Wicked from the Start: Educational Impediments to Teaching about Climate Change (and How Geography Education Can Help)

Abstract

Climate change is a wicked problem, defying simple resolution. Education in various forms and at various levels has sought to improve understanding and stimulate climate change action in young people. There exists, however, a certain wickedness in education systems as well that makes climate change education difficult to enact successfully. These include an unsupportive education environment where academic standards related to climate change are missing, the lack of an inquiry-based pedagogy that can be well-suited to investigating topics like climate change with no easy answers, and ill-prepared teachers who do not fully know both the physical science and social aspects of the topic. A review of education standards in the United States and the literature on the latter two issues is used to make the argument that it is the geography classroom that can serve as the best unifying space that is most supportive of holistic and meaningful climate change education. This future is possible should we be successful in amending standards, pedagogy, and teacher preparation.