Schooling for Sustainability
Teaching children about environmental issues may be one more way to influence society to act more sustainably.
When it comes to teaching sustainability, there’s no support for teachers in schools,” says Meryl Batchelder, a 55-year-old UN-accredited teacher ambassador at Corbridge middle school, Northumberland. “It’s a complete lottery whether a student has someone who is providing information on environmental issues”.
Batchelder has decided to use four hours of her free time to teach kids about sustainability and organise extracurricular projects. This is to make up for the lack of school hours dedicated to teaching subjects like global warming or pollution.
“There’s no expectation that teachers will mention climate change, sustainability or plastic waste issues.” says Batchelder. “There’s no mention of any of those in the whole programme, up to the point kids are 15 years old and they still get very little information.”
The UK education system is still very limited when it comes to introducing topics surrounding climate change, particularly at primary and secondary school levels.
“It’s a complete lottery whether a student has someone who is providing information on environmental issues.”
In January 2022, a leading youth-led campaign ‘Teach the future’ surveyed 5,000 secondary education teachers. Over 50% said that climate change was not taught in a meaningful way. Four in 10 said they would like more time and capacity to devote to climate issues. However, there is a clear gap between state and private schools. While children in state schools are significantly less exposed to climate-related topics, private schools are introducing elements in their curriculum to prepare students for the green jobs of the future through additional classes and extracurricular activities focused on the environment.
The importance of teaching pupils about climate change is confirmed by recent academic studies that show how children who are exposed to environmental education from primary school are more likely to adopt more sustainable behaviours which can have a ripple effect across society.
In fact, children who are exposed to these subjects have the potential to influence ideas and behaviours at home, driving sustainability practices such as recycling. According to a paper published in Science Direct on children’s sustainable behaviours, today over half of UK children aged 4-16 (54%) are leading the charge towards sustainability at home, with 64% of British parents acknowledging that their children have influenced their habits.
Campaigning for change
Many influential youth-led movements are contributing to raising awareness of global environmental causes, leading to a positive change in the education system.
Teach the Future, a group dedicated to promoting environmental education is campaigning for the government to review the education system’s effectiveness in preparing students for the climate emergency and ecological crisis. They are urging policymakers to provide teachers with the necessary funding and resources to teach students about the effects of climate change.
They also strive to create a more sustainable education sector by making all new state-funded educational buildings carbon-neutral and achieving net-zero emissions by 2030. In addition, Teach the Future is advocating for a youth climate endowment fund to encourage and support eco-friendly fashion projects and ideas that contribute to the protection of the environment. Michael Heffernan, 33, from the Teach the Future campaign says climate justice can only be achieved once schools provide all children with the education necessary to understand the effects and the solutions to the climate emergency.
However, he acknowledges that this will be a difficult transition.“I think climate change should be a priority in schools, but I think we need to be careful about the information we share with children and the way we do it because it can lead to climate anxiety or even delude people about the possibility of change, which is why I think sometimes people stop talking about these topics.”
This is why independent extracurricular initiatives are so important. They help people familiarise themselves with climate change issues through entertaining and stimulating activities. One example is the UK School Sustainability Network (UKSSN) which promotes sustainability discussions in schools across the country. The founder, Jessica Tipton, has seen great results from children and parents attending events and panels on sustainability. She observed how these events have brought more parents to participate in climate-related activities. “We’ve seen positive results from schools that integrated sustainability into their programmes. It’s not just children getting better marks, but them having discussions about the climate with their parents and bringing them to participate in events and initiatives from the school,” says Tipton.
Some of the programs run by UKSSN include inviting students across the UK to attend events like the COP26 summit in Glasgow in 2021, where they gave talks and met with high-profile figures like the Secretary of State for Education and other youth leaders. Their presence in Glasgow gained successful media coverage and extremely good feedback from students. The organisation counts ongoing projects and initiatives with over 200 secondary schools and groups like UKSSN who are providing people with ways of understanding and protecting the environment, enabling them to take action and influence those around them. In this way, they are providing more than schools can currently offer, acting as a pilot to what the future education system could achieve.
“We need revolution when it comes to education, we need change and the government isn’t giving the kids the information and skills to prepare them for the future and to educate themselves on topics such as climate change, sustainability, carbon emissions and other environmental issues”, added Tipton. With research proving that environmental education boosts students’ awareness and influence, it’s no wonder there’s a push to make sustainability a cornerstone of UK school programmes. Lucy Eickmann from the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) believes it’s time for a shift in education to bridge the gaps and empower teachers to provide better sustainability education. She suggests this change should start with the government prioritising these topics in future education reforms.
“There are great resources out there and lots of organisations who are trying to link the curriculum to the wider picture. But we need huge change, and we need it now. We need to teach kids what’s going on so that they are prepared to go into their careers already with the knowledge,” says Eickmann.
A change in priorities
A group of students in 2020 put forward a proposal for educational reform, submitting it to parliament as a private member’s bill. The proposed bill calls for climate change education to be included in the national curriculum.
This year, the bill has surprisingly made it to its second reading in parliament with support from multiple political parties. However, experts caution that the bill is not expected to become law soon. The progress made, however, is significant and has opened the door to a necessary conversation about the importance of educating the younger generation on climate change.
Despite slow action from the government, schools are taking steps to update their programmes independently. A 2022 Public First report on climate change and sustainability education in schools reveals that over the next two years, more than six in ten headteachers plan to make their schools more sustainable and eco-friendly, and almost half plan to teach about climate change. Parents have welcomed these initiatives, with many of them reporting that climate change is the most important issue to their children.
While praising the efforts, Eickmann thinks there’s still room for improvement when it comes to integrating sustainability as a fundamental aspect of the national educational system. She emphasizes the importance of educating the younger generation about sustainability and believes it’s critical to creating a greener future.
“Change will come. We will get change. It’s already happening in education now. It’s slow and it takes time and effort. We need to speed up a bit,” she says. “Environmental education is key to driving change because we need young people to be empowered and drive change. So yes, I’m optimistic, but it takes a huge amount of force from individuals who are trying to push these topics and awareness,” she says. As a result, public and private financial institutions focused on climate change mitigation and solutions must be ready to act.
“While the progress made by schools and students is significant, there’s still a need for more action from policymakers and institutions to make meaningful change. As the world faces the impacts of climate change, the urgency to prioritize sustainability education is only growing, and it’s up to all of us to make a difference”.