Earlier this year, for example, we heard from Johnny Ball, the veteran children's television presenter, who claimed that pupils are being made to watch films about climate change at school which are "unscientific, alarmist nonsense". I asked him, and the Department of Education, to expand on this - and I also asked readers to provide examples - but I wasn't exactly overwhelmed with concrete evidence of this actually being the case. (Ball was also in talks earlier this year with the Global Warming Policy Foundation about producing a report that would investigate the teaching of climate change in British schools, but, to date, nothing has been published.)
But now we do have something a little more concrete to discuss. Over the coming weeks, secondary schools across Wales will receive a new teaching resource aimed at key stage 4 pupils (14-16 years old):
A new bilingual educational resource developed by academics at Cardiff University to help Welsh secondary schools deliver stimulating lessons about climate change has been launched.
The Climate Change Educational Resource Pack for Key Stage 4 explains the scientific basis of climate change and explores how changes in climate change could impact citizens of Wales. In particular it looks at how citizens could adapt to living in a different climate.
Aimed at pupils and teachers, the multidisciplinary pack is tailored to meet the requirements of the Welsh national curriculum. It will be distributed to at least 100 secondary schools in Wales to help teachers deliver high quality, balanced information and inspire young people to adapt their behaviour to ensure their future sustainability.
Although the focus is on Wales, this packs draws on examples from all over the world and covers everyday issues such as how food supply, settlement, transport and health may be affected. Read the full report here.
Source: Leo Hickman, guardian.co.uk.
