Teaching about climate change: the perceptions and experiences of teachers

This paper is an exploration into teachers’ perceptions of raising climate change awareness among secondary students in England. The paper starts with the presentation of a summary concept framework of teachers’ views on teaching about man-made climate change, based on previous research. This is followed by an exploration, into the views of four current teachers working in schools in England. This is based on four interviews. This interview data is presented to provide insights from teachers’ voices, about teachers’ understanding of, and attitude towards climate change education. The paper also specifically explores teachers’ attitudes towards student activism. The conclusion reached is that teachers are aware of the importance of climate change education and supportive of student activism, possibly increasingly so, but find challenges with bringing this into the classroom. These challenges come from a pressurized curriculum and limited resources.