ABSTRACT

Training a scientific workforce in order to mitigate the impacts of climate change drives an international need for climate science education, including in Ghana. How preservice teachers understand climate change, and the often misunderstood relationship between ozone depletion and global warming, critically impacts the students they will teach. This mixed method, descriptive study explores preservice teachers’ climate change and ozone depletion knowledge, and documents the sources of their ideas. Elementary preservice science teachers from three colleges of education in Ghana completed a survey (N = 255) and interview (n = 30). Exploratory factor analysis yielded six factors related to ozone depletion and four related to climate change knowledge. Survey and interview responses revealed that the preservice teachers could explain that stratospheric ozone is a layer of gas in the atmosphere that prevents ultraviolet radiation from reaching Earth. Yet, they could not describe how ozone forms and the mechanism of ozone destruction. The preservice teachers confused climate change with changes in weather and seasons, but could explain how anthropogenic activities like deforestation and burning fossil fuels contribute to climate change. About 88% of the participants thought climate change and ozone depletion were causally linked – either ozone depletion caused climate change, or climate change caused ozone depletion. The participating preservice teachers identified textbooks (80%), instructors (64%), and the media (62%) as the main sources of their ozone depletion and climate change knowledge. We identified a mix of knowledge gaps and coherent ideas that offer scaffolds on which to improve teachers’ knowledge of climate change and ozone depletion.

摘要

培训科学工作者以减轻气候变化的影响推动了国际对气候科学教育的需求，包括在加纳。职前教师如何理解气候变化，以及臭氧消耗与全球变暖之间经常被误解的关系，严重影响了他们将教的学生。这种混合方法、描述性研究探索了职前教师的气候变化和臭氧消耗知识，并记录了他们想法的来源。来自加纳三所教育学院的小学职前科学教师完成了一项调查（N  = 255）和访谈（n = 30）。探索性因素分析产生了六个与臭氧消耗相关的因素和四个与气候变化知识相关的因素。调查和采访回复显示，职前教师可以解释平流层臭氧是大气中的一层气体，可阻止紫外线辐射到达地球。然而，他们无法描述臭氧是如何形成的以及臭氧破坏的机制。职前教师将气候变化与天气和季节的变化混为一谈，但可以解释森林砍伐和燃烧化石燃料等人为活动如何导致气候变化。大约 88% 的参与者认为气候变化和臭氧消耗有因果关系——要么是臭氧消耗导致气候变化，要么是气候变化导致臭氧消耗。参与的职前教师将教科书 (80%)、讲师 (64%) 和媒体 (62%) 确定为他们的臭氧消耗和气候变化知识的主要来源。我们确定了知识差距和连贯想法的组合，这些想法为提高教师对气候变化和臭氧消耗的了解提供了支架。