Queensland Teachers’ Understandings of Education for Climate Change

• Main Authors: Jennifer Nicholls, Robert B Stevenson
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: James Cook University 2015-04-01
• Series: eTropic: electronic journal of studies in the tropics
• Subjects: climate change education; teacher beliefs; queensland; northern australia; sustainability education
• Online Access: https://journals.jcu.edu.au/etropic/article/view/3362/3302

Teachers approach curriculum with complex experiences, ideas, beliefs, and values that shape the way they interpret and respond to curriculum documents. In the context of national and state curriculum frameworks and policies supporting education for sustainability (EfS), it is important to examine the role and influence of teachers’ beliefs about climate change and pedagogy on climate change education practices within their school classrooms. This paper examines teachers’ personal and professional beliefs about climate change and climate change education. Survey data from over 300 Queensland primary and secondary teachers were first analysed to identify teachers’ understandings and beliefs relating to the realities, causes, and consequences of climate change. Next, the data were analysed to illuminate how teachers conceptualise climate change education in terms of content and processes. This research is part of a larger PhD research project investigating teacher beliefs and climate change education.