The burden of bad news: educators’ experiences of navigating climate change education

Abstract

Teaching about climate change should be a top priority for all education sectors. However, research to date suggests that climate change education is sparse and ad hoc across school contexts, is not mandated, and relies on the efforts of an impassioned few. Here, we present educators’ experiences of teaching climate change in Australian classrooms. We find that biases remain in educators’ perceptions of which discipline subjects are, and should be, responsible for teaching about climate change. We reflect on these apparent disciplinary siloes, and advocate for holistic approaches that cut across curriculum divides. Further, we reveal the challenges educators experience in navigating affective dimensions of climate change education. Finally, we recommend that professional capacity building opportunities be developed, alongside additional support services. We outline that such work does not require radical changes in education systems, and highlight that pedagogies already exist within school contexts and subject areas that can support effective and action-oriented climate change education for all.