Preparing young people to deal with complex contemporary events and environmental issues can be challenging for teachers and a new book edited by Associate Professor at Mary Immaculate College (MIC) Dr Anne Dolan aims to do just that.
Teaching the Sustainable Development Goals to Young Citizens (10-16 years) A Focus on Teaching Hope, Respect, Empathy and Advocacy in Schools will help teachers to navigate the big issues of our time including climate, biodiversity, peace, poverty, gender equality and more.
A lecturer in the Department of Learning, Society & Religious Education within the Faculty of Education, Dr Dolan said: “By teaching young people about climate change and the biodiversity issues through developing an appreciation about the power, beauty and resilience of nature, change can be ignited. Instead of focusing on facts and figures, this book also introduces strategies for promoting an ethos of hope, respect, empathy and advocacy in schools. The book is timely as the new Leaving Certificate subject: Climate Action and Sustainable Development will be introduced in pilot schools in September 2025.”
This publication is a key resource for teachers and student teachers at a time of war, environmental crisis, migration and human rights abuses and includes contributions from Ireland’s leading experts in the fields of sustainability, climate change and global citizenship education.
The publication was launched in mid-November at the Galway Education Centre. TV and radio journalist and presenter Philip Boucher-Hayes, who was in attendance at the launch said: “This book affords equal space not only to issues of climate and biodiversity but also to poverty, inequality, war and those things that need to change right now in the light of extreme capitalism. The climate crisis is primarily a failure of imagination.’ The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity. According to Boucher Hayes ‘Transformative education advocated by this book needs to be rolled out across all schools in Ireland as we are not reacting quickly enough to address the challenges posed by the climate and biodiversity crises, as illustrated by recent catastrophic weather events and scientific evidence.”
Teaching the Sustainable Development Goals to Young Citizens (10-16 years) A Focus on Teaching Hope, Respect, Empathy and Advocacy in Schools is published by Routledge and is available to order online at www.routledge.com and other leading booksellers.
