Climate education tends to focus on teaching complex scientific facts that pose existential threats, without adequate consideration for the learners’ emotional capacities. At the same time, the inner competences needed for collective action to address today’s polycrisis lack attention. This situation contributes to rising levels of stress and anxiety in children, youth, and teachers, with devastating societal impacts. A radical shift in primary, secondary and higher education, as well as in teacher and educator training, is urgently needed to foster planetary health and well-being. We are working on this shift, together with European educators and experts.
In practice, CLARITY is a holistic pedagogical journey centered on five competence areas: Nurturing connection, Embracing values, Opening to futures, Taking collective action, and Taking care of emotions. It utilizes a Teachers' Guide and a Toolbox of over 300 pages of practical "seeds" for action. A typical session includes an emotional centering (e.g., nature-based mindfulness), a creative or embodied exercise to explore complex values, and a collaborative project that applies "inner" resilience to "outer" systemic change, such as local ecosystem restoration.
Teacher trainings, Self-paced online course, Events in multiple countries, Online community, Monthly Educator's Learning Circles
We have continuously refined the innovation through a co-creation process with educators and youth. Significant additions include specific guidelines for neurodiversity and diverse lived experiences to ensure the framework is truly inclusive. We also developed a dedicated Feedback Tool for the Toolbox, allowing us to gather real-time data from classrooms to ensure our pedagogical "seeds" are effectively reducing climate helplessness and fostering genuine agency and collective action
To get started, visit our platform to access the CLARITY Competence Framework and the Teachers' Guide. We recommend downloading the Toolbox and trying some initial activities. For deeper learning, you can sign up for our online self-paced course. Finally, we invite you to join our Educator's Circle, a transnational community of practice where you can share insights, receive peer support, and connect with more educators and innovators.
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