Case Study Summary

This research is led by Students Organising for Sustainability (SOS-UK), a student-led organization which advocates for improved integration of sustainability through all subjects and stages of education in the UK.

The case study will research the Teach the Teacher (TTT) initiative, which was created and is led by secondary school students. TTT seeks to equip students with the skills and knowledge to engage their teachers on climate change and the need for climate education across all subjects. A pilot of TTT successfully engaged 50 young people in 17 schools in October-November 2021.  TTT has now secured funding to scale up the project to reach 600 young people and 200 schools across the UK annually for three years.

The case study research team consists of three members of SOS-UK and one researcher from the University of Oxford. The research team will capture the stories of young people involved in the programme through facilitated digital storytelling workshops ending with sharing student-produced films alongside focus group conversations. The study will also co-create guidelines for teacher practices and student outcomes of high-quality climate education. The team will measure the impacts of the programme on the 2023 cohort of teachers and students alongside action competence and climate hope based on the identified practices and outcomes of the programme. This case study will help to shape the Teach the Teacher programme for more impact and allow SOS-UK to share this innovative student-led work, which is shaping climate education and education reform at national and international levels while supporting climate educators in the classroom.