1.1 Practical considerations

There are a number of practical considerations. Firstly, climate emergency-related teaching is a ‘discipline in the making’ in the sense that political, economic, social and scientific advances – and regressions – happen daily. Coming up with a fixed curriculum can be of very little use. Secondly, the syllabus is likely to already be overcrowded. Thirdly, as you’ve discovered, topics related to the climate crisis can be contested, perceived as political, and can divide opinion. And fourthly, there may be a need for hard-to-find specialist experience.

Alongside these practical challenges, when addressing curriculum infusion related to climate change, we are faced with conceptual and fundamental questions such as:

• Do I want to ‘teach about’ or ‘teach for’ climate change? In other words, do I want to integrate climate change into a curriculum to ‘teach climate change’ and enrich my learners’ knowledge? Do I want to develop my learners’ capacity to act to mitigate the crisis? Do I want to support my learners’ ability to adapt to the effects of climate change and lay the foundations for a more sustainable and resilient society? Or, do I want to achieve all of these things?
• Do I need to rethink the learning objectives of my curriculum?
• Do I need to change, add or omit concepts from my current curriculum?
• Do I need to readdress the existing framework of skills and competencies I want my learners to acquire?