Professor Nicola Walshe

Young people's perspectives on climate change, sustainability and nature reveal a set of interconnected yet uneven experiences that have significant implications for climate change and sustainability education. Drawing on a large-scale survey of 2,429 students aged 11-14 in England, this article examines how students' nature connectedness shapes their attitudes towards learning about climate change and sustainability, and how their everyday encounters with nature-both within and outside school-inform these relationships. Students' responses to open-ended questions illuminate the sensory, affective and relational qualities of nature that matter most to them, including aesthetic appreciation, emotional regulation and embodied experiences such as sound, smell and touch. Yet these rich accounts contrast sharply with their descriptions of nature in school, where experiences are often limited to incidental encounters during breaktimes or narrowly framed curricular activities. These disparities further highlight persistent social and spatial inequities in access to meaningful nature experiences, as well as missed opportunities within school environments to cultivate deeper forms of nature connection. The findings suggest that young people's affective and sensory relationships with nature represent an underused lever for strengthening climate change and sustainability education. By foregrounding young people's lived experiences, the article argues for a more integrated approach to learning in, about and for nature-one that recognises varied forms of nature engagement, attends to inequities in access, and positions enrichment as a holistic component of curriculum and personal development. The discussion considers how these insights can inform emerging policy agendas and support schools in designing climate and sustainability education that is both experientially grounded and responsive to young people's diverse ways of knowing and relating to the natural world.

School-based climate change and sustainability education are widely understood as a vital response to the triple environmental crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. This current research analyses over 700 responses from a national survey of teachers working in England to explore teachers' curriculum making activities and the sites in which these occur, in the context of climate change and sustainability education (CCSE). Micro and nano sites of curriculum making were the most prominent in the responses provided. A central barrier to curriculum making is understood to be the content-heavy nature of the National Curriculum in England and the low visibility of climate change and sustainability in both the National Curriculum and examination specifications. Enablers and barriers include the level of personal motivation of teaching staff and students to engage with climate change and sustainability education, the extent to which school leaders provide support, the availability of no-cost and high-quality resources, and meso-level support and opportunities for teachers to develop their knowledge and confidence in relation to climate change and sustainability. At a time of curriculum review in England, we highlight the opportunity for policy makers to reconsider the orientation of the National Curriculum such that, consistent with the practices of teachers in relation to climate change and sustainability education, it combines a reduced focus on academic rationalism and social efficiency with an increased emphasis on social reconstructionism.

Drawing on teacher agency as a conceptual framework, we explored the extent to which school teachers in secondary schools in England achieve agency in relation to teaching climate change and sustainability. This research provides a novel approach to understanding the relational and emergent qualities of teacher agency by bringing together insights from both teachers and school students (aged 11-14 years). Data were gathered through two separate online surveys with teachers (n = 870) and school students aged 11-14 years (n = 2429). Teachers and students articulated a range of material, structural and cultural barriers and enablers to achieving agency, with areas of agreement and divergence. While students were able to articulate different pedagogical approaches to improve the teaching of climate change and sustainability, teachers were more focused on the types of support they needed in their roles. This approach uncovers the everyday practices of teacher agency which students notice but that might not be visible to teachers. This research underlines the need for teachers in secondary school settings of all subjects to have the time and support to engage in high-quality professional learning which builds knowledge and understanding of climate change and sustainability and develops their confidence to implement a range of pedagogical approaches which engage all children and young people.

