Integrating Climate Literacy into Teacher Education Programs: A Framework for Future Teachers
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59653/jemls.v3i03.1941Keywords:
Climate Literacy, Teacher Education, Sustainability Education, Curriculum Development, Pre-service Teachers, climate change in Educatipn, Environmental PedagogyAbstract
Climate change poses significant challenges to global sustainability, making climate literacy an essential component of contemporary education. Yet, teacher education programs often lack structured approaches to prepare pre-service teachers for integrating climate-related content into their future classrooms. This paper presents a comprehensive framework for embedding climate literacy into teacher education, aiming to equip future educators with the knowledge, skills, and values needed for effective climate and sustainability instruction. The study outlines the current deficiencies in teacher preparation, defines the scope of climate literacy within the educational context, and offers interdisciplinary, actionable strategies for curriculum developers and teacher educators. By aligning teacher education with international sustainability goals, this framework supports the cultivation of environmentally responsible citizens and climate-resilient education systems.
Downloads
References
Álvarez-Nieto, C., Richardson, J., Navarro-Perán, M. Á., Tutticci, N., Huss, N., Elf, M., Anåker, A., Aronsson, J., Baid, H., & López-Medina, I. M. (2022). Nursing students’ attitudes towards climate change and sustainability: A cross-sectional multisite study. Nurse Education Today, 108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2021.105185
Anderson, R., Haney, J., & Dorgan, K. (2020). Pre-service teachers’ perceptions of climate change education: Barriers and opportunities. Environmental Education Research, 26(4), 517–534. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2020.1727856
DeCamp, E. (2024). Integrating climate change across the disciplines: review of a faculty learning community and student climate literacy assessment model. Environmental Education Research, 30(12). https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2024.2309588
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). (2023). Climate change 2023: Synthesis report. https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/syr/
Kumari, R., & Bala, M. (2024). Curriculum reforms and environmental education in Indian schools: An analysis of NEP 2020. International Journal of Environmental Education Research, 13(1), 45–58.
Leal Filho, W., Totin, E., Franke, J. A., Andrew, S. M., Abubakar, I. R., Azadi, H., Nunn, P. D., Ouweneel, B., Williams, P. A., & Simpson, N. P. (2022). Understanding responses to climate-related water scarcity in Africa. In Science of the Total Environment (Vol. 806). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150420
Ministry of Education. (2020). National Education Policy 2020. Government of India.
Misra, P., & Singh, R. (2021). Sustainability in Indian teacher education: Cases from progressive institutions. Indian Journal of Teacher Education, 13(2), 45–57.
Mohapatra, A., Das, S., & Pradhan, R. (2022). Elementary teachers’ awareness and perceptions of climate change education in Odisha. Journal of Indian Education, 48(2), 65–80.
Monroe, M. C., Plate, R. R., Oxarart, A., Bowers, A., & Chaves, W. A. (2019). Identifying effective climate change education strategies: a systematic review of the research. Environmental Education Research, 25(6), 791–812. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2017.1360842.
National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). (2022). Environmental education resources and teacher handbooks. New Delhi: NCERT.
Reid, A. (2019). Climate change education and the curriculum: Toward a curriculum for the future. Environmental Education Research, 25(6), 769–790.
Rieckmann, M. (2017). Education for sustainable development goals: Learning objectives. Paris: UNESCO.
Rousell, D., & Cutter-Mackenzie-Knowles, A. (2020). A systematic review of climate change education: Toward a sociocultural and interdisciplinary framework. Environmental Education Research, 26(1), 1–30.
Rubel, L. H., Herbel-Eisenman, B., Peralta, L. M., Lim, V., Jiang, S., & Kahn, J. (2022). Intersectional feminism to reenvision mathematical literacies & precarity. Research in Mathematics Education, 24(2). https://doi.org/10.1080/14794802.2022.2089908
Senevirathne, M., Priyankara, H. A. C., Amaratunga, D., Haigh, R., Weerasinghe, N., Nawaratne, C., & Kaklauskas, A. (2021). A capacity needs assessment to integrate MOOC-based climate change education with the higher education institutions in Europe and developing countries in Asia: findings of the focused group survey in PCHEI under the BECK project. International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment, 12(5). https://doi.org/10.1108/IJDRBE-07-2020-0074
Shephard, K. (2008). Higher education for sustainability: Seeking affective learning outcomes. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 9(1), 87–98.
Shwom, R., Isenhour, C., Jordan, R. C., McCright, A. M., & Robinson, J. M. (2017). Integrating the social sciences to enhance climate literacy. In Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment (Vol. 15, Issue 7). https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.1519
Singh, M. (2020). Pedagogy for planetary justice: Climate education in the global South. International Review of Education, 66(5–6), 777–796.
Sterling, S. (2011). Transformative learning and sustainability: Sketching the conceptual ground. Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, (5), 17–33.
Tolppanen, S., & Kärkkäinen, S. (2020). Pre-service teachers’ perceptions of their climate change competencies and the role of education. Journal of Environmental Education, 51(3), 234–246.
UNESCO. (2020). Education for sustainable development: A roadmap. Paris: UNESCO.
UNESCO. (2021). Learn for our planet: A global review of how environmental issues are integrated in education. Paris: UNESCO. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000377362
United Nations. (2015). Transforming our world: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. https://sdgs.un.org/2030agenda
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). (2015). The Paris Agreement. https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement
UNFCCC India. (2023). National action for climate education and teacher training. https://unfccc.int
Wals, A. E. J. (2020). Learning our way out of unsustainability: The role of environmental education. In P. Corcoran & A. E. J. Wals (Eds.), Higher education and the challenge of sustainability (pp. 23–37). Springer.
Yasukawa, K. (2023). Teaching about climate change: Possibilities and challenges in Australian adult literacy programs. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 66(4). https://doi.org/10.1002/jaal.1267
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Chandrasekhar Bhoi, Sagnika Dash, Prakash Chandra Adi

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).














