Ethnic Diversity and Climate Change Education in Malaysia

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Climate change is increasingly recognized as a critical global environmental challenge, garnering more attention and discussion each year. This escalating urgency highlights the need for collective action and comprehensive solutions to address its far-reaching impacts. This issue bridges the roles of human values and the involvement of every segment of society. Malaysia is no exception as a multicultural nation with diverse ethnicities, cultures, and religions. In this context, the role of ethnicity emerges as a critical field for consolidating a holistic understanding of climate change education in Malaysia. The practice of environmental conservation, which includes mitigation and adaptation strategies to global impacts, requires an understanding of ecological citizenship to contribute positively to local and global environments. Therefore, global competence (knowledge, skills, cognitive values) related to climate change education is essential to be instilled in every society, especially from the school level. The idea of citizenship in Malaysia needs to be examined, particularly concerning issues of ethnic competition and related concepts. This study also provides insights into the sociological perceptions and differing ideas from various nations and their effects on the global competence of multi-ethnic students in Malaysia. The aspect of ethnic diversity and climate change education discusses the concept of ‘nations-of-intent,’ examining the global competence of multi-ethnic students through citizenship education, with a focus on knowledge, awareness, cognitive and social skills, as well as attitudes towards addressing global issues, particularly climate change. Thus, citizenship education must respond to the contextual challenges posed by the multi- ethnic nature of society to achieve a comprehensive understanding and development of global competence regarding climate change education in Malaysia.