Taking stock of environmental education policy in England – the what, the where and the why

Governmentalities of climate change education in England: Perspectives from history, policy and position-holders

“…It builds upon previous historical accounts and policy analyses of environment and climate change related education (Gough, 2013;Laessøe, Schnack et al, 2009;Laessøe & Mochizuki, 2015;Sauvé et al, 2007;Stevenson, 2007). In so doing, it adds to previous examinations of environmental education in the UK and England (Blum & Husbands, 2009;Glackin & King, 2020;Goodson, 1993;Harris, 1991;Martin et al, 2015), thereby contributing a contemporary critique in light of the climate crisis. The main focus is on England, rather than the United Kingdom as a whole, thus acknowledging the devolved responsibility for education across the UK's four countries.…”

“…The first feature and an important finding to arise from this research, concerns the lack of policy attention being paid to climate change education, school based or otherwise, in England. This distinct lack of attention could reasonably be interpreted as signalling a low prioritisation of climate change education, thereby adding credence to Glackin and King's (2020) finding of a "general absence" of environmental education policy in England. The feature is explained, first, by discussing the international policies, then in relation to national policies and finally, regarding the curriculum.…”

“…That is to say, in education policy, the natural environment is largely 'othered'. Reiterating Glackin and King's (2020) finding concerning the environmental education policy landscape, my analysis found that the curriculum emphasises learning about the environment, more so than learning in the environment (Lucas, 1972), and whilst some position-holders' talked of learning in the outdoors or food growing, explicit advocacy for the natural environment or an alertness to its intrinsic value was missing. Hence, the policy landscape lacks an eco-orientation and indeed, it largely quietens or overlooks the natural environment.…”

“…The policy sample needed to be of sufficient breadth to enable identification of themes that were representative of the policy landscape, rather than offering an exhaustive account. However, in the absence of a clear climate change education policy or policy statement in England, and in the context of a 'muddled and deficient' environmental education policy landscape (Glackin & King, 2020), an appropriate sample was not immediately obvious. Accordingly, the sample was generated through a multi-stepped, iterative process.…”

“…Furthermore, Glackin and King (2020) point out that more hours of weekly curriculum time are devoted to science than geography and whilst many schools start GCSE study in year 9, many students might only study geography for two years.…”