Sigtuna Think Piece 4: Climate Change Education in Relation to Selective Traditions in Environmental Education

Abstract

In this paper the development of climate change education is related to three traditions of environmental education in Swedish schools: fact-based, normative and pluralistic traditions. These traditions are discussed from two perspectives; first that climate change is a political concept connected to different interests, ideologies, priorities and strategies; and second that compulsory education has democratic responsibility and should be carried out using democratic working methods to prepare pupils for active participation in civic life. It is stressed that the pluralistic approach has many advantages as it recognises the political dimension of environmental and sustainability issues and the same time, strives to avoid the risks of indoctrination by promoting students’ critical thinking and their democratic action competence. Finally the paper recognises a number of questions important to address in further research such as the relativistic attitude of a pluralistic approach and the meaning of such an approach in educational practice.