New findings demonstrate the current curriculum contains severely out-of-date science and therefore risks misleading young people about the climate emergency.
Press release
Today, to coincide with GCSE results day, Teach the Future are calling on the government to teach climate change in an up-to-date, integrated and solutions-focused way.
As GCSE Geography students celebrate their results today, new findings demonstrate the current curriculum contains severely out-of-date science and therefore risks misleading young people about the climate emergency.
Published after a week of tumultuous weather, from heat spikes to thunderstorms, this TeacherTapp survey – organised by Teach the Future's host charity, Students Organising for Sustainability (SOS-UK) – found that:
- 72% of secondary level Geography teachers had covered the “positive impacts” of climate change in lessons, such as fewer winter deaths and increased tourism in the UK.
- Half of teachers are using KS4/GCSE Geography textbooks published between 2015 and 2019, before the declaration of a climate emergency in the UK.
GCSE student Io argues: “Currently, climate change is only taught in Science and Geography – where we learn about the “positive” impacts it has. There should be more of a focus on solutions as so many young people feel helpless or exposed to misinformation. Education is integral to addressing the climate crisis, as we are the generation inheriting this world so we have an innate responsibility to understand what has happened to it and how we can save it.”
Geography GCSE student Dylan adds: "Climate change is such a small part of my GCSE specification and only features in the ‘physical’ section. The obvious human causes of climate change are disregarded and not recognised as a definite fact– leaving it up to student interpretation. The lack of conviction in the specification could legitimise the false theory that climate change is natural and detract from the crucial message that urgent action is needed. In my eyes, good climate education should not concern itself with theories that were disproved many years ago, it should instead focus on the facts, followed by action.”
SOS-UK says that teachers currently have little choice over whether to teach this incorrect incomplete picture of science, as they’re tied to a curriculum that is reinforced by outdated textbooks schools can’t afford to replace and by exams that test students on these selective “facts”.
As Tom James, Current Head of Geography at an all-boys grammar school in Tunbridge Wells, explains: “Under the current curriculum, students are suffering both in their results and in ill preparation for their future education and careers. None of this is the fault of the teachers who are working with the curriculum they’re bound to, so there needs to be an overhaul of climate education.
The upcoming Curriculum and Assessment Review is the perfect opportunity for the new Government to ensure young people are taught about climate change in an accurate and solutions-focused way, bringing education in line with the latest science and the UK’s environmental targets.”
Former Geography teacher Alex Seal agrees: “It can be difficult to teach about the climate crisis as teachers don’t want to cause eco-anxiety, but there is currently an overlooked opportunity to teach students about green skills and jobs, thereby providing them with the agency to prepare for and transform their lives after school. There is also a missed opportunity in not integrating climate education across the curriculum, through food tech and maths for example."
Professor Sylvia Knight, the Royal Meteorological Society’s Head of Education, notes: “At a time when our understanding of how to deliver climate education is developing rapidly, it is vital that students recognise how climate change directly and indirectly impacts their lives. Commendable progress is already being made in the UK’s transition to net zero –renewable energy generation, EV uptake – that young people need greater awareness of to appreciate its relevance to their lives and careers.
"Several exam boards and publishers are in the process of checking and updating their resources using frameworks such as the one developed by the National Climate Education Action Plan. They must prioritise this work, promoting the delivery of high-quality climate education that allows students to apply their learning to current and future real-world situations, rather than just answer exam questions.”
Dr Fredi Otto, Senior Lecturer in Climate Science at the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment, says: “As a climate scientist, it is outrageous to hear secondary-school students are being taught the UK could benefit from a warmer climate. Learning about climate impacts can be daunting, but that doesn’t mean we should emphasise very small benefits for the few over the massive problem it causes for most of us and our society as a whole.
“There is so much hope. The curriculum needs to empower future generations to tackle climate change. Teaching children about the benefits of a warmer world is dangerous and misguided.”
SOS-UK advocates for an integrated, solutions-focused approach to climate education, ensuring it spans all subjects.
Teach the Future published it's Curriculum for a Changing Climate – a “tracked changes” review of how climate change can be addressed across England’s national curriculum.
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