We wanted to increase the ability of teachers to take climate action in their schools. Our theory of change holds that, if students are informed and care about the threats to human rights presented by climate change, then they are more likely to engage in projects to create more sustainable schools and communities. However, we know that not every teacher is experienced in speaking about human rights or climate change; we also know that they are experts in their own field and areas of interest. Therefore we tried to create resources that supported teachers of all levels of experience and interest to drive local, collective, student-led action.
Schools: Our research among schools suggested that teachers in some partner countries had limited resources and capacity to deliver global citizenship education (GCE) to their students. Furthermore, teachers felt unsupported to take climate action in their schools, even though they feel a greater pressure to be more sustainable in schools. National: An analysis of national policies suggested a disconnect in most partner countries between governments intention to create more sustainable schools and the action that teachers percieved to be takig places. Furthermore, GCE is increasingly present in national curricula, and teachers need access to relevant training and resources to deliver these. Individual: From an initial phase of research with teachers, we found they had very little time to upskill in GCE and some reported having very few resources that they could easily accesss. More experienced teachers wanted some material that they could give to less-experienced teachers, and then collaborate on projects between classes. Organisational: GAP Ireland had developed these secondary resources but had nothing similar for primary level. Other partner organisations were working in this sphere but without signature resources.