Policy Dialogue: Teaching Environmentalism on a Warming Planet

Abstract As the world reckons with the existential threat posed by climate change, the US remains deeply divided about the need for action. The solution to this problem, many have argued, begins with teaching environmentalism in primary and secondary schools and fostering receptivity to environmental issues and environmental science among the next generation. This strategy, of course, comes with its own set of challenges. Where does climate change fit in the school curriculum? What can teachers do in their classrooms to mitigate the influence of partisan politics? How can an abstract global phenomenon be made real at the local level? If K-12 education has a role to play in the broader project of environmental conservation, such questions need to be answered. For this Policy Dialogue, the HEQ editors asked Zeke Baker and Hunter Gehlbach to explore the challenges and opportunities inherent in educating the next generation about climate change, drawing on analogues from the past and scholarship from the present to help us better understand the future. Gehlbach is a professor and vice dean at the Johns Hopkins University School of Education. Thanks to a mid-career fellowship from the Spencer Foundation, much of his research focus has shifted toward investigating how social psychological approaches might improve environmental education. Baker is an assistant professor of sociology at Sonoma State University. His research explores the development and use of climate science, especially insofar as climate knowledge is embedded in social relationships of power. HEQ Policy Dialogues are, by design, intended to promote an informal, free exchange of ideas between scholars. At the end of the exchange, we offer references for readers who wish to follow up on sources relevant to the discussion.