<
https://theconversation.com/schools-out-how-climate-change-is-already-badly-affecting-childrens-education-225737>
"Schools across South Sudan have been ordered to close as a heat wave of 45°C
sweeps across the country. In recent years, severe flooding has already caused
major disruptions to schooling in South Sudan where, on average, children
complete less than five years of formal education across their lives.
As researchers interested in both climate change and learning, we’ve been
surprised that most public debate in this area concerns how best to teach
children about climate change as part of the curriculum. Recently, we examined
a less discussed, but arguably much more consequential, question: How is
climate change impacting children’s education worldwide?
In a recent paper published in
Nature Climate Change, we reviewed studies
linking climate change-related events or “climate stressors” to education
outcomes. One of the clearest connections was between heat exposure and reduced
academic performance.
A study in the US found that adolescents’ maths scores decreased significantly
on days above 26°C. In China, hotter day-of-test temperatures were associated
with a drop in exam performance equal to losing a quarter of a year – or
several months – of schooling.
But it’s not just test days that matter. Studies show that raised temperatures
also affect learning over longer time periods. For example, pupils’ test scores
suffered when there were more hot days across the school year and even when the
hotter weather occurred three to four years before exam day.
Our review also highlights how climate-related regional disasters like
wildfires, storms, droughts and floods are keeping many children out of school
entirely. Floods can prevent children from travelling to school and cause
damage to school buildings and materials, which disrupts learning and lowers
test scores.
In developing countries, storms and droughts commonly cause children to leave
school permanently to join the workforce and support their families. Children
in higher-income countries are not immune. They miss school days due to
hurricanes and wildfires and these absences have measurable effects on
education outcomes.
The impacts of climate disasters can also affect children before they are born
with consequences that reverberate across their lives. For example, children
whose mothers were pregnant during Hurricane Sandy were more likely to be
diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a condition
that can make schooling more challenging.
In India, researchers found that raised temperatures lead to lower test scores
due to crop failure and malnutrition, highlighting the importance of indirect
links between climate stressors and subsequent school participation and
learning."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
