Sustainable Development Goal for Education: Teachers' Perspectives on Climate Change Education in Senior High Schools (SHS)

Any program intended to equip the populace, particularly young people, to combat climate change and its repercussions must include education. As crucial stakeholders in education, teachers have the primary responsibility of preparing young people to deal with the effects of climate change. In two districts of Ghana's Bono region, the study assessed SHS teachers' viewpoints on climate change and their willingness to include climate change concerns in classes. The degree to which climate change was incorporated into the syllabi of selected disciplines was also assessed. For this study, data was collected from a hundred (n = 100) SHS teachers from 10 of the 15 schools in the study area using a simple random sampling method. The Pearson chi-square test was used to examine the association between the subject content and teachers' desire to teach climate change. The data were analyzed using SPSS (v25). The findings demonstrated that teachers' readiness to educate about climate change was influenced by the subjects they taught. Subjects that were not science-based provided little information on climate change to teachers. Climate change is addressed in many areas in Integrated Science and Social Studies, and it is a core topic for all students. Climate change should be taught using an interdisciplinary approach, and in-service training for teachers could be beneficial.

Automated summary

In order to equip the populace, particularly young people, to combat climate change and its repercussions, education plays a crucial role. This study assessed the views of Senior High School (SHS) teachers in two districts of Ghana's Bono region on climate change and their willingness to include it in classes. The findings showed that teachers' readiness to educate about climate change was influenced by the subjects they taught, with science-based subjects providing more information. Climate change is addressed in Integrated Science and Social Studies, and it should be taught using an interdisciplinary approach. In-service training for teachers could be beneficial.