Putting climate change at the heart of education: Is England's strategy a placebo for policy?

TY - JOUR

T1 - Putting climate change at the heart of education

T2 - Is England's strategy a placebo for policy?

AU - Dunlop, Lynda

AU - Rushton, Elizabeth

N1 - © 2022 The Authors.

PY - 2022/6/14

Y1 - 2022/6/14

N2 - In this article, we present an analysis of the draft Sustainability & Climate Change strategy for education and children’s services systems in England, produced by the Department for Education (2022a). Using critical discourse analysis, we juxtapose qualitative data collected from >200 youth teachers and teacher educators in the context of co-creating a manifesto for education and environmental sustainability (EfES). Through analysis of these two datasets, we evaluate the government’s proposals for climate education and sustainability. We find the strategy foregrounds economic concerns, with educational priorities driven by the ‘net zero’ policy agenda, and an over-reliance on increased science-focused knowledge and skills. The strategy suggests an absence of governmental responsibility and attention to the political dimensions of climate change. This is in contrast to stakeholder perspectives which see economic priorities as part of the problem and call for pro-environmental action at all levels, including from policy-makers. The strategy has a depoliticising effect as it introduces additional demands for teachers and schools without the associated enabling policy environment. We argue that the strategy runs the risk of becoming a placebo for policy, with the appearance of ‘doing something’ whilst failing to address the fundamental policy problem.

AB - In this article, we present an analysis of the draft Sustainability & Climate Change strategy for education and children’s services systems in England, produced by the Department for Education (2022a). Using critical discourse analysis, we juxtapose qualitative data collected from >200 youth teachers and teacher educators in the context of co-creating a manifesto for education and environmental sustainability (EfES). Through analysis of these two datasets, we evaluate the government’s proposals for climate education and sustainability. We find the strategy foregrounds economic concerns, with educational priorities driven by the ‘net zero’ policy agenda, and an over-reliance on increased science-focused knowledge and skills. The strategy suggests an absence of governmental responsibility and attention to the political dimensions of climate change. This is in contrast to stakeholder perspectives which see economic priorities as part of the problem and call for pro-environmental action at all levels, including from policy-makers. The strategy has a depoliticising effect as it introduces additional demands for teachers and schools without the associated enabling policy environment. We argue that the strategy runs the risk of becoming a placebo for policy, with the appearance of ‘doing something’ whilst failing to address the fundamental policy problem.

KW - Climate change

KW - England

KW - sustainability

KW - policy

KW - education

U2 - 10.1002/berj.3816

DO - 10.1002/berj.3816

M3 - Article

SN - 0141-1926

JO - British Educational Research Journal

JF - British Educational Research Journal

ER -