February 28, 2023

Source: Education Week

Three-fourths of teachers have not received any professional training or education on how to teach climate change—a fact that likely influences the extent to which they teach the subject and whether they do so in a way that’s accurate, relevant, and meaningful.

That’s according to a nationally representative EdWeek Research Center survey of 538 K-12 teachers in December, which probed into how teachers cover the topic that students say is of great personal interest and relevance to them. About 60 percent of teachers across grade levels and subjects say they have addressed the topic in some capacity with students, according to the survey. But the way they talk about it varies—and risks obscuring the scope of the problem.

About half of teachers say they talk about what students can do personally to lessen the effects of climate change, and 44 percent say they talk about how climate change will affect the future of the Earth.

Read more: Students Want Climate Change Education. Most Teachers Don’t Get Enough Training