Incorporating climate justice into formal and informal education, from K-16

Background/Question/Methods

In this presentation, I will share my experiences and perspectives as an Environmental Education researcher and teacher educator about why and how to include climate justice in K-16 education, for both formal and informal contexts. I will summarize best practices from the fields of climate change communication and environmental education for communicating with varied audiences about climate change. I apply these findings through my own work (Stapleton, 2019) which argues for the need to frame climate change as the most serious social injustice we face both domestically and globally. I will also share my experiences from teaching a course I recently designed for education undergraduates at the University of Oregon, “Teaching for Climate Activism,” as a case study for including climate justice into education.

Results/Conclusions

I will engage the audience in thinking about ways in which disciplinary framings, such as those typically employed by the field of ecology, can limit our ability to consider key dimensions of climate justice. We will consider collectively how to broaden disciplinary frameworks towards greater inclusivity and justice.