Integrating Climate Change Conversations into Kindergarten and the Primary Grades
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Young children are naturally curious about the world around them. They notice small changes in the environment that adults may overlook—a slow-moving insect or early, subtle changes in the color of leaves—and big changes, such as smoke from wildfires, heavy downpours from hurricanes, very hot surfaces and temperatures outside, or wilted grass due to long-term drought.
Growing evidence suggests that early childhood educators need to consider nature and the environment within their curricula (Meier & Sisk-Hilton 2017). To prepare children to join a “climate literate citizenry,” educators should include topics related to the environment and climate (Beaver & Borgerding 2023, 3). Studies have shown the negative effects of extreme weather such as hurricanes, heat waves, wildfires, floods, and droughts on aspects of children’s learning and development.
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Erin Hamel, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Georgia, Mary Frances Early College of Education. Her research focuses on early childhood settings as interconnected spaces where children’s learning environments and teachers’ working environments are inseparable, shaping outcomes for both.
Jingjing Xu, MEd, is pursuing her doctorate degree at the University of Georgia. Her primary interests include preschool teacher well-being, parent engagement, and early childhood development.
Liwei Zhao, MEd, is a doctoral student at the University of Georgia. Her research interests are early childhood teacher well-being and children’s language outcomes.
Andree Champagne is an elementary art teacher serving southeastern Louisiana. She is an advocate for climate education and research.
Hong Tran, PhD, is a research scientist at Virginia Tech. Her primary research interests include teacher education, self-regulated learning, science and engineering practices, and climate justice.
Emily Adah Miller, PhD, is an assistant professor at the University of Georgia, Mary Frances Early College of Education. She researches how elementary science teachers build on and cocreate practices that lead to scientific understanding by leveraging linguistic repertoires for communication.