Teachers’ Knowledge, Beliefs, and Attitudes about Climate Change

Abstract

A sample of eighty Israeli in-service teachers filled out a questionnaire assessing their beliefs about the existence and the anthropogenic origin of climate change, their knowledge about the causes and consequences of climate change and the actions which can be taken to remediate it, as well as their level of concern about it and their readiness to act and teach in a climate-friendly way. The results show gaps in knowledge especially regarding the consequences of climate change, and misconceptions about the causes of climate change. The anthropogenic nature of climate change is well admitted. The percentage of teachers ready to take action to slow down climate change is smaller than the percentage of teachers understanding climate change. There is a significant correlation between knowledge about the consequences of climate change and concern about it and readiness to act. These results lay out the path for possible improvement of climate change instruction in teachers’ preparation programs.