Centre for Climate Change
and Sustainability Education
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Publications

Blogs
Climate change and sustainability education in the English national curriculum: Signs of hope? (13 November 2025) - Rushton, E.C. & Walshe, N. British Educational Research Association Blog Teachers are teaching themselves how to incorporate climate change and sustainability into their teaching: we can and should support them (4 September 2025) - Dr Kate Greer, Prof Justin Dillon, Dr Alison Kitson, Prof Nicola Walshe Challenges for climate change and sustainability education in England: Reflections on teachers’ practices and priorities for policymakers. BERA BLOG. (6 June 2025) - Rushton, Elizabeth & Prof Nicola Walshe Is There A Place For Justice-Focused Climate & Sustainability Education? SEEd Blog (25 March 2025) - Lizzie Rushton & Prof Nicola Walshe Branching Out: Mobilising community assets to support the mental health and wellbeing of children in primary schools. (17 September 2024) - Prof Nicola Walshe and Hilary Bungay The Francis Review: why do we educate young people today? (7 September 2024) - Dr Kate Greer, Melissa Glackin, Prof Heather King Putting climate and biodiversity at the heart of education: A National Education Nature Park approach (9 July 2024) - Amy Strachan Faltering Progress: Reflections of Action for Climate Empowerment at COP28 (20 February 2024) - Dr Kate Greer ‘Everything, everywhere, all at once': Reflections on international climate change and environmental policy engagement (11 December 2023) - Dr Kate Greer Action for Climate Empowerment: why this ‘policy glue’ needs a cross-government approach (30 November 2023) - Dr Kate Greer Reflections on international climate change and environmental policy engagement (11 December 2023) - Dr Kate Greer Action for Climate Empowerment: why this ‘policy glue’ needs a cross-government approach (30 November 2023) - Dr Kate Greer Educating for Sustainable Futures in Secondary Education (29 November 2023) – Prof Nicola Walshe The potential of infrapolitical dissent for influencing climate change education policy (4 October 2023) – Dr Kate Greer et al How arts-in-nature experiences can boost the wellbeing of children and young people. (17 April 2023) - Dr Zoe Moula & Prof Nicola Walshe The climate crisis needs a whole-school approach, starting with teacher access to professional development. IOE blog. (13 July 2023) - Dr Kate Greer & Dr Alison Kitson Climate change education: what happened at COP27 and what happens next? (23 November 2022) - Dr Kate Greer
Books/Chapters
Framing Primary Science Teacher Education Around Planetary-Conscious Pedagogy: A Design-Based Approach to Empower Future Educators. Strachan, A. and Markwick, A. (2025) In In White, P.J., Tytler, R., and Ferguson, J. P. (eds) Methodological Approaches to STEM Education Research Volume 6. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Essays on nature and the philosophy of environmental education. Routledge. Bonnet, M., Dillon, J., & Reid, A. (Eds) Humour and environmental education. Routledge. Russel, C., Chandler, P., & Dillon, J. (Eds) Towards Environmentally-Sustainable Practices for Teaching Music With Technology. In: Philpott, C, Spruce, G., eds. Debates in Music Teaching (2nd ed.). Routledge. Purves, R. & Himonides, E. Arts in Nature with Children and Young People: Towards Health Equality, Wellbeing, and Sustainability. Routledge: London. Moula, Z. & Walhe, N. (Eds) Climate Change Education Dillon, J. (2023). In J. Dillon & M. Watts (Eds). Debates in Science Education (2nd edition) (pp. 59–72). Routledge ‘The heart of the forest is here’: Reframing children’s disempowered relationships with once-familiar places through Eco-Capabilities. Walshe, N., Moula, Z. & Cox-Condron, H. (2024). In Pike, S. & Rawlings-Smith, E. (Eds) Encountering Ideas of Place in Education, pp 39–52. Routledge Environmental and science education: Overlaps and issues Dillon, J. (2023). In S. Faircloth (Ed.). Oxford Bibliographies in Education. Oxford University Press Environmental education Dillon, J. & Herman, B. (2023). In N. G. Lederman, D. L. Zeidler & J. S. Lederman (Eds). Handbook of Research on Science Education, Volume 3. (pp. 717–748). Routledge Debates in science education Dillon, J. & Watts, M. (2023). In J. Dillon & M. Watts (Eds). Debates in Science Education (2nd edition) (pp. 1–9). Routledge Learning to teach controversial topics Reiss, M. J. (2022). In: Handbook of Research on Science Teacher Education, Luft, J. A. & Jones, M. G. (Eds), Routledge, pp. 403–413 Developing (Transformative) Environmental and Sustainability Education in Classroom Practice. Walshe, N. & Sund, L. (Eds) (2022). MDPI
Centre Publications
