Climate change content in Colombian schoolbooks

Abstract

Education plays a crucial role in addressing the climate crisis, with textbooks serving as influential vehicles for shaping societal perspectives and students’ competencies. However, in Colombia as in many countries worldwide, no prior research has delved into the portrayal of climate change in school textbooks. In this study, we analyze 41 natural science textbooks, examining their treatment of climate change in terms of quantity, related topics, scientific validity (i.e. in line with the state-of-the-art knowledge in climate sciences), uncertainty (i.e. introduction of more substantial doubts or controversies than the ones exposed by climate sciences) and the use of iconography and activities. The results indicate that textbooks inadequately cover the topic, allocating on average less than one page of text to it, with simplistic and sometimes misguided approaches that overlook complexities and contextual variables. Although we observed correct scientific validity and low uncertainty levels in general, 10% of the books have low validity scores and close to 30% contain worrisome uncertainty. The iconography utilized fails to bridge the subject matter with national students’ experiences and activities predominantly focus on rudimentary cognitive skills. In summary, despite certain positive aspects (e.g. low levels of climate denial), Colombian textbooks still require more climate change content with growing complexity, to move beyond their function as mere information sources on climate change and to transform into effective tools for facilitating interaction between knowledge and students’ real-world experiences.