Intergenerational learning in climate change adaptations; limitations and affordances

Abstract

Adaptation to climate change has become an imperative intricately linked to human existence and the planet’s wellbeing: if learning is not part of the adaptation process, it is doubtful the adaptation will be sustainable. In Zimbabwe, one initiative for promoting learning for adaptation is the establishment of the Eco-Schools Clubs (ESC), a concept based on the possibilities of intergenerational learning developed and widely adopted in the Global North. Based on an ethnographic study in a community struggling with food insecurity arising from unpredictable rainfall, this paper examines the context-dependency of ESCs’ affordances for intergenerational climate change learning. The study found that in contrast to reports from the Global North, the children in this study were not able to exercise agency to effect change in their families and communities. Using the analytical resources of Cultural-Historical Activity Theory, the study analyses the challenges of appropriating a model of learning from afar.

Keywords:

• Intergenerational learning
• climate change learning
• children’s agency
• Eco-Schools
• climate change adaptation
• cultural-historical activity theory
• epistemic tension

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the sponsors of the lead researcher’s doctoral and post-doctoral studies, the research participants and Chris Riedy, the lead researcher’s alternate PhD supervisor. Interview transcripts have been translated from Shona to English. To protect the identity of research participants, all names used in this article are pseudo names.

Disclosure statement

There is no potential source of conflict that we are aware of.

Data availability statement

The data supporting this article are available upon request from the corresponding author. Due to privacy issues, the data may not be made public to protect the identity of the research participants.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by funding by the Australian Government Research Training Programme and the STEM Education Futures Research Centre at the University of Technology Sydney.

Notes on contributors

Raviro Chineka

Raviro Chineka is a science teacher educator and researcher who has worked internationally. She currently works with the STEM Education Futures Research Centre at the University of Technology Sydney in Australia. She has recently completed a doctoral thesis on Learning in a changing climate: An ethnographic study from the Global South.

Keiko Yasukawa

Keiko Yasukawa is a lecturer and researcher in the School of International Studies and Education at the University of Technology Sydney in Australia. She researches in the area of adult education and learning in formal education, community and workplace contexts.