Keeping emotions in check
Teaching controversial topics
The notion of human-induced climate change has long been a source of controversy all over the world, notably so in the US. Lombardi and Sinatra report a study into the emotions exhibited by US teachers regarding the topic and the impact of those emotions on their perceptions regarding the plausibility of climate change, with consideration of their effect on teaching and learning.
The article indicates that climate change is gaining importance as a topic in US classrooms, with resources produced by national scientific bodies providing detailed theory and evidence about the causes and effects. The authors note that climate change is associated with strong emotions, particularly when the role of human activity is considered. These emotions may include anger, hopelessness, fear and anxiety, and can be diagnostic of underlying attitudes and prejudices.
David Read summarises and reviews the article.
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