Climate education in core curriculum: A null curriculum of Elliot Eisner

Abstract

Climate change is one of humanity’s greatest challenges, and education is an important tool for combating it. However, despite obligations stemming directly or indirectly from international agreements, climate education is primarily provided outside the formal education system. This study aimed to investigate the presence and scope of climate education content, as well as the narrative of the environmental and climate crisis, in the core curriculum for secondary schools. Document analysis (content analysis) was used as the research method, according to a customized key comprising 100 keywords across 9 categories. The material subjected to the study was the core curriculum for post-primary schools (secondary schools, technical schools, and upper secondary vocational schools). All subjects of the core curriculum were included in the analysis, as climate change is related to not only natural sciences but also social sciences and humanities. The results of the analysis revealed the marginal presence of climate education in the core curriculum. The expression climate change appears only 4 times in the entire document, in one subject: geography. Out of the 100 codes describing the climate and environmental crisis, only 6 appeared in the document: climate change, sustainability, biodiversity, environmental disaster maintaining balance, and deforestation. These terms occurred in a context that was characterized by a narrative of skepticism about human responsibility for the current state of the environment and the potential risks of continuing to overexploit the planet. Conclusions: The current approach to climate education foisters a false, denialist environmental consciousness based on the belief “nothing is happening, everything is under control”. It fails to equip students with the necessary skills to address climate change and the environmental crisis. Thus, it can be considered as a null curriculum of Elliot Eisner.