Climate change needs to be given greater attention in schools, demands the educational organisation UNESCO: in two thirds of the 536 curricula examined worldwide, it isn't mentioned at all. In Austria too, experts identify a need for improvement when it comes to climate education for pupils, teaching staff, and school textbooks. Italy is considered a pioneer with a dedicated school subject. So how can climate change make its way into Austrian classrooms? ORF Topos and the ZIB Magazin Klima looked into the matter.

In Austria, "environmental education for sustainable development" is defined as a cross-curricular theme for teaching. This means that, like civic education, it should be addressed across all subjects. A curriculum reform in 2023/24 gives "environment, sustainability, and climate" particular prominence in primary schools and lower secondary schools, according to the Ministry of Education in response to an ORF enquiry.

The cross-curricular theme 'environmental education for sustainable development' sets out competency goals that pupils should have achieved by the end of primary and lower secondary education. All teachers at every school level and in every subject are tasked with working towards these goals. (Ministry of Education)

In quantitative terms, environment, nature, climate, and sustainability were given greater weight — for example in the curricula for geography and economic education — through the 2023/24 reform, as the teacher movement Teachers For Future noted. However, as a cross-curricular theme, its implementation depends heavily on individual teachers, said David Lahmer from the Department of Environment and Biodiversity at the University of Salzburg in a statement to APA.

Climate needs to be more firmly embedded in teaching, says Andrea Möller from the University of Vienna…

Read more at: topos.orf.at