There is an increasing concern regarding the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people; as a result, schools are increasingly expected to provide support, but they have few resources to do so. As such, there is a need for establishing mechanisms for supporting the health and wellbeing of children and young people that are relatively easy and cost-effective and that can be embedded within the school day to ensure sustainability. The overarching aim of our Branching Out project was to understand how successful elements from one such programme that supports children's mental health through the art-in-nature-based practice can be expanded from school-based approaches that reach small numbers of children to include whole communities. This paper reports on one strand that examined the practice of organisations offering arts and/or nature-based activities outdoors in schools, either as part of the curriculum or as an extra-curricular activity. Survey questions served as an a priori thematic framework around the characteristics of arts-in-nature activities delivered; the perceived impacts of activities; working with volunteers, teachers, and schools; and barriers to expansion and sustainability. Despite extensive searching, identifying, and recruiting relevant arts organisations was difficult; however, respondents strongly supported the notion that the arts-in-nature practice has a positive impact on children and young people's connection to nature, supports their mental health and wellbeing, and engages them with their local environment. Yet, challenges were identified in engaging teachers and schools and funding such projects, suggesting a need for a multi-professional approach to creating more sustainable and impactful practice for children, young people, and communities.

Issues of economic inequality are inextricably linked to the present climate and environmental crisis, with disadvantaged groups facing disproportionate impacts. This paper explores the intersection of socioeconomic status (SES) and degrees of emotional, cognitive, and behavioural engagement with the climate crisis, as well as equity in the provision of climate change and sustainability education (CCSE). We surveyed over 2000 students (ages 11-14) in England, comparing responses between students with the most (n = 599) and fewest (n = 389) books at home (as a proxy for SES). Students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds were significantly less worried about a climate-altered future, had lower levels of knowledge about climate change, and were less likely to undertake a range of pro-environmental behaviours. Our findings also emphasise the critical role of the school environment in promoting engagement with the climate crisis and the need to improve provision of CCSE for disadvantaged groups. Further, they reveal severe socioeconomic inequalities in the perceived experiences of CCSE and participation in climate and sustainability action, which was observed even when these activities were made available. This suggests that school systems must consider other possible explanations for whether disadvantaged children and young people engage with these issues beyond their opportunity to do so.

The most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report sets out sobering scenarios about the future for our young people and appeals for ‘deep, rapid, and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions’. Although technological responses are essential to achieve these reductions, technocratic solutions alone will not solve the environmental emergency; a widespread societal transformation is needed. Education can play a profound role in this transformation as it is fundamental to building a society with knowledge, skills and motivation to tackle climate change so as to regenerate ecological and social systems. This commentary reflects on multiple dimensions of education’s role, focusing particularly on schools and the important contribution that all subjects can make towards developing interdisciplinary, complex understandings of the environmental emergency and living more sustainably. Drawing from a recent nationwide survey of teachers in England carried out by the UCL Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability Education, we highlight a troubling lack of engagement in formal professional development related to climate change and sustainability, even amongst a ‘climate change engaged’ cohort of teachers, and the imperative for comprehensive professional learning for teachers from across all subjects and year levels.

Children and young people's access and entitlement to climate change and sustainability education within school is dependent on teachers, and the ways in which teachers' work is shaped by the wider education system. Drawing upon a climate change and sustainability education survey of teachers in England, we focus on a sub-set who reported that they were teaching geography in primary and/or secondary schools. Through this survey, we examine the teachers' participation in professional development and how they incorporate climate change and sustainability in their teaching of geography. Within the data, teachers of geography show that they are embedding some aspects of climate change and sustainability education in geography curricula, though the teacher development this rests upon is often reported as a 'self-taught' approach rather than through formal initial or continuing professional development. The paper finishes by considering enablers and constraints for geography curriculum-making for climate change and sustainability education, and identifying priorities for professional development agendas for teachers of geography.

