Final word

Supporting young people as they prepare for a climate-altered future

Fact file

Dr Alison Kitson is an associate professor of education at IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society. She is the programme director of UCL’s new Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability Education. ucl.ac.uk/ioe

Climate strikes in 2019 PHOTO by Jess Hurd

IN 1856, an American scientist, inventor and women’s rights campaigner called Eunice Newton Foote warned the world about the impact of increased levels of carbon dioxide on global temperatures. Since then, calls to reduce carbon emissions, halt biodiversity loss and adopt more sustainable lifestyles have gradually increased, especially following World War II as the world’s population increased dramatically – as did our impact on the planet.

But it is only recently that these conversations have become mainstream as the effects of global temperature increases become more visible. What are the effects of these conservations – conducted via social media, in our homes, on the television – on young people?

What do young people think – and need?

We know that many young people feel anxious about the future. In a recent landmark study of 10,000 young people between the ages of 16 and 25 across ten countries, including the UK, more than half reported feeling extremely or very worried about climate change. Common words used by young people to express their feelings about climate change included sad, anxious, afraid, angry and powerless.

So how can we help young people? One answer is to consider how climate change and sustainability education is embedded in our schools. Practice varies across the UK but in England at least, climate change and sustainability education have a relatively low profile, with efforts tending to be driven by committed individuals. In research carried out for the new Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability Education at University College London (UCL), teachers and school leaders recognised the importance of these issues but cited time and lack of expertise as two major barriers to further engagement.

Free professional development

Young people need support to prepare for a climatealtered future and help in dealing with the worry and fear about what this could mean for them. Teachers also need support so they can be equipped to help their students. UCL’s new Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability Education will provide free, research-informed support for teachers that is subject and phase specific. No matter what age group and subject(s) you teach, the mission of the centre is to help you embed a response to climate change and sustainability meaningfully into your teaching.

This support will be easy to access and will take account of existing time and curricular constraints. It will focus on what you might teach and how you might teach it, with a careful eye on easing young people’s feelings of powerlessness and fostering their hope for the future.

Before we develop these opportunities, we need to hear from you. How do you view climate change and sustainability? Do you already engage with these topics in your classroom or do you feel they are unrelated to your role? What might help you to engage with these issues more in your teaching?

Please help us to develop the right support by completing our national survey at tinyurl.com/72ntvp2c. It will really make a difference to our work.