More than half of teachers in England are in favour of teaching children to take direct action against climate change and break the rules to make their point, according to a new survey.
The research, led by the University of Bristol, is the largest of its kind in the UK and involved asking 626 primary and secondary teachers across England their views on climate change education.
Results revealed teachers believed almost unanimously in an action-focussed climate change curriculum incorporated across subjects, starting with conservation projects in early primary school. The majority (54 per cent) also believed this should extend to participation in civil disobedience at secondary school.
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Lead author Paul Howard-Jones, Professor of Neuroscience and Education, said: “Teachers want their students to be informed in how they think and what they do about the climate emergency. They are ready and willing to move forward with radical, action-oriented programmes of education that can help students drive our response to climate change.”
The study, published today in Environmental Education Research, also found that around three-quarters (72 per cent) of respondents were already teaching or talking about climate change with their students, compared to less than half (42 per cent) of teachers in the US, according to a recent Ipsos survey.
Generally, the data suggest teachers are more aligned with scientific opinion regarding the urgency and seriousness of the climate crisis than their US counterparts. Almost all (97 per cent) teachers surveyed in England believed climate change was caused by humans, compared with only 39 per cent of teacher respondents in the US. Almost one in five (19 per cent) of teachers in England thought climate change was more important for further funding than STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) subjects and second only to basic literacy (42 per cent). This is almost four times the number of teachers in the US who would prioritise climate change (5 per cent).
Source: University of Bristol
