Dealing with climate change as a wicked issue via innovative approaches

Abstract

As this is stressed in the international legislation and research, climate change is a serious global problem that has a negative impact on the quality of life which needs solutions at both global and local levels. The chapter reflects on good practice of integrating innovative pedagogical approaches dealing with a climate change as a complex and wicked issue in a blended university study course: “Educating for sustainable social and cultural changes” at the Master’s program level. The course is carried out at a regional University and highlights a promising practice of engaging students as transformative actors in their local contexts for initiating sustainable changes. It was concluded that the climate change issue needs to be dealt with as a wicked problem within a sustainability framework, and it needs to become an integral part of learning for a sustainable development. By learning about climate change, students acquired not only knowledge but they developed competencies to adopt sustainable lifestyles leading to a climate-resilient and sustainable behavior. The authors believe that a sustainable development requires changes in the way people think and act, and they see education playing a critical role in teaching relevant skills for the application of change in this issue.