The challenges of teaching climate change within the school science curriculum

The issue of climate change is a critical topic.  In particular, for the current generation of school age children, who need to be fully informed with the facts. However, in the English national secondary curriculum climate change may not follow a coherent path as it is currently spread over various subjects. For example, the evidence for climate change placed in the Science curriculum and the impact in Geography.

The argument has been made that the teaching of the causes and impacts of climate change should go beyond a basic understanding of how the climate system works. Within the Science curriculum, climate change is placed into the end of the GCSE Chemistry (ages 14-16) topics within a section on the Earth’s Atmosphere. The allocation of curriculum time within the exam syllabus suggests that no more than three hours teaching time should be used.  Another issue it that as Geography is not compulsory from the age of 14, the impacts are often taught well before the causes and the evidence. 

With the topic of climate change appearing at the end of the Chemistry GCSE curriculum, the implication is that it should be taught at the end of the course in year 11 (age 16).  A major barrier to the delivery is that in England, 32% of schools have insufficient numbers of Chemistry teachers. This shortage of chemistry teachers means there is a strong possibility that a non-specialist will be teaching climate change. Many schools move the topic into year 9 (age 14) as it perceived as easy to teach and easy for the students to understand. However, in the textbooks for example, where it is placed near the end of the book, the topic brings together concepts such as combustion and hydrocarbons.  These are concepts that the students have not yet been taught at the beginning of their GCSE course and so they may not be able to fully understand the evidence and causes for climate change at that stage.

The new Natural History GCSE, which is planned to be offered from 2025, will address some of the issues, but it will be a non-compulsory subject.  It has been suggested that leaving environmental education to non-compulsory subjects and to the final years of secondary education tells the students that it is not important and is not something they need to know.   The other major issue is that schools will only be able to offer it if they have the staff with a background in biology, geography and chemistry.  As there is already a increasing shortage of teachers in these subjects, it would appear unlikely that many schools will be able to introduce it in the near future.