Climate change education implementation: the voices of policymakers, professional development providers, and teachers in five countries

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Orit Ben Zvi Assaraf, Vaille Dawson, Efrat Eilam, Tuba Gokpinar, Daphne Goldman, Nofar Naugauker, Gusti Agung Paramitha Eka Putri, Agung Wijaya Subiantoro, Sakari Tolppanen, Peta White, Helen Widdop Quinton, Justin Dillon

2025 International Journal of Science Education Vol. 47 Issue 2 Article Cited by 31 Quartile

Abstract

Climate change (CC) is the most significant global issue facing humanity, yet research addressing the perspectives of the key players influential in developing and implementing school-based CC curricula at a cross-country national level is scarce. This study examined the perceptions of policymakers, teacher professional development providers and CCE teachers in relation to: CC knowledge, representation in the curriculum, content and pedagogy, and support for teaching. The voices of these educators were gathered across five countries (Australia, England, Finland, Indonesia, and Israel) through semi-structured interviews. Analysis revealed much commonality across the countries and across role types. Although participants agreed that CCE is multidisciplinary and expressed widespread support for including CC in the curriculum through a cross-curriculum approach, their conceptualisations of CC knowledge were inconsistent. Participants recognised the importance of a science basis in CCE, and of student action, with some participants also emphasising emotional, ethical and value-based inclusions. Most suggested active learning focused pedagogies. Variations in approaches to CC implementation between countries suggest that CCE is in a transitional phase. In all five countries, the interviewees called for the curriculum to make more explicit connections to CC and for governmental leadership in supporting CCE, professional development and provision of resources. © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Affiliations

School of Education, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel; Graduate School of Education, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia; The College of Arts and Education, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia; Institute of Education, University College London, London, United Kingdom; Beit Berl College, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel; Nossal Institute for Global Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia; Department of Biology Education, Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta, Indonesia; School of applied Educational Sciences an Teacher Education, University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, Finland; Faculty of Arts and Education, Deakin University, Burwood, Australia; Science and environmental education (Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment), University College London, London, United Kingdom