Mainstreaming climate change into Sri Lanka’s education system

There is a growing need for climate-relevant knowledge and skills, which can be addressed by mainstreaming climate education 

Climate change is one of the most significant global challenges of the 21st Century with complex and interconnected impacts, particularly on vulnerable developing countries such as Sri Lanka. Knowledge about mitigation, adaptation, and climate-induced loss and damage is increasingly essential for everyone, as are relevant skills for green jobs and a just transition towards renewable energy, sustainable production, and blue and green economies.

This growing need for climate-relevant knowledge and skills highlights the importance of climate education, which should start early, be comprehensively mainstreamed across the education system, and result in a skilled and educated workforce as well as a climate-aware and -conscious society.

Sri Lanka’s education system can be divided into early childhood education (nurseries, pre-school, and Montessori schools), primary and secondary education (up to GCE-O/L and GCE-A/L), tertiary and university education (including undergraduate and postgraduate education), and technical and vocational training and education (TVET).

Incorporating climate change into the education system could be considered in line with these general stages or across different elements of education: curriculum content, learning methods, teacher training, extracurricular activities, and links between education and outside systems, such as the employment market or media.

Climate change along the stages of the education system

The integration of climate change into the education system should be appropriate to educational stages, age groups, backgrounds, and prior knowledge of students. For example, primary education could focus on a basic understanding of the environment and how it relates to climate change, including local ecosystems, weather systems, and the role of humans, animals, and plants. Activities could include gardening, tree planting, recycling initiatives, or nature walks to develop initial problem-solving skills and a familiarity with project-based action.

Similarly, secondary education could build on these initial aspects to teach more detailed and advanced information on climate change while encouraging active participation in school- or community-based initiatives. Tertiary education could follow up with specialised climate studies, development of research skills, and the facilitation of internships or field work as part of course modules or studies.

For TVET, climate education should provide job- and industry-specific climate knowledge; teach green skills that correspond to current as well as future job demand (for example, for solar or wind energy, energy audits, or climate-smart agriculture); focus on workplace adaptation for all sectors; and provide mentoring, career guidance, and apprenticeship opportunities throughout the vocational training period. Making these opportunities available outside of urban centres could further enhance the reach and engagement of students, potentially offering skill development relevant to available jobs and resources—i.e., TVET for solar energy in areas that are poised to see significant solar development.

Climate change and the key elements of education

Creating awareness and a robust understanding of the causes, impacts, and relevant actions and policy frameworks related to climate change is one of the basic objectives of climate education. This requires an update of existing curriculums and the integration of mandatory as well as voluntary modules across all stages of the education system. Curriculums should cover topics including the fundamentals of climate science; physical and biogeochemical processes involved in it; human causes of climate change; climate change mitigation, adaptation, and loss and damage, including their societal and economic implications; climate policy and governance at the local, national, and global level; and climate communication.

Towards this end, climate change could be integrated into different subjects, such as environmental science, geography, history, economics, or literature to cover various aspects and develop relevant skills for climate action, such as critical thinking, collaboration, and problem-solving.

With regard to learning methods, climate education could benefit from active and experiential learning, such as project-based learning, field trips to relevant projects and facilities, citizen science projects, problem-based learning, or role-playing exercises, potentially tying in with Model UN initiatives or the National Youth Parliament. Furthermore, digital learning tools could further enhance learning and engagement and link to regional and global platforms, such as the Knowledge-to-Action Hub under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) or the UN CC:Learn e-learning system.

To operationalise the changes outlined above, it is furthermore critical to build the capacities of teachers and provide them with adequate resources and materials. Climate education should be mainstreamed into pre-service teacher education as well as ongoing professional development to ensure that teacher knowledge is up-to-date and draws on the best available science. In addition to this, pedagogical skills should also be focused on, as climate change is a complex, interdisciplinary topic that can benefit from a range of teaching methods and tools. Partnerships with other stakeholders, such as universities, civil society organisations, research institutions, or non-profits could provide opportunities for advanced training or research and help teachers to educate their students from a context-specific perspective that is informed by local practices and ground realities.

Beyond the regular curriculum, climate change lends itself to extracurricular and voluntary activities that can be the focus of clubs, competitions, workshops, and events. These activities could be encouraged by providing recognition and credit for them and linking them to school-, community-, or country-wide initiatives to promote awareness and action on climate change. Through such activities, students could also learn how to engage in planning and policy processes and develop skills relevant to climate action projects.

The broader context for climate education

For holistic and successful climate education, it is critical to connect the education sector with other societal systems and sectors. For example, schools could build partnerships with local businesses, non-profits, and government agencies to provide students with internships and project opportunities related to climate change. Education institutions could also engage with media by inviting journalists to cover their climate-related events and encouraging students to create their own media content about climate change.

At the policy level, education departments can collaborate with other sectors to align education policies with national climate goals and strategies, such as those outlined in the Nationally Determined Contributions, the National Adaptation Plan, or the Climate Prosperity Plan, which aims to establish a Climate University that could serve as a hub for tertiary education on climate change. Furthermore, businesses and universities could also emphasise the importance of climate education by preferring or requiring it for job applicants and admissions or by recognising relevant experience and achievements from extracurricular activities.

For Sri Lanka as a climate-vulnerable tropical island nation, climate education, including TVET, is of critical importance. On the one hand, it can contribute to the development of more resilient communities and a climate-aware population with strong adaptative capacities; on the other hand, it can prepare students for emerging opportunities in a low-carbon economy and serve as a catalyst for innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic growth. Furthermore, by fostering critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, and interdisciplinary approaches, climate education can function as a cross-cutting enabler and create a future-proof workforce that will be beneficial for multiple sectors and systems.

(The writer works as Director: Research and Knowledge Management at SLYCAN Trust, a non-profit think tank based in Sri Lanka. His work focuses on climate change, adaptation, resilience, ecosystem conservation, just transition, human mobility, and a range of related issues. He holds a Master’s degree in Education from the University of Cologne, Germany and is a regular writer to several international and local media outlets.)