Abstract
Meeting the global challenge of preventing global temperatures rising by more than two degrees Celsius by the end of the century is not going to be easy. With the majority of carbon emissions coming from the developed nations, there is an onus of responsibility on these nations to support the developing nations, who have contributed the least. This would be a significant step towards delivering climate justice. This article demonstrates that gaining traction and support for climate justice can be achieved through the power of education, by translating contemporary research for children, connecting them with it and embedding them in it. Working with 154 primary school children in Glasgow, this article provides: (1) an overview of a climate justice research project, Water for ALL, which was conducted in Malawi and Zambia; and (2) reflection on the challenges of translating the research findings for use in the classroom so it becomes not only meaningful but personally engages children with current issues of climate in/justice. Our findings highlight that it is possible to connect children not only with a complex topic, but also with research findings through the development of practical learning classroom exercises. Arriving at those classroom exercises is a 'process' that requires putting the research through a process of translation and communication before it can be shared with children. The interface between research and education lends itself to the power of practically based science-led education. As shown in this example, the Water for ALL research project has given the school children a sense of 'ownership' of climate change and climate in/justice, to the extent that they can highlight their role and contributions to addressing the climate challenge.
Highlights
The world’s most developed nations, who through centuries of high carbon emissions have contributed most to climate change, have a moral responsibility to help less well-developed nations (Roberts and Parks, 2006; Shue, 2014)
Working with 154 primary school children in Glasgow, this article provides: (1) an overview of a climate justice research project, Water for ALL, which was conducted in Malawi and Zambia; and (2) reflection on the challenges of translating the research findings for use in the classroom so it becomes meaningful but personally engages children with current issues of climate in/justice
There are a number of mechanisms for doing this, such as clean technology development, mitigation and pursuing climate change law and litigation; or it can be achieved by strengthening knowledge between the disciplines of social justice and climate science to bring a more humane and climate-just approach to tackling climate change and conserving the environment through education
Summary
The world’s most developed nations, who through centuries of high carbon emissions have contributed most to climate change, have a moral responsibility to help less well-developed nations (Roberts and Parks, 2006; Shue, 2014). She postulates that consideration needs to be given to climate change as being not just about the environment – there is a need to more consistently bring the social justice concerns into focus with the larger picture It is with this in mind that this paper describes the challenges faced by, and the processes adopted by, the Caledonian Club (which is a Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) widening participation to higher education hub) to connect the findings of a research project called Water for ALL, conducted in Malawi and Zambia, with Scottish communities via the GCU Caledonian Club Schools initiative. 36 Nathan Tagg and Tahseen Jafry project on climate justice (Water for ALL) to educational/learning resources for primary school children and address the following research question: to what extent can researchers and engagement experts come together in harnessing the transformative power of education to deliver climate justice, drawing on children’s agency as catalysts for change?.
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