Classrooms for climate justice: An action research project
Classrooms for Climate Justice is a research project funded by the British Academy and based at Newcastle University, with collaboration from Dublin City University and Northumbria University.
It is led by Dr Catherine Walker, a Research Fellow in Human Geography at Newcastle University. Other researchers involved are Dr Audrey Bryan and Dr Anne Marie Kavanagh of Dublin City University, and Dr Kevin Ardron of Northumbria University. Find out more about the research team here.
Across the world, there are increasing expectations for schools and colleges to prepare learners for the challenges of living with climate change. There is a growing body of resources for teaching on climate change across subject areas and educational stages. However, support and resources for discussing climate justice is less well developed. This is significant as climate justice is a recognised concern of children and young people, made visible by young climate activists, but also documented in global surveys with young people.
Classrooms for Climate Justice aims to explore the opportunities and challenges of incorporating climate justice perspectives into primary and secondary education in England and Ireland by working with a small group of educators (up to 20 educators in total) in the cities and surrounding regions where the researchers are based. The research will also generate resources to support the development of climate justice education in England, Ireland and beyond. These will be hosted on this dedicated project website.
Activities and timeline
Educators who choose to take part in the research will be invited to…
take part in an online interview, where they will talk about the opportunities they have to teach on climate change and climate justice (Jan/Feb 2025).
attend an in-person workshop at either Newcastle University or Dublin City University (March 2025). The workshop will last half a day, and will include group discussion and supported time for participants to plan a climate justice ‘intervention’ for their current teaching.
individually carry out their climate justice interventions (between March and June 2025) and share any ideas, resources and reflections generated by the interventions.
join an online meeting (July 2025) to reflect on the interventions and possibilities for climate justice education in England, Ireland and beyond.
choose if and how they want the resources and reflections they generated to be shared on this project website. Individual participants may choose to have their resources anonymised or attributed to them by name.
What are the possible benefits of taking part?
There are no material benefits to taking part in the research, but educators’ time at the in-person workshop will be compensated through a payment to your school, and travel expenses will be reimbursed. We hope that educators will enjoy taking part in the research, and will find the opportunity to discuss, share and reflect with other educators to be useful for your professional development and pedagogic practice. We also hope that the creation of resources for this project website will benefit other educators.
How is the project being managed, and how can I take part?
For more information about the project, and how you can take part, please read our project information sheet
