An overview of climate change education in universities - A case study in Hanoi National University of Education

JOURNAL OF SCIENCE OF HNUE Interdisciplinary Science, 2014, Vol. 59, No. 5, pp. 131-137 This paper is available online at AN OVERVIEW OF CLIMATE CHANGE EDUCATION IN UNIVERSITIES - A CASE STUDY IN HANOI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION Tran Thi Thanh Thuy Faculty of English, Hanoi National University of Education Abstract. The world socio-economic, scientific and political community all agree that human activities cause global climate change (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2007). The global climate change is the immediate need for effective education about climate change. Universities are places that nourish, train, educate and monitor students as they learn about natural systems and human activities. Universities also engage students in research activities to encourage them to learn science, understand climate change, contribute to climate change studies and participate in local and international workshops, seminars and conferences (Mugabe et al 2000). Therefore, climate change education should be integrated into higher education curriculum, especially at teacher training universities, because teachers play a vital role in inspiring and transferring climate change perceptions to the next generation. This paper gives an overview of the reality of climate change education at universities in the world in general and at Hanoi National University of Education in particular. To do this, we: 1) investigate climate change education in some universities around the world; 2) identify the problems they have been facing in taking action; 3) analyze attitude and awareness and make suggestions on how to address climate change education to prospective teachers at Hanoi National University of Education. Keywords: Climate change education, university, training, approach. 1. Introduction As public concern about global climate change increases, climate change education for students of all ages has emerged as a critical issue. Clearly, classroom education within the nation’s colleges and universities is an important dimension of an informed society that is concerned about global climate change. Received January 25, 2014. Accepted June 9, 2014. Contact Tran Thi Thanh Thuy, e-mail address: thanhthuydhsp@gmail.com 131 Tran Thi Thanh Thuy 2. Content 2.1. Literature review Maruf Sanni et al, (2010) proposed a comprehensive approach to climate change education and developed a triadic model of capacity building built around training, mentoring and networking: Training consists of formal and informal organizations, non-governmental organizations, information flow and infrastructure. Mentoring can be achieved by linking students with reputable scientists and policymakers who have an interest in climate change. These mentors could help students plan and initiate projects and deal with any problems that may arise while the students are working on their projects. Networking means to create a network within which students can interact with the experts and each other frequently. Roland Hergert, Volker Barth and Thomas Klenke (2010) wanted to develop a course for climate change education that would be an interdisciplinary and interfaculty subject. In order to do this, students from different disciplines were asked at a relatively early planning stage about their favorite topics related to climate change within the 4th IPCC assessment report (AR4) which was chosen as the learning platform and information pool. The next step was thus to find lecturers and academic tutors to meet the students’ interests. They found it difficult to balance the availability and the balance of staff, research interests, expertise of lecturers, administrative regulations and the desired content of physicists, geoecologists, economists and political scientists . In these 3 phases, students faced the difficulties in acquiring, selecting, and interpreting scientific information that was not familiar to them in order to present this information and their own findings to students. To overcome these difficulties the students did their best to master the skills of interdisciplinary exchange and cooperation, understanding and reading climate reports and critical thinking. 132 An overview of climate change education in universities - A case study in... Figure 1. Design and content of the course Roland Hergert, Volker Barth, and Klenke (2010) 2.2. Methodology The author employed a combination of approaches to carry out this study. Initially, the project was a form of analytical research. The author used analyzed information that was available in order to evaluate the current situation. Based on this subjective evaluation, the author looked for ways to include climate change education in the teacher education curriculum in Vietnam. It was determined that applied research would be most appropriate to investigate the various research problems. The author carried out 11 in-depth 15 minute interviews which were recorded for later analysis. The interviewees were Vietnamese professors and lecturers of Hanoi University of Education who are also Australian Leadership Awards Fellows. 2.3. Findings and discussions Eleven lecturers and researchers in the faculties of biology, geography, history and English of Hanoi National University of Education were each interviewed for approximately 15 minutes. The participants all have masters degrees, from 30 to 50 years old, have been teaching for the past 5 to 17 years. Some hold leading positions in their faculty. 133 Tran Thi Thanh Thuy 2.3.1. Awareness and attitudes towards climate change education Leiserowitz et al (2009) presented a broad spectrum of possible responses to climate change education in their study, from active engagement to complete dismissal, categorizing the responses as ‘alarmed’, ‘concerned’, ‘cautious’, ‘disengaged’, ‘doubtful’ and ‘dismissive’. The eleven respondents, referred to in this study by the fictitious names of Dr. Thuy, Dr. Hoa, Dr. Thinh, Ph.D candidate Duong, Dr. Chien, Dr. Hoang, Mr.Quyen (MA), Mr. Tham (MA), Ms. Bich (MA), Ms. Tram (MA) and Mr. Nhan (MA), have different levels of awareness of climate change in general and climate change education in particular and some of them have a positive attitude towards climate change education. Dr, Thuy, the head of the biology faculty, views this issue as highly important because she believes that climate change is occurring, is human-induced and is a serious threat. She indicated that if education action is not taken immediately, it will be too late. Another interviewee, Dr. Chien, highlighting the significance of teacher education, said that climate change education should be the concern of all governments, all stakeholders and all segments of the population. “Climate change issues can not solved over night,” he stated, emphasizing that it is a whole-life process of many generations and only through education can people’s awareness be raised. He also added that teacher education is one of the fastest and most sustainable ways to expose climate change problems to more and more people. Ms. Bich said that she is cautious about the matter but she suggested that climate change education be instituted as early as possible. As a psychologist in language teaching, she stated that this awareness should begin with kindergarten or primary education because routines which are shaped in the early stages of education are difficult to replace and, once good habits are formed„ it is easy to turn them into good actions. “Climate change education calls for the involvement of not only the biology and geography departments but also active engagement of all departments throughout the university, especially those of the pre-school and elementary school,” she said. Other respondents were less enthusiastic. Ph.D candidate Duong, for example, majors in zoology and biodiversity does get a lot of coverage in the world news. He stated that he does not see any need for climate change education at all. Although he is in his 30’s he said that perhaps he is too young to be concerned about this matter and that such a subject should be a concern of his faculty leader. He said that now is not the right time for him to take action and that he should focus on his own personal concerns. At the same time, Ms. Tram, an English teacher, said that she does not know much about climate change education. She has heard something about climate change from television, the internet and newspapers but has never searched online under the term climate change, even though she is fully aware that global warming is currently a serious threat to humankind. 