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Abstract

Analysis of school curricula in Vanuatu, the world’s most disaster-prone nation, shows that in-depth learning about disasters, and climate change does not occur until the end of secondary education, when only 13% of primary level 1 children are still in school. Furthermore, such education in resilience is confined to optional subjects. We demonstrate that this situation does not match the objectives of Vanuatu’s policies on resilience and sustainable development, the Framework for Resilient Development in the Pacific, nor key international policies, and argue for the inclusion of suitable learning materials at earlier curricular levels.

Keywords

Vanuatu resilience disaster climate change education attrition

Introduction

Vanuatu, an archipelago of over 80 islands in the south-west Pacific (Figure 1), is the planet’s most at-risk country to natural hazards. The 2019 World Risk Index, calculated for 180 countries on the risk of disasters arising directly from earthquakes, cyclones, floods, droughts and sea-level rise, multiplies the values of two dimensions—exposure and vulnerability. Vanuatu’s index for 2019 was 56.71, almost double that of the next country, Antigua and Barbuda (30.80) (Bündnis Entwicklung Hilft, 2019, p. 56). In August 2020, Vanuatu had an estimated population of 308,089 (World Population Review, 2020), of whom an estimated 32% live in the two main urban areas of Port Vila and Luganville (Trundle et al., 2018, p. 57).

Figure 1.

Source: The authors.

The Ministry of Climate Change (MCC), one of the first in the world, was established in December 2013 (MCC, 2015, p. 12). Since then, public education on disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA) has strengthened, largely through the efforts of this Ministry, the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-Hazards Department (VMGD), the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) and non-government organizations such as Care International, Save the Children, Oxfam, Red Cross, World Vision and Wan Smolbag. However, formal school education on disasters and climate change has not kept pace.

This article examines the extent to which education on disasters and climate change is taking place in primary and secondary schools in 2020 and compares this with the objectives for formal education stated in resilience policies at the national, regional and international levels.

Methods

For information on educational matters, the authors analysed documents from the Curriculum Development Unit (CDU) in Vanuatu’s Ministry of Education and Training (MOET): the National Curriculum Statement and National Timetabling Policy; new syllabi for primary years 4–6 and senior secondary years 11–13 in geography, earth science and development studies; teacher’s guides for science and social science for primary year 5; and social science text books for junior secondary years 7–10. They consulted educational statistics from the MOET for 2007 and 2019 and utilized data supplied by officers in the MOET and the deputy principal of Vanuatu’s leading English-medium secondary school. For details of national, regional and international policies on formal education for CCA and DRR, including a review of progress towards the attainment of the 2030 Agenda goals in Vanuatu, online sources were examined.

Results

Education on Disasters and Climate Change in Primary and Secondary Schools

The formal education sector has a key role in combatting the impacts of climate change (CC) and disasters, exploring strategies for adaptation and mitigation, and promoting carbon-neutral, sustainable lifestyles (Anderson, 2012, p. 193; Kagawa & Selby, 2012, p. 210; Mochizuki & Bryan, 2015, pp. 7–8; Vize, 2013, p. 223). Investment in universal primary and secondary education, especially in developing countries, is regarded as the most effective strategy for enhancing the adaptive capacity to CC (Lutz et al, 2014; Striessnig et al., 2013, p. 1). Highly educated individuals and societies have better preparedness and response to disasters, suffer lower negative impacts and can recover more quickly (Muttarak & Lutz, 2014, p. 1). It is within this context that we look at Vanuatu.

In Vanuatu, education on CC and DRR is delivered through national curricula in 479 primary and 111 secondary schools in either English or French, as of 2019 (MOET, 2020, p. 8). All curricula have been in the process of revision since the MOET formulated the Vanuatu National Curriculum Statement in 2010 to undertake a major review of existing programmes and ensure that English- and French-medium schools would offer common content in their syllabi from primary to senior secondary level (years 1–13).

