A Critical Mathematics Education for Climate Change

Abstract

Climate change is an urgent global challenge. Responding to climate change requires significant critical mathematical understanding on the part of all citizens. In this chapter, we consider what a critical mathematics education for climate change might look like. We draw on ideas from Skovsmose’s work, including the notion of formatting, as well as the body of work known as post-normal science. As a starting point for pedagogical reflection, we propose twelve principles, operating within landscapes of investigation, and organised into three groups relating to: forms of authenticity; forms of participation; and reflection on and with mathematics. We illustrate these ideas with an example of a possible landscape of investigation relating to historical temperature change.