that question current economic and political growth models which researchers have argued are important, but often ignored in climate education and policy. As previous research has underlined, teachers in England and Scotland are reluctant to grapple with issues such as activism due to concerns of impartiality and professionalism.
Whilst teachers’ practices shared through this survey mostly focused on ideas of action and empowerment in the context of the climate crisis, no explicit connection was made between climate anxiety and the limits of current education and education policy. Despite this, these reflections should not be viewed as critical of teachers who did share their practices. Nor do we wish to diminish the ways in which teachers continue to persist with practices which include ideas of action and justice, especially in a policy context which does not encourage such approaches.
Nevertheless, our research shows that whilst the foundations for justice-oriented CCSE are evident, ongoing collaborative work between groups – including teachers, children and young people, academics, climate activists and policy makers – is required to realise the potential of current school-based practice in England. Furthermore, if this work is not valued and resourced by policy makers, it is likely that narrowly conceived and unjust climate change knowledge will persist; for example, the perception that the impacts of climate change are geographically distant to children and young people in the West and, therefore, might not require urgent responses.
The importance of leadership at school and policy levels
Our research highlights that leadership at both school and policy levels is central to creating and sustaining communities and curricula that effectively address CCSE and justice. Through vision, strategic planning, resource allocation, professional learning and advocacy, leaders can ensure that education systems prepare pupils not only to understand these critical issues, but also to act as informed, ethical and engaged citizens. This type of leadership can foster a learning community where sustainability and justice are not just taught but are lived values, preparing pupils to engage with the challenges of the 21st century in meaningful and just ways.
Such an approach to school leadership will necessarily include a renewed focus on teacher professional learning, including that which is supported by organisations such as SEEd, which enables teachers to consider their practices through intersectional lenses. We argue for school leadership and policy makers to support professional contexts where all teachers see justice-oriented CCSE as a fundamental part of their professional lives and responsibilities, and where these responsibilities are reflected in the professional standards and curriculum policies which shape their work.
To read more about this work, an open access paper has been recently published in the Curriculum Journal and is available here.
SOURCES:
Greer, K., Sheldrake, R., Kitson, A., Rushton, E., Hargreaves, E., & Walshe, N. (2023). What do climate change and sustainability have to do with me?. Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability Education. Institute of Education, University College London, London. Accessed July 23, 2024.
Sultana, F. (2022). Critical climate justice. The Geographical Journal, 188(1): 118–124.