Secondary Science Teachers’ Views and Approaches for Teaching for Climate Justice and Action

Envisioning action‐oriented and justice‐driven climate change education: Insights from youth climate justice activists

“…Still, CCE scholarship has identified several trends. In particular, in the United States, where climate denial, obfuscation and misinformation continue to hinder coordinated political action, US teachers tend to: spend little time, if any, teaching climate change; approach CCE in ways that align with their political orientation; have students debate 'both sides' of the issue due to a lack of awareness around scientific consensus; and rarely offer action opportunities-particularly beyond those emphasizing individual behaviour change (Borgerding et al, 2023;Khalidi & Ramsey, 2021;Plutzer et al, 2016;Plutzer & Hannah, 2018;Stevenson et al, 2023). Mainstream CCE in the United States is, at best, technically accurate, science-centric and depoliticized and, at worst, misleading or missing altogether-though important justice-oriented examples of CCE are beginning to emerge in states with progressive to conservative political climates (Borgerding et al, 2023;Kupetz & Buttimer, 2023).…”

“…Inside the classroom, youth envisioned a climate justice curriculum that would reach all students and position them as agents of change in advancing climate justice (Borgerding et al, 2023;Kupetz & Buttimer, 2023). Doing so, youth emphasized, would meet an existing, unmet and perhaps widespread need among youth who desire to be involved but lack the necessary tools to engage locally.…”