Event Recap: Barriers and Potentials in Using Social-Emotional Learning Towards Climate Justice
This panel discussion, moderated by Radhika Iyengar, delved into the integration of Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) into climate justice education. The conversation highlighted SEL’s transformative potential in fostering empathy, mindfulness, and responsible decision-making, while addressing systemic barriers that limit its application. Experts from South Asia and beyond shared insights on how SEL can be contextualized to address cultural attitudes, systemic injustices, and behavioral change within climate education.
Key Themes
Defining Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)
The panel began by exploring UNESCO’s definition of SEL as a holistic process that combines cognitive, social, emotional, and relational aspects of learning. SEL supports well-being, academic success, and active citizenship, making it an essential tool for addressing climate challenges. Despite its promise, SEL remains marginalized in pedagogy and assessments, limiting its integration into climate education.
Barriers to Integrating SEL into Climate Education
Several barriers were identified during the discussion:
Overload of Environmental Science: Current climate education focuses heavily on scientific facts but neglects emotional and social dimensions. This approach has not successfully changed behaviors.
Lack of Access: Vulnerable communities most affected by climate change often lack access to quality environmental education.
Marginalization in Pedagogy: SEL is not integrated into routine curricula or assessments, which limits its experiential impact.
Cultural Disconnects: Climate education often overlooks cultural attitudes and contexts that are crucial for meaningful engagement.
Provocations for Change
Panelists posed critical questions to address these barriers:
How can SEL promote humanistic skills like empathy and compassion within climate education?
How can education uncover systemic injustices tied to environmental issues (e.g., pollution disproportionately affecting marginalized communities)?
What role can AI play in enhancing SEL frameworks while addressing its limitations?
Insights from Panelists
Arooj Khalid: Bridging Science and Emotional Impact
Khalid emphasized the lack of access to environmental science education in vulnerable communities. She noted that even where science education exists, it often fails to connect with the emotional and social impacts of climate change. Khalid advocated for skill-based solutions that link scientific concepts with tangible experiences such as smog or floods.
Ambreena Ahmed: Teacher Toolkits
Ahmed discussed the importance of equipping teachers with toolkits that integrate SEL into environmental education. These resources can help educators unfamiliar with climate topics deliver impactful lessons.
Fozia Parveen: Teacher Aids
Shared studies showed the rich SEL experience that students have in nature. Therefore, experiential opportunity is a part of the pedagogy. Address how education can equip students to ask these questions and uncover the systems behind the symptoms. Fozia also shared solution oriented thinking around , empathy -> improved SEL because learners feel in control as opposed to feeling helpless.
Eshal Farooqi: Contextualizing Environmental Teaching
Farooqi stressed the need to contextualize climate education within local cultural frameworks. This approach ensures relevance and fosters deeper engagement among learners. Climate Education needs to be relevant to address the needs of the students.
Marvi Soomro: School Gardens as Learning Spaces
Soomro highlighted the potential of school gardens as spaces for experiential learning. These gardens can teach students about environmental stewardship while fostering SEL principles like collaboration and empathy.
Arya Karumanthra
Teachers in Germany, the United States, and India are feeling tense and nervous about the changes that are occurring and the anxiety that they cause. Therefore, how can we ensure that teachers are supported with resources and pedagogy in order to navigate the complex demands?
Afia Aslam
Afia Aslam's notes centered on the need for advocacy with teachers who are unfamiliar with climate topics, emphasizing the importance of a justice lens when contextualizing SEL. Implicit in her position is a concern that without this advocacy and a focus on justice, SEL could be superficially implemented, failing to address the root causes of climate change and inequality. Aslam’s perspective suggests that SEL must be purposefully designed to promote critical consciousness and empower learners to become agents of change.
Camilla Hadi Chaudhary
Camilla Hadi Chaudhary's notes highlighted the need to move beyond simply providing information and to focus on promoting humanistic skills like empathy and compassion, especially in light of AI's increasing role. She also emphasized that climate change and pollution often exacerbate existing societal injustices and that education should empower students to question and uncover the systems behind these issues.
Frameworks and Practices
The panel discussed several strategies for integrating SEL into climate education:
Purposeful Pedagogy: Designing curricula that combine cognitive learning with social-emotional aspects through experiential methods.
Collective Happiness Frameworks: Promoting community-based approaches that emphasize shared well-being in tackling climate challenges.
National Initiatives:
STEAM in Pakistan: Integrating science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics with SEL for climate education.
Climate Integration in New Jersey: Incorporating SEL into formal curricula as a tool for behavioral change.
Nudges for Action: Using small interventions to spread environmental messages within communities.
Role of AI in Climate Education
AI was discussed as both a tool and a challenge:
Positive applications include creating knowledge banks and simulations to train educators in SEL.
Concerns were raised about AI’s inability to fully humanize learning experiences. Panelists emphasized the need for AI-driven solutions aligned with humanistic principles.
Conclusion
The discussion underscored the transformative potential of integrating SEL into climate education. By fostering empathy, mindfulness, and collective action, SEL can empower learners to address climate challenges holistically. Baela Jamil’s contribution provided a compelling conclusion by emphasizing the importance of scaling these efforts through purposeful pedagogy and community-driven frameworks. She highlighted how SEL could be used to uncover systemic injustices tied to environmental issues while equipping learners with critical thinking skills necessary for solution-oriented approaches. Jamil also stressed the need for collaborative efforts across disciplines to create inclusive frameworks that promote both environmental sustainability and social justice.
The panel called for actionable solutions such as integrating SEL into formal curricula, developing teacher toolkits, using community-based nudges for behavioral change, and contextualizing educational approaches within local cultures. By addressing barriers such as marginalization in pedagogy and lack of access in vulnerable communities, these strategies can pave the way for a more equitable and effective approach to climate justice education.
The session was hosted as part of Worldwide Climate and Justice Education Week by Columbia University’s Center for Sustainable Development and the Climate Education for a Resilient Future Earth Network.