A large part of our vision for INSE is identifying gaps in science education and finding innovative ways of filling those gaps. Our project lead, Eva Feldbacher and partner Gabriele Weigelhofer, along with Manuela Waberer and Lena Campostrini just published an article on ‘Identifying gaps in climate change education – a case study in Austrian schools’.
You can read the full article for free here:
Climate change is an issue that is at the forefront of science at the moment, and not just in ecology and environmental science but plays such an important role in health, society and economics.
And the roles humans have to play in the climate crisis is of significance. Anthropogenic activity is the key cause of climate change but motivation to mitigate these impacts is low. This could be due to non-linear effects of climate change. There is also a gap between individual’s perception of effects and the actual anthropogenic effect on the environment. Moreover, there is large scepticism towards climate change and denial is rife. These are important issues which need to be addressed.
In line with the vision of INSE, this article highlights the need to sustainably raise climate and scientific literacy and this can begin in schools.
This article addresses school student’s awareness of climate change on different levels of complexity. The case study aimed to determine whether school students are able to understand the relationship between anthropogenic activity and the effect this has on the climate and wanted to determine what might lead to an increase in climate-friendly behaviour.
Through workshops and surveys, active and longer engagement with the topic in school student’s was studied. An online survey revealed that while students had high fact knowledge of climate change, the idea of long-term relationships and interactions between climate change, environment and people, was poorly understood. The survey covered general knowledge questions on climate change, as well as regional impacts and specific effects of Austrian rivers as well as personal experiences, perceptions and behaviour on the topic. Tests compared student’s knowledge before and after the survey and revealed no significant differences but showed a general lack of awareness from students about certain topics related to climate change such as how Austria is impacted by climate change. The study also revealed that while students showed a generally positive attitude towards pro-scientific behaviour, they lacked motivation in active participation.
This study highlights the need for innovative educational approaches involving participatory, interdisciplinary, creative, digital, and hands-on methods. It is important to raise awareness for non-linearity and dynamic feedback loops in environmental change and modern education concepts should foster system-understanding.
An increased understanding of climate change should result in a greater willingness to participate in climate-friendly behaviour so a better curriculum in schools on climate change is key.
Together through INSE, and perhaps through your engagement too, we can “bridge the gap between knowledge and action”.