Climate change and sustainable development (CCSD) education in Egypt: Policy-relevant evidence from girls and their teachers in under-privileged urban primary schools in Egypt. Policy Briefing (Arabic Version). University College London. London, UK. Hargreaves, E., Walshe, N., Elhawary, D., Sheldrake, R. and Perry, J. (September 2025) Climate change and sustainable development (CCSD) education in Egypt: Policy-relevant evidence from girls and their teachers in under-privileged urban primary schools in Egypt. Policy Briefing. University College London. London, UK. Hargreaves, E., Walshe, N., Elhawary, D., Sheldrake, R. and Perry, J. (July 2025) Climate change and sustainable development education in Egypt: Policy-relevant evidence from girls and their teachers in under-privileged urban primary schools in Egypt. University College London. London, UK. Hargreaves, E., Walshe, N., Elhawary, D., Sheldrake, R. and Perry, J. (July 2025) The key contributions of subjects to climate change and nature education: a curriculum policy proposal Kitson, A., Phillips, M. & Dillon, J. (2025). IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education and Society: London, UK A conversation with young people about climate change and sustainability education in England: Ministerial policy briefing Walshe, N. (11 November 2024) Climate Change and Sustainability Education: A survey of students in England Walshe, N.; Sheldrake, R.; Healy, G.; Edwards, RC; Wale, W.; Hargreaves, E.; (2024). IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education and Society: London, UK The role of subjects and subject associations in climate change and sustainability education in England University College London (2024). IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education and Society: London, UK Teaching climate change and sustainability: A survey of teachers in England Greer, K., Sheldrake, R., Rushton, E., Kitson, A., Hargreaves, E., Walshe, N. (2023). IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education and Society: London, UK
External Reports
Journal Articles: 2021-2023
’Standing back or stepping up?’ Exploring climate change education policy influence in England. Greer, K., King, H. & Glackin, M. (2023). British Education Research Journal, 49(5), 1088–1107 Teaching for Sustainable Futures: A research-informed professional development course Mitchell, D. (2023). Geography, 108(3), 147–151 “It was like I was not a person, it was like I was the nature”: The impact of arts-in-nature experiences on the wellbeing of children living in areas of high deprivation. Moula Z., Walshe N., Lee E. (2023). Journal of Environmental Psychology, 90, 102072 Conceptualising HE educators’ capabilities to ‘teach the crisis’: Towards critical and transformative environmental pedagogies Owens, J., Greer, K., King, H., Glackin, M. (2023). Frontiers in Education, 8 Reflecting on climate change education priorities in secondary schools in England: Moving beyond learning about climate change to the emotions of living with climate change Rushton, E. A. C., Sharp, S., Kitson, A. & Walshe, N. (2023). Sustainability, 15(8), 6497 Evolutionary stasis: Creationism, evolution and climate change in the Accelerated Christian Education curriculum Scaramanga, J. & Reiss, M. J. (2023). Cultural Studies of Science Education, 18, 809–827 Sustainable outdoor education: Organisations connecting children and young people with nature through the arts Walshe, N., Bungay, H. & Dadswell, A. (2023). Sustainability, 15(5), 3941 Eco-Capabilities: Arts-in-nature interventions for supporting nature visibilisation and wellbeing in children Walshe, N., Perry, J. & Moula, Z. (2023). Sustainability, 15, 12290 Putting climate change at the heart of education: Is England’s strategy a placebo for policy? Dunlop, L. & Rushton, E. A. C. (2022). British Educational Research Journal, 48(6), 1083–1101 GeoCapabilities 3: knowledge and values in education for the Anthropocene Mitchell, D. (2022). International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education. Climate change, sustainability and the environment: The continued importance of biological education Rushton, E. A. C. & Walshe, N. (2022). Journal of Biological Education, 56(3), 243–244 Eco-capabilities as a pathway to wellbeing and sustainability Walshe, N., Moula, Z. & Lee, E. (2022). Sustainability, 14(6), 3582 Eco-capabilities: Supporting children’s wellbeing through arts in nature Walshe, N. & Moula, Z. (2021). Environmental Education, 126, 16–17
Journal Articles: 2024
Responding to the environmental emergency through education: the imperative for teacher support across all subjects Greer, K., Walshe, N., Kitson, A. & Dillon, J., (2024). UCL Open Environment 6(1) Geography teacher educators' perspectives on Education for Sustainability: identity and agency in a period of rapid education policy change in England. Hammond, L., Fargher, M. & Walshe, N. (2024). International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 1-18. Climate Change, Sustainability, and Education: Conceptions of Teachers of Geography in England. Healy, G., Mitchell, D. & Walshe, N. (2024). Sustainability 16(7213) Climate change and sustainability education in music: the current situation in England Purves, R. & Himonides, E. (2024). Diskussion Musikpädagogik, (102), 0.1-0.7
Journal Articles: 2025
