In response to the government’s strategy on climate and sustainability education, published on the 21st of April, the University of Reading pioneered climate and sustainability education within teacher training programmes.
Reading is dedicated to promoting better climate education in schools and colleges, bringing together its climate experts with its long history in teacher training. Working with government and partners, it has a National Action Plan on climate education, which emerged from the Climate Education Summit that it held in September 2021. As part of this, Reading has developed an Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Framework on Climate and Sustainability Education that embeds climate education and sustainability throughout its teacher training programmes. This work on developing expertise on climate and sustainability education aligns closely with the vision set out in the strategy. Action point 2 from the National Climate Education Action Plan states:
“All teacher trainers and initial teacher trainees should be able to access training that empowers them to effectively incorporate climate education within their teaching across all levels and subjects”.
In a previous blog, Climate education – global change through local action, Nasreen Majid wrote about how educators are motivated to make a difference and embedding quality climate education for all is at the heart of a sustainable future. Reading thinks that climate and sustainability education is a skill set that all teachers should have the opportunity to develop. The ITT framework for climate education and sustainability has been developed by academics at the University which aligns with the principles set out by the COP26 Universities Network working paper [Mainstreaming Climate Change Education in UK Higher Education Institutions], and the ITT climate education and sustainability framework sets out three core areas of development.
You can read more about this here.