Creating meaningful opportunities for children to engage with climate education

Abstract

In this chapter, I examine the relative merits of three different approaches to sustainability education in a way that aims to influence a sustained impact on social behaviour:
1. Adopting a school ethos of sustainability, for example through becoming an Eco school – an international programme that awards schools ‘eco status’ if they fulfill certain conditions relating to sustainability.
2. One-off activities or visits from local authority or activist groups.
3. Engaging children as ‘researchers’ on a project relating to climate change.
I conclude by considering the notion of courage and the challenge of teaching about serious environmental issues in the context of institutional cultures (e.g., public education) that are politically conservative and averse to controversy.