Arts-based methods for climate education: SEI at ‘A Focus on Pedagogy’ conference

The ‘What If’ in Climate Change and Sustainability Education: The Use of Arts-Based Methods for Future Generations

Part of the Arts and Society track at A Focus on Pedagogy

Friday 26th June, 08:30-10:00

Abstract

Climate change is no longer a distant threat; it’s effects are being felt around the globe. The urgency to educate and engage young people in climate change and sustainability has never been greater. However, traditional educational pedagogies and methods often struggle to communicate the complexity of subjects in ways that resonate or truly engage young people in a formal education setting. They often rely on more data-driven narratives that while important to relay, can sometimes fail to engage young people on a more personal and emotional level.

This is where creative approaches can play a transformative role in making climate change and sustainability education more accessible, emotional and actionable. Through a qualitative exploratory approach, Sarah engaged with eleven creative practitioners using different mediums of arts-based methods with young people in an educational setting, as well as four teachers and twenty-two young people in three York-based schools.

The purpose of her research is to understand how arts-based interventions can be used in both sustainability and climate education with young people. Through her own practice using placed-based and experiential pedagogies combined with devised theatre, and those of other creative practitioners using multiple mediums (dance, opera, creative writing, theatre), Sarah focused on how these interventions help young people increase knowledge, manage eco-emotions and give more insight into the pedagogies teachers use in the classroom.

Sarah’s findings suggest that by engaging in the imagination, fostering dialogue and reflection, and inspiring action, these methodologies offer a way forward in making climate change education more impactful, inclusive and empowering. It highlights the immense potential of any medium of art as a transformative tool for climate and sustainability education.