Justice-Centered Climate Change Pedagogy Through Placed-Based, Student-Driven Action Projects

University Of California-Berkeley, Berkeley CA

Investigators

Abstract

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2). In US classrooms, climate change teaching is primarily focused on scientific, rather than social or political, understandings of the causes and consequences of climate change or environmental justice. However, worldwide, students from Black, Indigenous, and other Communities of Color bear a disproportionate brunt of environmental burdens and poorer health outcomes resulting from those burdens compared to their peers. Justice-centered climate pedagogy, inspired by Morales-Doyle’s (2017) concept of “justice-centered science pedagogy,” serves as an opportunity for students to become “transformative intellectuals,” learning about both the science and social context surrounding the climate change issues impacting their communities. However, there are significant barriers to implementing justice-centered climate pedagogy in terms of teacher preparedness, lack of curriculum, and misalignment between the Next Generation Science Standards and justice-centered pedagogy. This project is designed to examine professional development strategies for supporting teachers in implementing justice-centered climate pedagogy. The Oakland Teachers Advancing Climate Action (OTACA) Program is a program through which Oakland Unified School District teachers are supported in implementing justice-centered, student-led projects focused on local climate and environmental justice phenomena. Beyond justice-centered climate change pedagogy, OTACA is centered on the idea that teachers are learners that who can grow in their craft and experience shifts in epistemologies and understandings in much the same way that students do. This study is designed to collaboratively learn with and support the OTACA planning committee via design-based research to address the following research themes. First is to investigate how different project activities (data collection, storytelling, engaging data through critical lenses, and taking action) impact students’ epistemologies of knowledge and action. Second is to observe trajectories of teacher understandings and practice relating to justice-centered climate change pedagogy. Questions in this theme include: How wide is the gap between teacher intentions and practice, what contributes to that gap, and what supports can be used to narrow that gap? The third theme of this overall research effort asks: How do various actors within school districts work to promote justice-centered climate change learning? The project responds to the STEM Education Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (STEM Ed PRF) program that aims to enhance the research knowledge, skills, and practices of recent doctorates in STEM, STEM education, education, and related disciplines to advance their preparation to engage in fundamental and applied research that advances knowledge within the field. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.