10/10/2022

Climate education for schools in Jiangsu province

[Translate to English:] — In 2021, the climate change education courses were applied in three pilot schools in the province of Jiangsu.

In the Chinese province of Jiangsu, the IKI is contributing to bringing the topic of climate change and climate change mitigation into schools.

Climate education for schools in Jiangsu province

Record temperatures in the summer months, unprecedented rainfall and other extreme weather events have brought climate change to the attention of the general public. The measures we take today will determine the extent of global heating and trends in greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, they will also affect our capabilities to adapt to these changes and minimise the harm caused to the most vulnerable people in our societies. We therefore need to ensure we educate future generations about the causes and impacts of global climate change, because the implementation of effective solutions depends on an informed public.

China has also realised the importance of climate change awareness and has published a five-year National Plan for Addressing Climate Change (2014–2020). The plan also envisages the submission of corresponding action plans for introducing ‘climate change knowledge’ into schools and classrooms. Despite this recognition at national level, most educational activities in China have focused on the implementation and dissemination of policymaking to date – with an absence of up-to-date information on international climate education as well as suitable pedagogical techniques.

A climate change lesson plan

To address these problems, a project ‘Supporting the Climate-Friendly Development of Jiangsu Province Phase III’ was set up to develop a climate change lesson plan for primary and secondary school children in Jiangsu Province. This IKI project aims to help Jiangsu Province develop a comprehensive planning strategy for low-carbon industrial parks and local government.

This lesson plan, which takes into account local circumstances in Jiangsu province, aims to provide the next generation with an understanding of the impacts of climate change and to encourage them to become part of the solution. A secondary project aim is to cultivate values and behavioural patterns in schoolchildren oriented towards protecting the natural world, and to promote the sustainable development of the environment and society.

Putting it into practice: cooperation with pilot schools

With the aim of developing a suitable lesson plan on the topic of climate change, high-quality course materials on climate change from Germany and other countries were first analysed. Following this, ten teaching programmes on climate change were then developed in close collaboration with pilot schools in Jiangsu Province. All programmes reflect the national situation in China in general as well as the specific local situation in Jiangsu.

In 2021, the climate change teaching programmes developed were then introduced in three schools. These programmes simultaneously addressed the scientific understanding of climate change, the impacts of climate change on our day-to-day lives and the role that we ourselves have to play in reducing these impacts. Other disciplines such as geography, history and art were also integrated into the programmes with the aim of achieving a general improvement in students’ ‘climate competencies’. In addition, the programmes were also intended to give children insights into a green, low-carbon lifestyle.

Ecoedu – the climate education app

Based on this programme, a climate education app, dubbed ‘Ecoedu’, was developed. Since November 2021, the app has been available to educators for incorporating into their climate change lessons. Ecoedu is targeted primarily at primary school children and has proven very popular among teachers. The app offers schoolchildren access to a comprehensive, up-to-date and wide-ranging body of popular science teaching materials that help them to understand the scientific background. Ecoedu has also raised awareness among pupils and awakened their interest in climate change issues while promoting changes to their future lifestyles and behaviour.

Lessons learned from the pilot phase

Trialling the lesson plan in the pilot schools helped the project to gain insights into additional improvements for future policymaking proposals.

As a first step, climate science basics should be integrated into core subjects such as the natural sciences or mathematics. Concepts such as radiation or temperature can be included in natural science lessons, for example, so as to ensure that the topic of climate change is integrated as a permanent and effective component of China’s overall national curriculum.

As a second step, training courses should be initiated that help local teaching staff to develop their own lesson plans on the topic of climate change. These courses should be produced according to the principle of ‘by educators – for educators’, meaning that teaching staff should be included as part of lesson plan development. One approach could be to set up a working group that not only includes specialists in educational research and lesson plan development, for example, but also brings in experienced teachers. To ensure that lesson plans also fit into the bigger picture within China, stakeholders such as government entities, publishing houses and non-governmental organisations should also be consulted.

Third, a database of teaching resources on the topic of climate change (and which appropriately account for local circumstances) should be set up, so as to provide educators with resources and course materials such as sample lessons, materials for training teaching staff and guides to possible activities that pupils can engage in. Last but not least, capacity building is also essential in order to drive the step-by-step process of building a team of ‘climate change educators’ and a database of teaching materials with a local focus.

Outlook

In early 2022, the IKI project signed a memorandum of understanding with the Nanjing Jiangbei New Area Educational Agency concerning the establishment of a pilot school for carbon peaking and carbon neutrality . One aim of the intended partnership is to introduce local schools to the climate change lesson plan. In addition, the completed lesson plan was also provided as reference material to local government institutions in Jiangsu Province, such as the Changzhou Development and Reform Commission in Changzhou, for example, a city located between Nanjing and Suzhou.

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