The Current State and Tasks of School Climate Change Education

학교 기후 변화 교육의 현황과 과제

Even though climate change is visibly proceeding and public concern about climate change is increasing both nationally and internationally, teenagers' and students' perception of climate change is relatively low in Korea. Since climate change is a problem with long-term effects, it is young people including children and juveniles of the current generation and future generations who are more affected by climate change. They are the most interested party who should know why climate change happens, what kind of impacts will be given, and how to respond to the problem. Based on the aforementioned concern, this study aims to explore the extent and contents of school education with regard to climate change in Korea as well as in other advanced countries and to provide policy suggestions. This study finds that school climate change education requires consideration of multiple aspects including reorganization of school curriculum, revitalization of related programs by school, expansion of teachers' training chances, in which multiple institutions such as the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Offices of Education are related and, consequently, the activation of climate change education program is by no means simple. Therefore, for effective climate change education in schools, cooperation and coordination of related institutions are essential, along with development of diverse school education curriculums and programs and training programs for teachers.