PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Students who attend schools near data centers are more likely to see their math scores decline than those who don’t. Attending school near noisy airports is also associated with lower math scores.
After participating in a math class that incorporated information about renewable energy, U.S. students were more likely to report that they knew about climate change and had some hope that they could combat it. In India, children who learned about air pollution in art classes were more likely to understand the environmental problem, but not necessarily change their behavior in ways that mitigate it.
These were some of the mostly preliminary research findings discussed at a conference I attended last week on climate change and education, organized by DurableEDa program at Brown University. It was launched last year by Matthew Kraft, professor of education and economics, to support research on schools, learning and climate change – and present this work to policymakers.
At the event, Kraft said it was important to broaden the conversation about climate change by connecting it to other issues people care about, such as students’ health, their academic achievement and their “sense of community and belonging.”
“We can talk about it in terms of dollars and cents, operational expenses and potential savings,” he added. “We can talk about it in terms of operational performance, keeping school buildings open and functional. »
Here are some research highlights and other takeaways from the conference:
- Universal education is a climate policyaccording to Harry Patrinos, professor at the University of Arkansas, who presented research on the question of whether school stimulates pro-environmental behavior. His review of existing studies, including the effects of compulsory schooling laws in Europe, suggests that people who spent an extra year in school were more likely to be aware of and concerned about climate change and to align with green political parties.
- Math scores of students in schools within a kilometer of data centers declined more than for students at schools one to two miles away, according to Samantha Kane, a postdoctoral research associate at Brown. Its preliminary findings suggest that there is a statistically significant decline in math scores among third graders who attend schools near the centers, which emit harmful pollutants linked to asthma and other health problems. Children attending schools near multiple data centers experienced even steeper declines.
- It’s not just about air pollution… noise pollution was also associated with lower math scoresaccording to research by Josh Aarons, doctoral student at the University of California, San Diego. He looked at schools located in “noisy corridors” near the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and found that students’ math scores there saw a significant decline. This suggests that schools need to invest in soundproofing classrooms, he said.
- Even Relatively small doses of teaching can increase students’ understanding and sense of hope about climate issues. The study in India, a randomized controlled trial, found that after just three 60-minute lessons, students were more likely to understand air pollution issues, according to Ashutosh Bhuradia, a Ph.D. candidate at the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University. After participating in several approximately 60-minute climate lessons in one of the following four areas: art, algebra, English And science — students said they knew more about climate change and had a greater sense of climate action, according to research presented by Margaret Wang, co-founder of SubjecttoClimate, which connects teachers to climate lessons.
- It is also possible to encourage students to change their behavior, although this may be more difficult to achieve. Students in Bhuradia’s study were no less likely to take climate-related action — in this case, choosing an eco-friendly incense instead of regular incense and donating to a class’s “clean air fund” — after participating in classes. In Wang’s study, however, student participants reported a greater willingness to take actions like buying energy-saving light bulbs, washing clothes at lower temperatures, and writing to elected officials.
- Sixty of the nation’s 200 largest school districts have adopted environmental and sustainability policiesagainst 51 in 2020, according to Carine Verschueren, postdoctoral research associate at the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign. A growing share of policy addresses climate change and climate justice, often due to student activism, whose role has been mentioned in many documents, Verschueren said. School districts have been motivated to adopt these policies for a variety of reasons, including conserving resources, promoting student and staff health, saving money, and empowering students.
Contact editor Caroline Preston at 212-870-8965, via Signal at CarolineP.83 or by email at preston@hechingerreport.org.
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