Teaching children’s rights and climate change with the support of Act for Climate web-based learning environment

Abstract

This article presents an effort to integrate the issues of climate change and children’s rights into the Greek primary school curriculum through the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs). The curriculum Act for Climate was developed through the lens of children’s rights and with the support of a web-based learning environment (WBLE). The overall aim was to encourage young learners to take action in addressing the climate change phenomenon. The structure of the WBLE was based on the principles of the ExConTra learning paradigm (experiencing, conceptualising, transforming), which empowers learners for active citizenship. The activities integrated within this application are directly connected to the Greek primary school curriculum and use a cross-thematic and interdisciplinary curricular approach. A number of learning objects and ICT tools, most of which originated from the Web, were used as scaffolds in order to advance the issues of food, water, education, health, gender equality, and a clean and healthy environment as basic needs and human rights in connection to climate change education for sustainable development.