225
Peer Pressure
The pressure to follow cultural trends including the unsustainable use of technological hardware is becoming an increasing issue for education institutions. As students
are trapped in an ‘unsustainable value system’ (Aleixo et al. 2016), thus far climate
education has been unable to address the peer pressure to follow unsustainable cultural trends, including the desire for the newest phones, computers or clothing.
Creating an identity around sustainable behaviours and integrating innovative
methodologies for climate action can assist educators and key actors in addressing
these issues with students. For instance, the prevalent use of technology, whilst
represented as a social issue, can also serve as an opportunity in the sustainability
movement. A case in point is the ‘OLIO’ (The Food Sharing Revolution 2019), the
Tinder-like food sharing app. Through connecting neighbours and friends with local
shops and cafes, they promote food sharing and the reduction of food waste. As a
result, they are using the power of technology to encourage reduced consumption
for the promotion of a more sustainable future (‘OLIO – The Food Sharing
Revolution’ 2019).
Build Capacity to Educate on Climate Change
As climate change has been assigned a plethora of definitions and approaches
(Suleri and Cavagnaro 2016), students can often only relate through their own experiences and contexts (Nazir et al. 2011; Sidiropoulos 2014). As a result, climate
change is often perceived as an abstract theme, which is too difficult to act upon.
This opinion is principally exacerbated by educator’s limited ability to effectively
teach climate education (Pfister et al. 2016).
Climate action generally occurs through student inquiry regarding their firsthand experiences and encouraging learners to find their own relevant resolutions. As
a result, educators should be applying innovative teaching methodologies, which
promote these relevant context-driven solutions. In contrast, educators generally
provide students with ‘one-size-fits-all’ solutions, which only widen the gap
between climate education and action. Further barriers to effective climate education include the ambiguity of the notion of climate change (Aleixo et al. 2016), lack
of funding for both climate and sustainability education (Steele 2010), limited educators’ knowledge and training on climate change (Madueno et al. 2015; Martin and
Carter 2015), hierarchy issues that prevent free discussion of ‘taboo’ climate-related
matters including family planning (Nazir et al. 2011) and overcrowded
curriculums.
Regardless of the context, educators must be equipped with essential knowledge
to facilitate climate action integration into the curriculum. This will facilitate efficient student capacity building, developing practical skills to action climate education and forge more sustainable lifestyles. An early step in equipping educators to
do this would be to examine existing barriers to climate action within the current
curriculum. This is warranted to better understand the challenges and opportunities
arising from the interactions between students, curriculum, school policy and other
impeding factors in the transition from climate education to action. Other examples
of issues and possible ways to overcome existing barriers are presented in Table 14.1.
14 SDG 13 Climate Action
Peer Pressure
The pressure to follow cultural trends including the unsustainable use of technological hardware is becoming an increasing issue for education institutions. As students
are trapped in an ‘unsustainable value system’ (Aleixo et al. 2016), thus far climate
education has been unable to address the peer pressure to follow unsustainable cultural trends, including the desire for the newest phones, computers or clothing.
Creating an identity around sustainable behaviours and integrating innovative
methodologies for climate action can assist educators and key actors in addressing
these issues with students. For instance, the prevalent use of technology, whilst
represented as a social issue, can also serve as an opportunity in the sustainability
movement. A case in point is the ‘OLIO’ (The Food Sharing Revolution 2019), the
Tinder-like food sharing app. Through connecting neighbours and friends with local
shops and cafes, they promote food sharing and the reduction of food waste. As a
result, they are using the power of technology to encourage reduced consumption
for the promotion of a more sustainable future (‘OLIO – The Food Sharing
Revolution’ 2019).
Build Capacity to Educate on Climate Change
As climate change has been assigned a plethora of definitions and approaches
(Suleri and Cavagnaro 2016), students can often only relate through their own experiences and contexts (Nazir et al. 2011; Sidiropoulos 2014). As a result, climate
change is often perceived as an abstract theme, which is too difficult to act upon.
This opinion is principally exacerbated by educator’s limited ability to effectively
teach climate education (Pfister et al. 2016).
Climate action generally occurs through student inquiry regarding their firsthand experiences and encouraging learners to find their own relevant resolutions. As
a result, educators should be applying innovative teaching methodologies, which
promote these relevant context-driven solutions. In contrast, educators generally
provide students with ‘one-size-fits-all’ solutions, which only widen the gap
between climate education and action. Further barriers to effective climate education include the ambiguity of the notion of climate change (Aleixo et al. 2016), lack
of funding for both climate and sustainability education (Steele 2010), limited educators’ knowledge and training on climate change (Madueno et al. 2015; Martin and
Carter 2015), hierarchy issues that prevent free discussion of ‘taboo’ climate-related
matters including family planning (Nazir et al. 2011) and overcrowded
curriculums.
Regardless of the context, educators must be equipped with essential knowledge
to facilitate climate action integration into the curriculum. This will facilitate efficient student capacity building, developing practical skills to action climate education and forge more sustainable lifestyles. An early step in equipping educators to
do this would be to examine existing barriers to climate action within the current
curriculum. This is warranted to better understand the challenges and opportunities
arising from the interactions between students, curriculum, school policy and other
impeding factors in the transition from climate education to action. Other examples
of issues and possible ways to overcome existing barriers are presented in Table 14.1.
14 SDG 13 Climate Action