Towards the Introduction of Climate Action in the Educational Curriculum of Bulgarian Schools

Currently, there is insufficient institutional capacity to include climate change issues in the educational system and insufficient teaching capacity; a lack of educational materials on a resource-efficient, low-carbon and climate-resilient economy; lack of interdisciplinarity – the subjects of climate change and energy efficiency do not exist as a standalone topic in the educational curriculum. There is no effective and flexible mechanism to coordinate all the key players in the climate action education field or to change the students’ and teachers’ behaviour towards low energy consumption. The project will generate draft proposals to the Ministry of Education and Science in Bulgaria for specific updates to the educational standards, including climate change and energy efficiency aspects.

The project continues two educational projects already implemented by NTEF and supported by the German Environment Ministry (BMU).

Kick-off meeting for the project, Photo: ©NTEF

To improve the capacity of academic professionals, the project implemented two trainings-of-trainers’ modules: one in Berlin and one in Bulgaria. The trainers developed the training programme for teachers and drafted educational materials. Along with the planned field work, field research methodologies and tools were also developed. Teachers who underwent the training acquired a professional qualification and earned state education standard credits for their various involvements in different stages of the project’s activities. The finalising of the educational materials consisted of incorporating the contributions of the teachers, improving their capacity to implement project activities in chosen NTEF beneficiary schools. German and EU experience was thus exchanged and applied. The Bulgarian Ministry of Education as owner of the new curriculum will continue offering these programmes over the long term.

• Climate action integrated into teacher training: As part of the project, climate action was firmly established in teacher training in Bulgaria. A new curriculum for the training of teacher trainers was troduced and offered on a continuous basis at universities. Twelve trainers were trained to provide teachers with training on the new climate action curriculum .
• Successful practical tests: More than 130 teachers and 2,000 students tested the new materials in practice. Internal evaluations showed that they subsequently increased their knowledge and changed their attitudes and behaviour towards energy efficiency and climate action. They developed an awareness of energy-saving behaviour, which contributes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, by conducting their own energy efficiency monitoring and identifying potential savings in their school buildings. 
• Long-term scaling: In the municipality of Bourgas, which implemented the programme in collaboration with EUKI’s BEACON project, 16 additional schools and five preschools were involved. This provided a sustainable impetus for the long-term integration of climate action into the education sector. 
• Impact on national education policy: The project laid the foundation for embedding climate education in national education policy. As a result, it made further proposals for updating national educational standards and introducing new university programmes on climate, sustainability and energy efficiency.