Moving from a ‘zone of inaction’ to a ‘zone of possibility’: how teachers can improve climate change education policy in India

Thesis

The climate crisis presents itself as one of the biggest challenges of our time. Resulting in the large-scale loss of livelihoods, destruction of homes and schools, and a significant loss of lives; the effects of this crisis are particularly pronounced in India and demand urgent and immediate attention. There is a growing need for climate adaptation and climate change education (CCE) that empowers its children to face and combat the dire effects of the climate crisis. In recent years, India has introduced two significant educational policies: the National Educational Policy (NEP, 2020) and the National Curriculum Framework (NCF, 2023) that address CCE and outline processes for its effective implementation, positioning teachers as central actors responsible for the effective implementation of CCE.

The current research on the interplay between teacher agency and CCE in India is limited. The existing literature portrays teachers as facing multiple structural and systemic challenges and being often held responsible for the declining educational quality in India. Additionally, the inclusion of teacher voice and involvement in policy design and review is limited. The combination of these challenges results in a situation where teachers could potentially be positioned in what could be conceptualised as a ‘zone of inaction’ in relation to implementing CCE policy in India.

Through semi-structured interviews, this study critically explores teachers’ perceptions of CCE, their beliefs on its importance, and their exercise of agency in actively engaging with these policies to facilitate the efficient and sustainable implementation of CCE in India. It employs a constructivist and epistemic justice lens to investigate what adaptations to these policies, in their opinion, would be impactful. The findings reveal that while teachers encounter multiple systemic and structural barriers, they are also actively involved in implementing CCE in their respective contexts and offer practical recommendations to strengthen CCE policy in India.

Building on these findings, the study argues that it is possible to shift from a ‘zone of inaction’ to a ‘zone of possibility’ in CCE by strengthening teachers’ agency, incorporating their recommendations in policy, and actively involving teachers in policy design and review. At the heart of this study lies the understanding that involving teachers actively in the policy development process and acknowledging their agency as pivotal to policy success makes educational policies considerably more effective.

Authors: Gopal, A

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-yebxpxmae
• Type of award: MSc taught course
• Level of award: Masters
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: CIE; CIE2024; semi-structured interviews; teachers; climate change education; education policy
• Subjects: Teachers; Interviews; Education; Climatic changes