Once. That’s how many time’s climate change is mentioned in the draft new syllabus for the geography GCSE exam. Although this was revealed last week by England’s education secretary Michael Gove, this isn’t the only disappointing environmental education news we’ve had this year. In March, the government also announced that it plans to drop references to sustainability and climate change from the curriculum for under 14’s – another move which has been opposed by UK Youth Climate Coalition.
According to UK Youth Climate Coalition, students won’t have the opportunity to explore wider issues like sustainability because Gove is determined to restructure education on a more factual basis. However, environmental wellness experts have argued that the subject of climate change and sustainability are crucial topics for the education of future generations, as these changes may risk diluting sustainable development in schools. Charities and non-profits have spent years trying to encourage and help schools to integrate energy into education, making sustainability and energy efficiency part of the learning experience.
Anna Birney from Forum for the Future, a non-profit group promoting sustainable development, explains, ‘The UK has been ahead with the sustainability school agenda, but I’m worried that they’re now stripping back the work that we’ve spent 10 years developing with the schools. Putting solar panels on the roof of a school building can be a way to show children how much energy can be saved, but teachers can also use it as an engagement tool for lessons in science and maths.’
These charities and experts aren’t calling for lessons dedicated solely to the environment and energy – they’re not necessary. Knowledge about these issues can be diffused in core subjects, such as maths, science and literacy. As part of a literacy lesson, students from Worcestershire and Warwickshire schools wrote letters to their local MP to voice their concerns about climate change and the environment. Schools who take such measures have shown positive results on Ofsted reports, even improving children’s marks and attitudes towards learning in general. Environmental wellness is a real life issue which, according to Birney, gets children interested, as they are excited by the prospect of making a change.