Nearly three quarters of teachers lack training on climate change

17th March 2021

New research by Teach the Future, which EAUC is glad to be supporting, has revealed that 70% of UK teachers have not received adequate training to educate students on climate change, its implications for the environment and societies around the world, and how these implications can be addressed.*1 
 
The research, titled “Teaching the Future”, has found:

• 92% of teachers are concerned about climate change
• 41% say climate change is rarely or never mentioned in their schools
• Only 17% say climate change is mentioned in core subjects other than science and geography
• Just 5% of teachers say climate change is integral to many different aspects of the curriculum and teaching in their school

 
This research shows that current teaching on climate change is generally limited to science and geography, or sometimes not present at all.  Teach the Future, the youth-led campaign that commissioned the research says that this isn’t good enough and that climate change teaching should be across the whole curriculum.
 
This follows research in 2019 that discovered only 4% of English school students feel they know a lot about climate change. As the national curriculum has not changed since then, this  indicates significant inadequacies in the way climate change is currently being taught.*3
 
Dr Meryl Batchelder, a Science Teacher at  Corbridge Middle School in Northumberland with a PhD in Environmental Geochemistry, said:
"It is critical that climate change is a common thread through the curriculum. Not just in science and geography but in Food Science, RE, Maths, English and Art. Therefore, climate education for teachers is essential, so they have the confidence to broach the subject accurately, avoid the pitfalls and support their students sensitively."
 
The research also suggests that climate change is taught in a limited way. When asked how they could  frame climate change to interest their pupils, the majority (65%) of teachers say they could do this in terms of animals, nature and wildlife, but just 25% say they think they could cover the issue through careers and green jobs.
 
Meg Baker, Director of Education at Students Organising for Sustainability UK (SOS-UK), told the Environmental Audit Committee's Green Jobs Inquiry that improved education on climate change could help grow low carbon industries in the UK, as students could be equipped to make their future workplaces more sustainable.
 
Teach the Future recommends that to prepare our country for climate change, all students should be taught about its impacts and how they can be addressed.
 
Dorothy Joddrell, a student campaigner at Teach the Future, said:
“The purpose of education is to prepare young people for the future - at the moment it’s failing to do so. Our lives will be significantly affected by climate change, and our education should therefore prepare us to adapt to the climate crisis, empower us to contribute to its solutions and enable us to achieve climate justice.”
“To ensure all students can benefit from climate education, the government needs to make it a key part of the whole curriculum, not brush most of it aside to an optional subject.”
 
ENDS
 
For more information and interview requests (teachers and students available) contact Joe Brindle at 07484690017 joe@teachthefuture.uk.
 
Notes to editors

The full research, titled “Teaching the Future”, can be found at https://www.teachthefuture.uk/teacher-research
The password teacherpass will be required to access the page until the report is published on Tuesday 16th
The page includes:
A short summary report, with quotes from teachers, key statistics, and recommendations from Teach the Future
A key statistics document, with graphs and charts
If you want to publish any of this data, you are welcome to.
 If you want to have the visualisations exported in another format, please contact us.
The full data, including demographic information
 
Teach the Future is a youth-led campaign pushing for better climate education

The campaign was started by a group of secondary school students after the school climate strikes in 2019
They want:

• Climate change, sustainability and the environment to become key principles in all subject areas,
• Educators to be trained to teach about these difficult topics in a way that empowers students and to be given the funding and resources needed to do this,
• Include more green skills in vocational courses, particularly apprenticeships
• Education buildings to be made environmentally friendly and net-zero emissions.

 
Students Organising for Sustainability (SOS-UK) is an educational charity created by students and staff at the National Union of Students (NUS) in response to the climate emergency and ecological crisis. SOS-UK is the host organisation for Teach the Future, providing logistical support for the campaign.