This paper gives an overview of the reality of climate changeeducation at universities in the world in general and at Hanoi National Universityof Education in particular. To do this, we: investigate climate change educationin some universities around the world; identify the problems they have beenfacing in taking action; analyze attitude and awareness and make suggestions onhow to address climate change education to prospective teachers at Hanoi NationalUniversity of Education.
Trang 1AN OVERVIEW OF CLIMATE CHANGE EDUCATION IN UNIVERSITIES
- A CASE STUDY IN HANOI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION
Tran Thi Thanh Thuy
Faculty of English, Hanoi National University of Education
Abstract.The world socio-economic, scientific and political community all agree
that human activities cause global climate change (Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change, 2007) The global climate change is the immediate need for
effective education about climate change Universities are places that nourish,
train, educate and monitor students as they learn about natural systems and human
activities Universities also engage students in research activities to encourage them
to learn science, understand climate change, contribute to climate change studies
and participate in local and international workshops, seminars and conferences
(Mugabe et al 2000) Therefore, climate change education should be integrated into
higher education curriculum, especially at teacher training universities, because
teachers play a vital role in inspiring and transferring climate change perceptions
to the next generation This paper gives an overview of the reality of climate change
education at universities in the world in general and at Hanoi National University
of Education in particular To do this, we: 1) investigate climate change education
in some universities around the world; 2) identify the problems they have been
facing in taking action; 3) analyze attitude and awareness and make suggestions on
how to address climate change education to prospective teachers at Hanoi National
University of Education
Keywords:Climate change education, university, training, approach
1 Introduction
As public concern about global climate change increases, climate change education for students of all ages has emerged as a critical issue Clearly, classroom education within the nation’s colleges and universities is an important dimension of an informed society that
is concerned about global climate change
Received January 25, 2014 Accepted June 9, 2014.
Contact Tran Thi Thanh Thuy, e-mail address: thanhthuydhsp@gmail.com
Trang 22 Content
2.1 Literature review
Maruf Sanni et al, (2010) proposed a comprehensive approach to climate change education and developed a triadic model of capacity building built around training, mentoring and networking:
Training consists of formal and informal organizations, non-governmental organizations, information flow and infrastructure Mentoring can be achieved by linking students with reputable scientists and policymakers who have an interest in climate change These mentors could help students plan and initiate projects and deal with any problems that may arise while the students are working on their projects Networking means to create a network within which students can interact with the experts and each other frequently
Roland Hergert, Volker Barth and Thomas Klenke (2010) wanted to develop a course for climate change education that would be an interdisciplinary and interfaculty subject In order to do this, students from different disciplines were asked at a relatively early planning stage about their favorite topics related to climate change within the 4th IPCC assessment report (AR4) which was chosen as the learning platform and information pool The next step was thus to find lecturers and academic tutors to meet the students’ interests They found it difficult to balance the availability and the balance of staff, research interests, expertise of lecturers, administrative regulations and the desired content
of physicists, geoecologists, economists and political scientists
In these 3 phases, students faced the difficulties in acquiring, selecting, and interpreting scientific information that was not familiar to them in order to present this information and their own findings to students To overcome these difficulties the students did their best to master the skills of interdisciplinary exchange and cooperation, understanding and reading climate reports and critical thinking
Trang 3Figure 1 Design and content of the course Roland Hergert, Volker Barth, and Klenke (2010)
2.2 Methodology
The author employed a combination of approaches to carry out this study Initially, the project was a form of analytical research The author used analyzed information that was available in order to evaluate the current situation Based on this subjective evaluation, the author looked for ways to include climate change education in the teacher education curriculum in Vietnam It was determined that applied research would be most appropriate to investigate the various research problems The author carried out 11 in-depth 15 minute interviews which were recorded for later analysis The interviewees were Vietnamese professors and lecturers of Hanoi University of Education who are also Australian Leadership Awards Fellows
2.3 Findings and discussions
Eleven lecturers and researchers in the faculties of biology, geography, history and English of Hanoi National University of Education were each interviewed for approximately 15 minutes The participants all have masters degrees, from 30 to 50 years old, have been teaching for the past 5 to 17 years Some hold leading positions in their faculty
Trang 42.3.1 Awareness and attitudes towards climate change education
Leiserowitz et al (2009) presented a broad spectrum of possible responses to climate change education in their study, from active engagement to complete dismissal, categorizing the responses as ‘alarmed’, ‘concerned’, ‘cautious’, ‘disengaged’, ‘doubtful’ and ‘dismissive’ The eleven respondents, referred to in this study by the fictitious names
of Dr Thuy, Dr Hoa, Dr Thinh, Ph.D candidate Duong, Dr Chien, Dr Hoang, Mr.Quyen (MA), Mr Tham (MA), Ms Bich (MA), Ms Tram (MA) and Mr Nhan (MA), have different levels of awareness of climate change in general and climate change education
in particular and some of them have a positive attitude towards climate change education
Dr, Thuy, the head of the biology faculty, views this issue as highly important because she believes that climate change is occurring, is human-induced and is a serious threat She indicated that if education action is not taken immediately, it will be too late Another interviewee, Dr Chien, highlighting the significance of teacher education, said that climate change education should be the concern of all governments, all stakeholders and all segments of the population “Climate change issues can not solved over night,” he stated, emphasizing that it is a whole-life process of many generations and only through education can people’s awareness be raised He also added that teacher education is one