Video self-reflections can be an effective self-development tool for student teachers; however, its value is often limited as video provides only one perspective of the classroom. This project, an interpretive case study, used think-aloud protocol and interviews to explore how the use of 360-degree video can support student teacher reflection. Results suggest that the immersive, embodied experience of reflecting using 360-degree video develops a more nuanced understanding of microteaching practice, as well as supporting student teachers' self-efficacy towards teaching. This has the potential to facilitate a more active and student-centred approach to initial teacher education within Higher Education. Crown Copyright (C) 2018 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Drawing on conceptual frameworks of the ecological approach to teacher agency and spaces of agency, we explored how and in what ways secondary school teachers in England (n = 269) identify, move between, and create spaces of agency, and the features of spaces of agency. Drawing on data gathered from an online survey, we considered the ways in which the different dimensions of agency, and the different aspects within those dimensions, interact. Teachers negotiated spaces of agency in the present through the ‘messy entanglement’ of the cultural, material and structural aspects of the practical-evaluative dimension, together with the iterational dimension of agency. Spaces of agency are inherently relational, open and dynamic. In the context of educational reform, this research highlights the importance of agency as a key concept which informs the educational structures created by government and school leaders that constrain and enable teachers' practice. •We explored the spaces of agency in the context of secondary schools in England.•Space elucidates the varied ways the dimensions of agency emerge and interact.•Teachers negotiate spaces of agency as a messy entanglement of three dimensions.•Teachers' spaces of agency are inherently relational, open and dynamic.

This paper provides fresh insight into the nature and extent of teacher professional learning focused on climate change and sustainability in England. An analysis of the qualitative and quantitative data from a survey of teachers (n  = 870) suggests that there is a cohort of committed individuals who recognise the importance of incorporating these topics into their teaching practice, but that the most common type of climate change and sustainability-related professional learning is 'self-taught'. In a context where meaningful educational responses to environmental and climate emergencies have been hampered by policy shortfalls over a prolonged period and where the need for responses is increasingly urgent, the results indicate that school students are reliant upon individual teachers choosing to incorporate these issues into their subject teaching and teaching themselves how to do so. We explore how incorporating 'self-taught' approaches into established frameworks of professional learning could enhance future work to support teachers. Opportunities to strengthen current practice centre on supporting new initiatives focused on collegiate professional learning, engaging with external experts, and policy change. We argue that these are essential if more teachers are to have the knowledge, skills and confidence to incorporate climate change and sustainability into their teaching.

Schools in England remain a valued and important site of climate change education for secondary school pupils (aged 11-18 years). Drawing on focus group data (n = 85) from young people based in eight schools in England, we explored the language pupils used about climate change. We found that young people's responses to climate change were predominantly focused on content knowledge about climate change, including the concept of global warming and a range of negative impacts, such as biodiversity and habitat loss and extreme and unpredictable weather. In addition, the young people expressed emotions in relation to climate change that were primarily negative and were focused on fear of the future and fear of frustrated youth action. We highlight that school-based climate change education requires support and resources from policy-makers so that young people do not solely learn about climate change, but rather, they are able to live with the emotions of a future shaped by the impacts of climate change. We highlight the need for teacher professional development which enables them to respond to the emotions young people experience in the context of climate change education.

Education, including school education, is integral to just responses to global climate change and sustainability crises. Increasingly, national and international surveys seek to assess the 'climate literacy' of young people, including as a mechanism to measure the effectiveness of national education systems for preparing young people. However, these surveys generally ask young people to identify accurate knowledge from a series of definitions, rather than exploring their understanding through open questions. This research analyses 2051 survey responses from students aged 11-14 years in England to the question 'What is climate change? Climate change is ...'. Just over half (52.5%) provided responses which broadly included ideas of change or harm to the environment and/or Earth systems, all with reference to temperature. We argue that for young people to develop a lasting and multi-dimensional understanding of climate change, climate change education must extend beyond a narrow focus on geography and science to include a greater range of disciplinary perspectives. Further, we consider whether the global movement towards the measurement of climate literacy through surveys risks underscoring a narrow, predominantly science-based understanding of climate literacy, and away from holistic conceptualisations which attend to affective dimensions, and ideas of justice and equity.

Education, including school education, is widely understood as fundamental to a just response to global climate and ecological crises. We examined the practices of teachers based in England focused on climate change and sustainability education (CCSE). Analysis of survey responses from over 300 teachers found that CCSE was realised through classroom teaching as part of the official and planned curriculum. CCSE was developed through practices where knowledge was at the centre, and which were action- and community-oriented. Analysing data through the lenses of curricula justice and climate justice, we argue that whilst these practices provide a foundation for justice-oriented CCSE, they do not fully realise the aims of climate justice education which seeks to disrupt, challenge and repair colonial ways of being and thinking. Justice-oriented CCSE demands a fundamental shift in the leadership of school-based education in England at school and policy levels, so that the practices identified through this survey fully encompass ideas of climate justice. Support at policy level is essential if justice-oriented CCSE is to move beyond the scope of committed and enthusiastic individuals and become collaborative practice and a shared responsibility which extends across all educational settings.

