CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Climate change is one of the most important environmental issues facing the world today. Providing adequate climate literacy to the next generation remains a challenge. Climate science has made a great progress in the last decade and also the climate system itself has shied towards a hotter state. The interdisciplinary climate science belongs to the Earth science. The subject of the climate change research consists of all Earth spheres including the anthroposphere. Basic principles of the climatic system are described by natural sciences – mainly physics, chemistry, biology and geology. Transformation of the climate science system into the didactic system is a great challenge because of its complexity. Formal education in the climate change topic requires a systematic approach, collaboration of teachers and a good coordination during the educational process. Currently, many countries aim to implement the climate change topic into their national curricula and to improve the eiciency of education towards a climate literate society. Some universities, governmental or non-governmental organizations have been monitoring attitudes of the public towards climate change. Several international studies have investigated the state of pupils’ and students’ understanding of global climate change related issues. Studies of this kind rarely focus on teachers, who ought to deliver the knowledge to the next generations within the frame of formal education.
The National Center for Science Education (NCSE) reports that American teachers often face pressure to teach “both sides” of the issue – meaning they are forced to teach also the non-scientific arguments denying anthropogenic causes of the global climate change. Education about climate change differs in each country. Uherek (2008) published a paper summarizing opinions of teachers on the state of the education about climate change in their countries. Generally, teachers assess the information presented to students as scattered and not comprehensive. The climate change topic has been included at the framework curricular documents in the Nigeria education system. But there are no official rules or recommendations on who should be in charge of teaching climate change at schools. The basics of the climate change belong to the system of natural sciences, thus schools can teach the topic at scientifically oriented subjects. Many aspects of the Earth climate system have been included in the curriculum and textbooks of different school subjects.
From such scattered information it is very difficult for the pupils to connect the dots and to understand how the climate system really works. The climate change topic is taught at several subjects and also in environmental education. The topic requires interdisciplinary approach and comprehensive materials. Teachers find the topic important, complicated and the lesson preparations time consuming. Over three quarter of the respondents assesses the currently available textbooks as insufficient and 87 % of the respondents seek for supplementary materials. The dominant majority of the respondents teach about the climatic cycles, influences of humanity on the climate and scenarios of the impacts of climate change. Students actively participate on the lessons. Teaching climate change topics requires climate literate teachers in the first place. Many organizations including NASA, NOAA, NSF have been providing grants to increase public awareness about global climate change and to improve the state of education by preparing extended curricula, educational materials and by educating primary and secondary school teachers