Philippine E-Journals

The Teaching of Climate Change

MARIA ANTONIA CRUDO-CAPILI

Discipline: Education

 

Abstract:

This study determined the lived experiences of teachers in teaching climate change in the classroom. Four high school and four college teachers teaching different disciplines in a private university in Quezon City were enjoined to share their experiences in teaching climate change in the classroom. The study utilized henomenology as the method of research. Phenomenology uses lived experiences as empirical data to draw out the meaning of a phenomenon through a series of reflections.  The reflections reveal that teaching climate change is only incidental to the lesson. Teachers discuss it as they see fit; they have the option to teach or not to teach it. Teachers primarily learn climate change from media sources such as full-length films and TV documentaries. Some teachers acknowledge that their lack of knowledge on climate change delimits their teaching. Further reflection on the experiences reveals that the teachers are not quite sure if the students truly imbibed the value of taking care of the environment to lessen the effect of climate change. There is no continuity between what the students learn in school and what they practice in their homes. Teachers realize that they themselves have difficulty in doing the right thing in terms of taking care of the environment. In essence, knowing the right thing to do was not enough to bring about desired change.