Reducing gender inequalities in education helps mitigate climate change Cheng, L., Walshe, N. & Mi, Z. (2025). Energy Economics, 145 Towards a whole-school approach to educating for hazard literacy to address the climate and environment emergency Dillon, J. (2025). Journal of Hazard Literacy, 1(2), 1-9 Learning from the past; thinking for the future: Reflections on STEM and its integration in formal and informal settings Dillon, J. & Wong, V. (2025). International Journal of STEM Education, 12(32). Socioeconomic variation in emotional and behavioural engagement with the climate crisis in England: Perspectives for education Edwards, R.C., Perry, J. & Walshe, N. (2025). Behavioural Sciences, 15(4), 407 Teaching climate change and sustainability in England: committed individuals and the prevalence of ‘self-taught’ professional learning. Greer, K., Kitson, A., Rushton, E. A. C., Walshe, N., & Dillon, J. (2025). Professional Development in Education, 1-23. Exploring the use of digital technologies for Ocean Literacy Education using a material-dialogic theoretical framework Hetherington, L., Brandt, H., Chappell, K., Dillon, J., & Malmierca, M. R. (2025). Environmental Education Research, 1-29 "What do I do? Save the environment or let children go hungry?" Leading English schools at a time of climate crisis Higham, R. & Kitson, A. (2025) International Journal of Leadership in Education Curriculum making in an age of crisis: the contribution of the capabilities approach Lambert, D., Béneker, T., Bladh, G., & Mitchell, D. (2025). Geography, 110(3), 146-155 Reimagining Primary Science: Integrating Geological and Environmental Sciences for Systems Thinking and Climate Change Education Markwick, A., and Strachan, A. (2025) Earth Science, Systems and Society, vol 5 The science curriculum: issues, tensions and future prospects Millar, V., Park, W., Dillon, J. (2025). International Journal of Science Education, 1-7 Climate change and child wellbeing: a systematic evidence and gap map of published studies on impacts, mitigation and adaptation Prost, A., Mohamed, M., Amin, A., Lever, L., Montini, A., Machida, K., Rajagopalan, S., Costello, A., McGushin, A., Jennings, B., Benoit, L., Saville, N., Ayeb-Karlsson, S., Sterlini, S., Walshe, N., & Dalglish, S.L. (2025). The Lancet Planetary Health, 9(4), e337-e346 Curriculum making and climate change and sustainability education: the experiences of school teachers from England Rushton, E.A.C. & Walshe, N. (2025). Environmental Education Research, 31(5), 1083-1097 Telling tales: the use of narratives in informal STEM settings Shaby, N., Dillon, J., Peleg, R., Ben-Zvi Assaraf, O., Pattison, S., Pierroux, P., Barzilay, M., Grenon, M., Steier, R., Svarovsky, G., Ramos-Montanez, S., Wagner, C., Quijano, M., Corbett, A., López Burgos, V., & Contreras, D. (2025). Research in Science and Technological Education, 1-22 Agentic action as an aim for sustainability education: views from secondary school teachers in England. Sheldrake, R., Walshe, N. & Hargreaves, E. (2025). Environmental Education Research, 31(6), 1117-1134 Using a scoping review to inform a planetary-conscious pedagogical approach to primary science education Strachan, A., and Markwick, A. (2025) Research in Science Education, vol 55 (pp 817-871) Towards a justice-oriented climate change and sustainability education: perspectives from school teachers in England Rushton, E.A.C., Walshe, N. & Johnston, B. (2025). The Curriculum Journal, 00, 1-18 Understanding teacher agency in the context of school-based climate change and sustainability education: a case study of the experiences of teachers and school students in England. Walshe, N. & Rushton, E.A.C. (2025). British Educational Research Journal. Student perspectives on climate change and sustainability education in England: experiences and expectations Walshe, N., Perry, J. & Healy, G. (2025). UCL Open Environment. 7(1)
Podcasts
Professional Publications
Music, technology, education and environmental sustainability: an overview of findings from recent research in the UK Purves, R., Himonides, E., and Arnott, E. (3 Nov 2025) Proceedings of the 17th International Symposium on Computer Music Multidisciplinary Research. London, United Kingdom pp635-646. The Laboratory PRISM. 'Living cities - foregrounding nature in urban environments, past, present and future' Mitchell, D. (2025). Teaching Geography, 50(1), 10-13 Artscaping: A guide to establishing arts-in-nature opportunities in your schools. Cambridge Curiosity and Imagination and University College London (2023). Citizenship education in the context of climate change: Two research frameworks that can support teaching Greer, K. & Svennevig, H. (2023). Teaching Citizenship, 58 Climate change teaching for sustainable futures Kitson, A. (2023). Teaching Citizenship, 58 Nurturing eco-capabilities for transformative learning and wellbeing Walshe, N. & Perry, J. (2023). Primary Geography, 110(1), 7–9 Transformative geography education: Developing eco-capabilities for a flourishing and sustainable future Walshe, N. & Perry, J. (2022). Teaching Geography, 47(3), 94–97 How can we meet the pledge to put climate ‘at the heart of education’? Walshe, N. (2021). Schools Week