The latest report from the World Meteorological Organization states that 2023 will be the hottest year on record, with the global average temperature 1 above pre-industrial levels4℃；Levels of greenhouse gases are at an all-time high, and atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide are already ...... 50% higher than they were in pre-industrial timesAt the 6th World Education Frontiers Forum, which was held recently, these data aroused the attention of participants. Experts and scholars from the field of education asked: Responding to climate change has become the top priority for mankind, how can we play the role of education to mitigate and adapt to climate change?
Climate change is encroaching on our daily living space, with high temperatures and extreme weather events stealing time for comfortable living, safe outdoor activities and productive work. Gong Peng, vice president of the University of Hong Kong, believes that climate change education should start from children, teach children the knowledge of climate change threats to health, start with the knowledge of health protection in response to high temperature and heat waves, and gradually increase the knowledge of systematic response to climate change.
Yue Wei, a professor at the School of Education at Central China Normal University, agrees. In his view, addressing climate change is not only a scientific and social issue, but also an educational issue, and the education industry must take active action, "The value proposition of education to respond to climate change is to mitigate and adapt to climate change."
However, there are still serious challenges in climate change education.
Yin Houqing, vice president of the 8th Council of the Chinese Society of Education and president of the Shanghai Society of Education, conducted a survey of 236 primary and secondary schools in Shanghai. He found that a total of 400 science projects were designed in the schools surveyed for project-based learning, and about 20% of the projects were related to the environment, which is a high proportion overall. But only 2 projects related to climate change are available5%, which is a very low percentage.
According to a UNESCO survey of 58,280 teachers in 144 countries this year, less than 40 per cent of teachers surveyed are confident in teaching about climate change. Teachers are the key to the implementation of climate change education, but the teachers surveyed generally lack the necessary knowledge, resources and teaching training related to climate change education, and it is difficult to effectively implement climate change education in the classroom.
Deborah Nusa, a senior analyst at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), also found that science teaching in some countries has not been "updated" in the past 10 years, is out of touch with real science practice in the real world, and is even becoming more and more "outdated". In her view, science education plays a vital role in nurturing future scientists, so attracting and supporting students to pursue further studies in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) fields is key to strengthening green development.
In areas with a strong atmosphere of test-oriented education, how to carry out education in a subject that seems to be not directly related to higher education and test-taking, such as "climate"?Li Shengbing, dean of the School of Educational Sciences at South China Normal University and executive director of the Center for Hong Kong and Macao Studies, threw out this question. "How to implement climate education is a big question," he said”
Pei Qing, an associate professor at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, has long been engaged in climate change education and research. In his teaching practice, he has found that when talking to students about global climate change, they often feel very far away from themselves. When learning about climate change, it is difficult for students to appreciate the traces of climate change, and "there is often a sense of powerlessness".
How to shorten the distance between students and climate change education, effectively promote climate change education, and improve the scientific literacy and humanistic feelings of young people are issues that need to be considered in climate change education. Pei Qing said.
Yue Wei believes that climate change education involves meteorology, geography, physics, chemistry, sociology, economics, political science and other disciplines, and the implementation of climate education should move from a single discipline to multidisciplinary integration, and give full play to the unique advantages of different disciplines to achieve the effect of collaborative education.
Student-centered experiential teaching and learning are most effective for climate change education. These pedagogies allow students to connect with the real world and develop their creativity to find solutions to problems from different perspectives. Yue Wei said.
Yoon Houqing also holds the same view. He believes that climate education is not only about teaching people the skills to deal with climate change in their lives, but also about enabling students to develop the values they need to adapt to climate change, so as to drive behavioural change. In the construction and implementation of climate change education courses, the theme-based learning method promotes learners to move from knowledge learning to understanding learning, and then connects with life on this basis, so as to improve the ecological civilization literacy.
Our earth is not inherited from our parents, but borrowed from our children. Cheng Jieming, former vice president of the University of Hong Kong, chairman of the World Education Frontiers Forum, and a member of the China Education 30 Forum, said that saving the earth requires joint efforts, and hopes that young students can change the environment for future survival through their own actions.
China Youth Daily, China Youth Network Intern Reporter Li Ruixuan Reporter Qiu Chenhui **China Youth Daily.
*: China Youth Daily.