Primary Level

In the revised curricula for primary schools (years 1–6), aspects of resilience are covered in social science and science during years 4–6 (CDU, 2013) and are already being taught in 2020. In social science, CC and DRR are included in the sub-strand caring for our environment, principally in years 5–6, but total teaching hours are just 22 (11%) of social science’s 198 hours for the 3-year period. Table 1 exemplifies how resilience issues are taught in year 5, covered over a 5-week period in Term 2, with 2 hours per week (MOET, 2019a).

Table 1.

Content and Activities in Caring for Our Environment, Year 5

Week	Content	Suggested Activities
Term 2, week 7	The natural environment (ecosystem)—definition and examples	Field excursion, drawing food chain, creating poster on conserving an ecosystem
Term 2, week 8	Environmental modification by humans—how and why, including pollution and climate change	Tree planting, comparing pictures of an environment past and present, discussion of human activities
Term 2, week 9	Climate change—definition, causes, impacts, mitigation and adaptation	Discussing causes of climate change, prepared talks on local impacts, role plays on adaptation
Term 2, week 10	Natural activities/hazards that damage our environment—examples, impacts, preparation and minimizing damage	Interviewing community members about traditional signs of disasters, creating posters on preparations for a cyclone
Term 2, week 11	Solutions to reducing damage to our environment—traditional and modern methods of conservation, agro-forestry, personal actions	Tree planting, clean-up campaign, posters on minimizing CC impacts, awareness campaign, discussion on reef conservation

Source: Adapted from MOET (2019, pp. 73–76).

In science, CC topics (causes, adaptation and mitigation) and DRR are taught in the sub-strand our changing earth (CDU, 2013, p. 144), with total teaching hours of only 11 (5.5%) of science’s 198 hours in years 4–6 (MOET, 2019b).

In summary, important issues about CC and DRR are raised at upper primary level, with useful practical activities for the learners, but the allotted teaching hours over years 4–6 are minimal—11% of total social science time and 5% of total science time. The Ministry of Education requires schools to provide primary students with 28 hours of ‘contact time’ per week over three 11-week terms per year (MOET, 2015, p. 6). Thus, the total teaching time for all subjects amounts to 2,772 hours over a 3-year period. Teaching about resilience takes up just 33 hours, or 1.2% of this time.

Junior Secondary Level

Revised curricula for the junior cycle of secondary education (years 7–10) are still under development. Currently, schools rely upon pre-2010 content in which fairly limited coverage of CC and disasters is provided through basic science and social science. In social science, for example, global warming and cyclones are briefly covered in the last unit of year 10—Our Changing Society.

To enhance learning about CC at junior secondary level, initiatives were taken in 2011 by several donor agencies to develop an educational resource for use across curricula in five Pacific countries—Fiji, Kiribati, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu. The resource, Learning about Climate Change the Pacific Way, comprises a set of 16 colourful pictures and a comprehensive country-specific teacher’s guide aimed at teaching students about CC and how they can become more resilient to its impacts (SPC & GIZ, 2014). In Vanuatu, picture sets and teacher’s guides were distributed to all junior secondary schools during 2013–2015, with teacher-training workshops held on their use. However, the subsequent deployment of this valuable resource seems to have stalled, for several reasons—destruction of schools and materials during Tropical Cyclone (TC) Pam, frequent transfer of teachers between schools, and pressures to focus on the content of official textbooks so as to guarantee greater success in the Year 10 Leaving Examination. As a result, investigations by the authors in 2019–2020 reveal that many science and social science teachers are unaware of the resource or of how to use it.

Senior Secondary Level

Education on resilience (CC and DRR) falls within the context of education for sustainable development. As such, curricula should ‘equip students with the knowledge, understanding, skills and attributes needed to work and live in a way that safeguards their environmental, social and economic well-being, both in the present and for future generations’ (Leal & Pace, 2016, p. 2).

