Teacher-teacher dialogue on sustainability and climate change education: Crossing traditional disciplinary boundaries in Wales

Background: The immediate importance of sustainability and climate change education in schools is recognised in recent research (Greer, K. et al., 2023; McKenzie and Benavot, 2024). In secondary education, however, topics related to sustainability and climate change education tend to be treated separately, as they are taught within discrete, disciplinary subjects. This is especially the case in England, where a disciplinary approach to education is prioritised. Across the border in Wales, however, a new curriculum was introduced in 2023 which encourages multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, disciplinary or integrated approaches, asking that schools should ‘build on natural connections between the concepts, knowledge and skills developed in different Areas’ (https://hwb.gov.wales/curriculum-for-wales/curriculum-for-wales-the-...). This curriculum reform has implications for the way sustainability and climate change education is planned for and taught, especially as this topic is often seen as naturally crossing traditional disciplinary boundaries (Scoffham and Rawlinson, 2022: 89, Greer et al., 2023).

Context: We would like to pay attention to the specific context of sustainability and climate change education within Wales. The promotion of Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship (ESDGC) has been a key objective of Welsh government since 2008. The Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act of 2015 defined Sustainable Development in Wales as “The process of improving the economic, social, environmental and cultural well-being of Wales by taking action, in accordance with the sustainable development principle, aimed at achieving the well-being goals.” It set out ways of working needed to achieve wellbeing goals. This Act can be seen to have had significant impact on the design of the new Curriculum for Wales. The new curriculum embodies a long-term approach and has an emphasis on developing well-rounded, ethically-informed Welsh citizens. Learner mental health and well-being are prioritised and there is a focus on climate and eco-literacy intended to equip learners for future needs (https://www.futuregenerations.wales/impact/curriculum/).

Issues: Students need a coherent curriculum experience of sustainability and climate change, as whether teaching takes a disciplinary or interdisciplinary approach, teachers need to understand what is being taught in different curriculum subjects. Previous research, in England, suggests that such knowledge can be lacking. Teachers of science and religious education were found to hold very different understandings of the nature of the ‘other’ subject compared to teachers who specialised in those subjects (Woolley et al, 2023). We therefore became interested in teacher-teacher dialogue about the curriculum, both within and across traditional subject boundaries.

Aims and Method: This paper reports on initial findings from a three-year, multiple-methods, research and development project in Wales entitled, Cultivating Deeper Interdisciplinary Dialogue. The research project was built around a systematic review into teacher-teacher dialogue, where research proved to be limited and fragmented (Lefstein et al., 2020). The survey design built on previous attempts to ask teachers about engaging in dialogue with colleagues (Admiraal & Lockhorst, 2012) and scales of quality in teacher professional discourse (Boyd & Glazier, 2017).

Data analysis: The paper will present data from a survey disseminated to secondary teachers across Wales where teachers report on the nature and frequency of their dialogue with colleagues about the curriculum, both within curriculum subjects and beyond. Part 4 of the survey asked various questions about teacher-teacher dialogue related to sustainability and climate change and current teacher practice in the area. The paper will also share initial findings from the second stage of the project. Here, teachers in one Welsh school were asked to engage in conversations about their current teaching in the area of sustainability and climate change and their future aspirations for teaching this area. These were first in disciplinary pairs, then in cross-subject pairs. They were then offered a series of expert interventions on sustainability or climate change. Finally, they returned to the initial two pairings. Recordings, data analysis of dialogic moves (De Jong et al., 2022) and analysis of ‘exit interviews’, held later, reveal how new knowledge can change disciplinary and cross-disciplinary dialogue between teachers.

This paper holds interest for those who are working to improve the teaching of sustainability and climate change education in schools, but also for those who are particularly interested in teacher development in this area.