Every year ASI awards seed money to promising interdisciplinary projects. "Empowering Climate Education - Motivating Curriculum Change at the VU Amsterdam" is one of four ASI seed money winners 2024.
Dutch students consider the climate and ecological crisis to be the most pressing challenge for humanity (2022-2023 EIB Climate Survey) and want to be educated on this topic (Youngworks, 2023). Consistent with this call, scientists wrote an open letter calling upon higher education institutions to include climate education to teach students about the causes and consequences of the climate and ecological crisis and potential solutions (Alenda et al., 2023). However, climate education is not yet a priority in most VU programmes. Fueled by the gap between what students and scientists want and what the university offers, this project will identify the reasons behind VU program directors’ motivation (or lack thereof) to implement climate education in their study programs. Based on this knowledge, the team aims to propose an intervention to motivate program directors to implement climate education in their program. By using a systematic, evidence-based approach, this project will lead to a more widespread adoption of climate education in study programs, ensuring that a greater number of students will be educated on this topic and be well-prepared for their future.
Implementing climate education in all study programs would help fulfill VU's ambition to offer responsible education and align with the profile theme Science for Sustainability (VU Educational Vision 2021). Equipping students with climate knowledge not only empowers them with essential awareness, but also with knowledge and skills necessary to participate in and contribute to the development of solutions. Nevertheless, a considerable amount of VU programs does not currently offer climate education (VU Study Guide 2023-2024).
Research Team
- Dr Ana Isabel Lopes, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences, Communication Science
- Dr Sanchayan Banarjee, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Science, Institute for Environmental Studies
- Dr Jorim Tielbeek, Postdoctoral Researcher, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Faculty of Science
- Nicky Bosman, PhD-Candidate, Faculty of Behavioral and Movement Science, Clinical Psychology
- Simone Burger, PhD-Candidate, Faculty of Behavioral and Movement Science, Clinical Psychology
- Dr Meike Morren, Assistant Professor, Marketing, School of Business and Economics, Sustainability Officer Research at liaison with VU Sustainability Office
- Dr Karen Verduijn, Associate Professor, School of Business and Economics, Management and Organization
- Dr Guido van Koningsbruggen, Associate Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences, Communication Science