The MIRACLE project set out to achieve ambitious objectives that respond to shared needs across European primary schools. First, it aimed to upskill teachers to deliver an action-based Climate Change Education Curriculum (CCEC), providing them with the pedagogical confidence and interdisciplinary tools to teach sustainability effectively. Second, it sought to enhance digital competences among teachers and pupils by encouraging whole-class co-creation of content, particularly through comics and augmented reality, fostering creativity and collaboration in the learning process. A further goal was to support teachers in recognising and addressing eco-anxiety and eco-pessimism, equipping them with strategies to help pupils overcome fear, strengthen resilience, and develop critical thinking and media literacy skills in the face of disinformation. The project also set out to evaluate the educational value of comics literacy in climate change education, generating evidence on how visual storytelling and digital augmentation can improve scientific literacy and engagement. Finally, MIRACLE aimed to embed a Whole-School Approach to sustainability, integrating its resources into national curricula, teacher training, and school action plans.
The MIRACLE project was conceived in response to urgent educational needs arising from the climate crisis and its impact on young learners. Schools across Europe face the dual challenge of equipping pupils with scientific understanding of climate change while also addressing eco-anxiety, misinformation, and disengagement. At the same time, teachers require innovative tools that connect curricula to pupils’ lived experiences in creative and accessible ways. Our consortium applied for this project to fill these gaps by combining climate change education with digital creativity, comics, and augmented reality. Needs assessments conducted at the proposal stage and confirmed during implementation highlighted limited availability of age-appropriate resources for primary education, insufficient teacher training on sustainability, and a lack of engaging methods to counter disinformation. The project also responds to European priorities such as the Green Deal, the Council Recommendation on learning for environmental sustainability, and the GreenComp framework. MIRACLE directly addresses these needs by co-developing open educational resources, a teacher training programme, a MOOC, and an Augmented Classroom.