Students’ perceptions about climate change and pedagogical approach in the National Curriculum Framework-2021 of Bangladesh: an exploratory study

Abstract

Bangladesh is one of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world, with children and youth from urban low-income communities particularly at a risk due to due to climate change impacts. Climate change education can play an important role in preparing them to adapt to such impacts. This study contains an exploration of the current state of climate change education as implemented across Bangladeshi secondary schools. The aim of this research is to explore secondary students' perceptions of climate change, how climate change education is integrated into the National Curriculum Framework-2021 and how teachers incorporate climate change content into their lessons. A qualitative research approach was used to conduct this study. The participants were 8th grader secondary students and their teachers from two low-income marginalized urban communities in Dhaka. Data collection methods included semi-structured in-depth interviews, a Focus Group Discussion, class observations and content analysis of subject-specific textbooks, curriculum and Teacher’s Guide documents. The key findings indicate that secondary students from low-income urban communities perceived climate change as an existential threat, yet many hold misconceptions and limited understanding of its causes, global consequences and climate action. Most students believed climate change happened due to anthropogenic activities only and expressed dissatisfaction with the way they were being taught about climate change. Teachers, facing various contextual constraints, were not implementing the curriculum framework’s project-based learning methods. Moreover, the National Curriculum Framework and its teaching-learning materials contained fragmented and insufficient content relevant to climate change. This study has implications for policymakers and curriculum developers to address these gaps and employ better climate change education for Bangladeshi children.