The Current Stance: Introducing Climate Change Studies into Elementary School Curricula
“With the importance of climate change action becoming more prevalent, it is especially crucial for young children to get a taste of what they have to work with for the future of our planet.”
Why Is Climate Change Not Brought up More Often in the Earlier Years?
In 2014–2015, a rigorous national survey was administered to 1,500 science teachers in public middle and high schools in all 50 states. Three in four science teachers devoted at least one hour to teaching climate change, with the average time spent being four hours. According to other sources, however, fewer than half of K-12 teachers mentioned talking about climate change with their children or students. Similarly, 65% of teachers said it's not related to the subjects they teach. There is currently still no national consensus regarding the importance of climate education. As well, there are currently no national science graduation requirements.
A United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) study involving up to 50 countries revealed that fewer than half of these countries mention climate change in their educational policies. Further, only 21% of these plans submitted by 95 countries for the Paris Agreement goals mentioned climate change education. In Europe, only 4% of students feel they know “a lot” about climate change. This is a clear call to action.
How Individuals Are Thinking of Different Methods
In an Australian study of teachers and parents of children under 18, over 40% of parents reported that their ideal role was educating their children about sustainability and climate change, and over 30% of parents reported their role of supporting their children in action. In the United States, parents are also speaking out to improve their children’s education system. Radhika Iyengar, Director of the Education Sector at Columbia Climate School’s Center for Sustainable Development and New Jersey mother, voices her concerns about her children’s curriculum limitations, stating that “The education system is failing the students when it comes to climate change or climate education in the formal curriculum… We really need to pick up speed because otherwise we will have a whole generation of students who will graduate with this climate anxiety and will not know what to do because they have not been prepared by our education systems.”
An Interdisciplinary Approach
Joseph Henderson, a professor at Paul Smith's College, calls for an interdisciplinary approach to climate change education, particularly looking at social dimensions and involving people in extreme weather events. Similarly, Antonia Samur, a program coordinator for the National Center of Disaster Preparedness states, “We need the younger generations to take an interest in innovative solutions… to understand its complexities as climate change interacts with all other global challenges… We need creative and flexible minds that can be optimistic enough to imagine a sustainable future and then build it.”
Social-Emotional Learning
Social-emotional learning is another unique approach, referring to the skills people need to be successful in life, such as self-awareness, cultivating empathy, social awareness, etc. Incorporating social-emotional learning into climate education starts by recognizing humans as part of this “web of life,” as we work together to combat environmental justice issues, cultivate novel solutions and reconnect with nature, building a passion for nurturing our planet. In fact, a 2020 study found that if 16% of secondary school students in middle and high-income countries studied climate change (as a career option), almost 19 gigatons of CO2 would be cut by 2050.
Where Can We Go From Here?
The issue lies in part within the American education system since it is highly decentralized, which means that districts and schools base their curricula on individual state standards and teachers then use those guidelines.
With numerous teachers realizing the urgency to teach climate change but not having ample resources to do so, the National Center for Science Education developed a set of lesson plans to help science teachers fulfill this goal. Using field-tested lesson plans and hands-on, real-world engagement customized for their location, students can explore evidence and construct a scientific baseline of climate change for themselves.
In 2019, Christine Palm, a Connecticut state representative and retired high school teacher, proposed a bill to require that starting from elementary school, science curriculum for public schools include the teaching of climate change. Not long thereafter, in 2020, New Jersey became the first state to mandate the teaching of climate change in all subjects beginning in kindergarten.
Climate change has increased dramatically over the last 18 years in state science standards. Today, 36 states and districts (including Washington, D.C.) acknowledge the reality of anthropogenic climate change, compared to 30 states before. In 2013, 24 states recommended teaching anthropogenically-induced climate change (caused by the start of the Industrial Revolution) starting in fifth grade in all science classes through the Next Generation Science Standard (NGSS).
With the importance of climate change action becoming more prevalent, it is especially crucial for young children to get a taste of what they have to work with for the future of our planet. This can be done through the implementation of climate change studies in school curricula on a national level. Not only is climate change knowledge a tool for promoting education in younger children, but it helps to raise a generation of aware, proactive leaders.
As Gloria Chatelain, educator and CEO of Simple Science Solutions stated, “Our goal is not to produce angry children but children who love science.” Creating and developing awareness is what these initiatives are all about, and the hope is that they will produce more people who have the tools to effect positive change in the world.