Whilst the significant role mentors play within ITE has been emphasised in English policy context, there appears to be limited consideration of subject-specificity of mentoring practices within the literature. One key mechanism for trainee teacher development is written lesson observation feedback, but there is a concern that it is often generic in nature. In response to this, our research explores the ways in which geography teacher educators' curricular theorising is rendered visible through written lesson observation feedback. This paper reports on the interplay between teacher, student and content apparent within lesson observation feedback and the ways that geography teachers incorporate a focus upon a subject within their mentoring practices. The project, an interpretive case study, collected data through a lesson observation activity and whole-group discussion. Results suggest that the interplay between teacher, student and content within written lesson observation feedback often draws on subject-specific pedagogical approaches and stimulates mentor/trainee dialogue that has the potential to provoke wider curricular thinking around the 'what and why' of teaching. However, further research is needed to gain a contextualised understanding of mentoring practices, including the exploration of the role of mentors' own subject expertise, given the significance of this in guiding their professional practice.

"Nature, and their impact on children and young people's wellbeing, health equality, and sustainability. Existing literature focuses on either the impact of the arts or the impact of being in/with nature on children's and young people's wellbeing. However, the intersection between the two - arts and nature - and their combined effect on wellbeing has received limited attention. Through five research-based and seven practice-based chapters, this book draws upon arts-in-nature practices that incorporate visual arts, music, movement, drama and poetry, in a range of natural environments, such as forests, beaches, greenhouses, parks, community areas and school playgrounds. Arts in Nature with Children and Young People will appeal to anyone working with children and young people, including mental health and healthcare professionals, teachers, researchers, artists, and arts therapists. It is also an accessibly guide for parents and families looking for inspiration and ideas for creative and outdoor activities"--

While Geographical information systems (GIS) are increasingly being seen in school geography classrooms, there remains significant reluctance among teachers to engage with the technology (e.g. Hong, 2017), as well as limited consideration of students' perspectives on GIS. In response to this, we have undertaken research to explore how a programme of GIS training, integrated within a two-year A-Level examination course, develops students' perceptions of the value and nature of GIS, their subsequent engagement with it, and its impact on their geographical knowledge. This paper reports on one strand of the longitudinal research which focuses on how tapping into the expertise of real-world, industry experts can affect students' perceptions of the relevance of GIS to geography and support their acquisition of geographical knowledge. The project, an interpretive case study, used questionnaires, interviews and analysis of students' work to elicit students' developing perceptions of and engagement with GIS, as well as changes in their geographical knowledge. Results suggest that engagement with industry experts aids students' understanding of what GIS is, allowing them to develop a more nuanced appreciation of its real-world applications; this then appears to play both a direct and indirect role in the subsequent development of students' geographical knowledge.

Children today face significant challenges in response to living in a globalised world and the predicted environmental threats to the planet. However, implementing environmental and sustainability education (ESE) within schools can be complex and is often ignored within initial teacher education (ITE). In response, this project aimed to evaluate pedagogies for developing transformative learning for ESE within the context of university-based ITE. We ran a conference for trainee teachers informed by critical, participatory and arts-based pedagogic approaches. Alongside this, we undertook an interpretive case study, collecting data through questionnaires, focus groups and in-conference spoken reflection. Findings suggest trainee teachers gained a more nuanced understanding of the value and nature of ESE, as well as more affective and informed engagement with it, across the conference. Implications for ESE within ITE focus around the potential of pedagogies which provide affective experiences, in particular participatory and arts-based pedagogical approaches, for inspiring and empowering trainee teachers to enter into schools and develop their own ESE practice as classroom teachers.