2.3.2. Addressing climate change education with prospective teachers Regarding how teacher education programs address climate change education, varied responses were recorded. When asked if they thought that climate change education 134 An overview of climate change education in universities - A case study in... should be optional or mandatory, the opinions were diverse. Dr. Thuy, Dr. Hoa, Ms. Bich, Mr. Nhan and Dr Chien were all ’alarmed’ or ‘concerned’ about the climate change and they think that learning about climate change should be a compulsory course for every university student, no matter what their discipline, and it should be taught in the first two years of an undergraduate program as a foundation course. They said that the more prospective teachers are exposed to climate change education, the more likely long-term intergenerational change in what people fundamentally believe in and do is achieved. In contrast, Mr. Duong, Dr. Hoang and Ms. Tham do not want to see climate change taught to prospective teachers because students have so many other things to learn. Therefore, climate change lessons should be optional. They supposed that if students did learn about climate change they would become quite engaged in the course and undoubtedly the course would be a success. Others think that climate change education is only necessary for those who are learning subjects such as biology or geography and climate change courses should be an option for the rest of the students. With regards to current exposure to climate change education, all of the interviewees said that current environmental education programs in schools in Vietnam are ineffective. As is common with most lessons in Vietnam, climate change lessons are delivered to students. Students take notes, and there are no student-student or student-teacher interactions. All of the interviewees said that they would like to see a manner of teaching that would be more practical. For example, Dr. Thien said he’d like to see students become more autonomous, search for information on their own, and present what they have learned in the class (a learner-centered approach). In such a situation, classmates share information and the teacher consolidates and confirm the climate change information. “Field trips are useful”, he added. “There is no better way to show students water pollution in rivers than to take the students to To Lich River and let them see and smell that water,” a history lecturer, Dr. Chien, said, because “what students see is worth a thousand pages” Ms. Tram and Mr. Quyen said that the use of videos and documentaries provides a vivid illustration of climate change. Students may or may not take notes and they might have comments or want to discuss it later. This, too, is an example of the learner-centered approach, which evokes student involvement and independence in acquiring new information. Another way to address climate change education was mentioned by Dr. Thuy, Ms. Tram and Dr Chien who suggested inviting leading expects to give lectures on the issue. They would know how to convey facts and provide evidence about areas that they know of personally. In this way, students could get a sense of the impact of climate change as something which is “happening around them and is not just something in books and newspapers” and “students would be motivated by their profound experience of listening to lecturers,” Ms. Tram said. Most of the respondents suggested that students take part in green activities such as 135 Tran Thi Thanh Thuy planting and protecting trees around the university, inventing household or school objects from recycled waste and writing essays on the impact of climate change on their life. These respondents emphasized that these activities should be held frequently and bear a climate change message. In this way, students may change their behavior rapidly. A geography lecturer, Ms. Quyen, said that many people do not act because they are uncertain about the best course of action or they feel that they are not capable of doing anything that would be effective. In the best case, this type of climate change education would enhance perceptions of self-efficacy and motivate people to learn more. A message that fosters social interaction can attract individuals’ attention, promote retention of the message and encourage them to engage with the message. Social interaction around climate change education may strengthen social capital and the bonds between individuals in a group. In some cases, such interactions may encourage people to feel a stronger sense of community and social connection. People who deny or reject the idea of climate change can be reached by talking about topics they can relate to and consider a part of their social identity. 3. Conclusions 3.1. Summary of the study Most of the teachers that were interviewed were quite aware of the significance of including climate change courses in teacher education programs. As they say, if the university management board agrees to allow climate change courses and if they allocate funding for the courses, they like to see it begin immediately. While the teachers do not agree on what should be done or how to do it, they all believe that climate change should be taught and it should be practical rather than theoretical. Verbally, they seem to be more action-oriented when it comes to climate change issues. 3.2. Limitations of the study This study is an outcome of a ten-week course about knowledge sector development in response to climate change adaptation and mitigation. The author holds the position of educator and is not a climate change expert. Therefore, the article likely does not express some angles of climate change education in general and education for sustainability in particular. In addition, the study made use of limited data. Instead of using only 15-minute interviews, the researcher should have made use of survey questionnaires given to students who are studying climate change to get an overall picture of climate change education in Hanoi National University of Education. 3.3. Suggestions for further study As stated above, further research on climate change education should focus on both teachers and students. Further research could be on designing syllabi either for climate change education or climate change integration. Another way to examine climate change education would be to valuate current climate change education activities. 136 An overview of climate change education in universities - A case study in... REFERENCES [1] Anne Virtanen, 2010. Learning for Climate Responsibility: Via Consciousness to Action. [2] Barth M, Godeman J, Rieckmann M, Stoltenberg U, 2007. Developing key competencies for sustainable development in higher education. 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