Trends and Perspectives of Climate Change Education in the Asia-Pacific

Abstract

Incorporating climate change education (CCE) into school education and teacher training is an urgent and challenging task. This chapter presents the trends and perspectives of school education and teacher education with regard to CCE, especially in countries of East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands. The basis for this attempt are discussions under the following headings: (1) global calls to accelerate CCE; (2) development of CCE in schools – leading projects and educational policies, curricula, and pedagogy; and (3) implementation of CCE in teacher education – educational programs and courses and an innovative project through collaboration in the Asia-Pacific. In conclusion, in order to mainstream CCE in schools and teacher education institutions, the first requirement is to develop a school education policy and guidelines on CCE and promote the incorporation of CCE into the curricula not only in science and social science subjects but also in the humanities. Additionally, new curricula should be flexible enough to be adaptable to local contexts. Second, pedagogical approaches that encourage behavioral changes in learners, such as learner-centered, inquiry-based, experiential, participative and collaborative, and inter- and transdisciplinary approaches, should be further disseminated. They must take into account the characteristics of climate change, including its inevitable unknowns and uncertainties, scientific complexity, and the difficulty in being recognizing it from personal experience. Finally, despite various obstacles to integrating CCE into existing teacher training, teacher education institutions should implement CCE strategies and develop educational programs and courses that would allow teachers to gain competencies as sustainability citizens as well as professional competencies for CCE.KeywordsClimate change educationEducation for sustainable developmentSchool educationTeacher education