Teachers Perspectives on Difficulties surrounding the Teaching of Global Climate Change in Primary School

• Main Authors: Persson, Jannica, Thysell, Celina
• Format: Others
• Language: Swedish
• Published: Malmö högskola, Fakulteten för lärande och samhälle (LS) 2015
• Subjects: Climate change; hållbar utveckling; klimatfrågor; klimatförändringar; klimatoro; klimatundervisning i skolan; miljöarbete i skolan; miljödidaktik; miljöundervisning; sustainable development; lärare; svårigheter; Physical Sciences; Fysik
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-27485

To be educated in global climate issues can be challenging for pupils. This may contribute to anxiety and feelings of helplessness. Global climate change may also be a challenge for educators to convey to young learners, f-3. Educators can experience various problems when it comes to teaching about climate issues. The subject of climate change is a broad and complex area, according to the studied material in our thesis. Studies indicate that each individual's past experience and environmental approach represents a starting point and has an impact on the way to teach the subject. The purpose of this essay is to gain a wider knowledge of the difficulties that teachers describe when it comes to teaching about global climate issues in primary school. The question this thesis will be based on is the following: How do primary teachers reason about education in complex sustainability issues and pupils "climate worries?” In order to answer our question, we have performed an empirical study in form of a semi-structured interview. The empirical material consists of four interviews. To analyse our empirical work, we have used a content analysis. Because of the timeframe and access to schools to perform the interviews, our empirical data is limited. The result of our empirical data shows that teachers see difficulties, but also possibilities in teaching about climate issues. One possibility is that by getting to know your pupils and by being able to "read" their reactions, the teacher can plan their education in an effective manner. The results of our study and analysis also indicate that teachers believe that their pupils need to use their emotions, when they are learning about global perspectives like climate issues. A minor part of our study indicates that teachers training programme can be developed in the area around teaching about complex perspectives. This could be one step closer to a future where teachers and pupils create knowledge for sustainable development, together.