of the fastest and most sustainable ways to expose climate change problems to more and more people Ms Bich said that she is cautious about the matter but she suggested that climate change education be instituted as early as possible As a psychologist in language teaching, she stated that this awareness should begin with kindergarten or primary education because routines which are shaped in the early stages of education are difficult to replace and, once good habits are formed„ it is easy to turn them into good actions “Climate change education calls for the involvement of not only the biology and geography departments but also active engagement of all departments throughout the university, especially those of the pre-school and elementary school,” she said
Other respondents were less enthusiastic Ph.D candidate Duong, for example, majors in zoology and biodiversity does get a lot of coverage in the world news He stated that he does not see any need for climate change education at all Although he
is in his 30’s he said that perhaps he is too young to be concerned about this matter and that such a subject should be a concern of his faculty leader He said that now is not the right time for him to take action and that he should focus on his own personal concerns At the same time, Ms Tram, an English teacher, said that she does not know much about climate change education She has heard something about climate change from television, the internet and newspapers but has never searched online under the term climate change, even though she is fully aware that global warming is currently a serious threat to humankind
2.3.2 Addressing climate change education with prospective teachers
Regarding how teacher education programs address climate change education, varied responses were recorded When asked if they thought that climate change education
Trang 5Mr Nhan and Dr Chien were all ’alarmed’ or ‘concerned’ about the climate change and they think that learning about climate change should be a compulsory course for every university student, no matter what their discipline, and it should be taught in the first two years of an undergraduate program as a foundation course They said that the more prospective teachers are exposed to climate change education, the more likely long-term intergenerational change in what people fundamentally believe in and do is achieved
In contrast, Mr Duong, Dr Hoang and Ms Tham do not want to see climate change taught to prospective teachers because students have so many other things to learn Therefore, climate change lessons should be optional They supposed that if students did learn about climate change they would become quite engaged in the course and undoubtedly the course would be a success Others think that climate change education
is only necessary for those who are learning subjects such as biology or geography and climate change courses should be an option for the rest of the students
With regards to current exposure to climate change education, all of the interviewees said that current environmental education programs in schools in Vietnam are ineffective As is common with most lessons in Vietnam, climate change lessons are delivered to students Students take notes, and there are no student-student or student-teacher interactions All of the interviewees said that they would like to see a manner of teaching that would be more practical For example, Dr Thien said he’d like to see students become more autonomous, search for information on their own, and present what they have learned in the class (a learner-centered approach) In such a situation, classmates share information and the teacher consolidates and confirm the climate change information “Field trips are useful”, he added “There is no better way to show students water pollution in rivers than to take the students to To Lich River and let them see and smell that water,” a history lecturer, Dr Chien, said, because “what students see is worth
a thousand pages”
Ms Tram and Mr Quyen said that the use of videos and documentaries provides
a vivid illustration of climate change Students may or may not take notes and they might have comments or want to discuss it later This, too, is an example of the learner-centered approach, which evokes student involvement and independence in acquiring new information
Another way to address climate change education was mentioned by Dr Thuy, Ms Tram and Dr Chien who suggested inviting leading expects to give lectures on the issue They would know how to convey facts and provide evidence about areas that they know
of personally In this way, students could get a sense of the impact of climate change
as something which is “happening around them and is not just something in books and newspapers” and “students would be motivated by their profound experience of listening
to lecturers,” Ms Tram said
Most of the respondents suggested that students take part in green activities such as
Trang 6planting and protecting trees around the university, inventing household or school objects from recycled waste and writing essays on the impact of climate change on their life These respondents emphasized that these activities should be held frequently and bear a climate change message In this way, students may change their behavior rapidly A geography lecturer, Ms Quyen, said that many people do not act because they are uncertain about the best course of action or they feel that they are not capable of doing anything that would be effective In the best case, this type of climate change education would enhance perceptions of self-efficacy and motivate people to learn more A message that fosters social interaction can attract individuals’ attention, promote retention of the message and encourage them to engage with the message Social interaction around climate change education may strengthen social capital and the bonds between individuals in a group In some cases, such interactions may encourage people to feel a stronger sense of community and social connection People who deny or reject the idea of climate change can be reached
by talking about topics they can relate to and consider a part of their social identity
3 Conclusions
3.1.Summary of the study
Most of the teachers that were interviewed were quite aware of the significance
of including climate change courses in teacher education programs As they say, if the university management board agrees to allow climate change courses and if they allocate funding for the courses, they like to see it begin immediately While the teachers do not agree on what should be done or how to do it, they all believe that climate change should
be taught and it should be practical rather than theoretical Verbally, they seem to be more action-oriented when it comes to climate change issues
3.2.Limitations of the study
This study is an outcome of a ten-week course about knowledge sector development
in response to climate change adaptation and mitigation The author holds the position of educator and is not a climate change expert Therefore, the article likely does not express some angles of climate change education in general and education for sustainability in particular In addition, the study made use of limited data Instead of using only 15-minute interviews, the researcher should have made use of survey questionnaires given to students who are studying climate change to get an overall picture of climate change education in Hanoi National University of Education
3.3.Suggestions for further study
As stated above, further research on climate change education should focus on both teachers and students Further research could be on designing syllabi either for climate change education or climate change integration Another way to examine climate change education would be to valuate current climate change education activities
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