Addressing Eco-Anxiety in Turkish Schools: A Document Analysis of the Environmental and Climate Change Education Curriculum

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21

Ecology; Anxiety; Climate; Environmental Education; Psychological Patterns; Well Being; Middle School Students; Secondary School Curriculum; Responsibility; Problem Solving; Student Empowerment; Emotional Response; Coping

Awareness-raising efforts regarding the climate crisis in schools have gained momentum in recent years. However, increased awareness of the climate crisis has also led to a rise in eco-anxiety, which threatens the well-being of young people. Therefore, it is becoming important to be sensitive to eco-anxiety in climate crisis awareness education and to support skills for managing eco-anxiety. This research aims to evaluate the environmental and climate change curriculum, which was implemented in middle schools in 2022, in terms of eco-anxiety. Upon examining the program, it is observed that the curriculum addresses climate change at both global and local levels, highlighting the urgency of climate change and its impacts on all species. Additionally, the program emphasizes the responsibilities of individuals and institutions in combating climate change and supports students in developing projects aimed at solving this issue. The curriculum empowers students by involving them in actionable climate change projects, turning anxiety into proactive measures, and highlighting the immediate relevance of their actions. Improvements could include addressing emotional impacts directly, incorporating psychological coping strategies, and emphasizing successful climate action stories to foster hope and counter negative projections. [This paper was published in: "EJER Congress 2024 International Eurasian Educational Research Congress Conference Proceedings," edited by Senel Poyrazli, Ani Publishing, 2024, pp. 183-187.]

As Provided

2024

ED662805