Resilience education, particularly at senior secondary level, requires learning that is interactive, experiential, reflexive, creative and participatory (Kagawa & Selby, 2012, p. 214; Stevenson et al., 2017; UNICEF, 2012, p. 29), with curricula, teachers and pedagogies promoting an understanding of the climate challenge to the extent that it leads to greater national action and commitment to the attainment of a country’s nationally determined contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change (UNESCO, 2020a, p. 6). Within this context, we analyse the new curricula for the senior cycle of education in Vanuatu.

The revised curricula were first implemented at the start of 2019 at Year 11 level, and will not be completely in place until 2021. Resilience issues feature in the curricula for geography, development studies and earth science through strands that are delivered in increasing complexity through the 3 years of the senior secondary course (CDU, 2018). Figure 2 compares the three subjects in terms of total teaching hours spent on resilience, while Tables 2, 3 and 4 show the importance of resilience issues within their overall syllabi.

Figure 2.

Source: The authors.

Table 2.

Importance of Resilience in the Year 11–13 Syllabus: Geography

Strand	Year	Topic or Sub-strand Relating to Climate Change or Disasters	Aspect of Resilience Education (CC = Climate Change)	Estimated Teaching Hours on Disasters and CC per Year	Total Teaching Hours for the Strand per Year	% of Teaching Time (All Strands Years 11–13) on Resilience
Natural processes	11	Geological processes: plate tectonics, earthquakes, volcanoes	Nature and causes of disasters and climate change	6	30	1
		Geological processes: weathering, fluvial and/or coastal		6	30	1
		Atmospheric processes and their effects		6	30	1
	12	Living with natural hazards—plate tectonics, volcanoes, earthquakes and tropical cyclones	Nature and causes and impacts of disasters and CC. Strategies for DRR. Adaptation.	6 + 6 = 12	47	2
	12	Living with natural hazards—tsunamis, floods and droughts		6 + 6 = 12	47	2
	13	Tectonic, volcanic, fluvial, coastal processes OR cyclonic processes	Nature, causes and impacts of disasters	18	35	4
Cultural processes	11 12 13	– – –	– – –	0 0 0	44 36 25	0 0 0
Local, regional and global studies	11	Islands and geology of Vanuatu	Nature and causes of disasters/CC	5	28	1
		Climate of Vanuatu	Nature and causes of disasters/CC	5	28	1
		Biodiversity, ecosystems and conservation	Conservation of biodiversity (adaptation)	5	28	1
	12	Geomorphology and geology of the Pacific islands	Nature, causes and impacts of disasters/CC/ ENSO. Mitigation and adaptation	4	22	1
		Climate and climate change in the Pacific region		4	22	1
		SPREP and conservation issues in the Pacific	Conservation and sustainable development	4	22	1
	13	Issues relating to climate change	Nature and impacts of CC	6	25	1
	13	Treaties relating to biodiversity and conservation	Biodiversity and conservation	6	25	1
Geographical skills and ideas	11	Practical skills	Communication skills	3 + 3 = 6	30	1
	12	Practical skills and key geographic ideas	Communication skills	3 + 3 = 6	30	1
	13	Practical and planning skills. Research	Planning and research skills	3 + 3 = 6	45	1
Internal assessment	12	Internal assessment			30	?
Internal assessment	13	Internal assessment			35	?
All strands	11 12 13		20 + 19 = 39 19 + 23 = 42 117 21 + 15 = 36		132 165 462 165	30% 25% 25% 22%

Source: The authors (based on analysis of the official curriculum for geography [CDU, 2018b]).

Table 3.

Importance of Resilience in the Year 11–13 Syllabus: Development Studies

Strand	Year	Topic or Sub-strand Relating to Climate Change or Disasters	Aspect of Resilience Education (CCA = Climate Change Adaptation)	Estimated Teaching Hours on Disasters and CC per Year	Total Teaching Hours for the Strand per Year	% of Teaching Time (All Strands Years 11–13) on Resilience
What is development?	11 12 13	– – –	– – –	0 0 0	16 30 20	0 0 0
Economic development	11 12 13	– – –	– – –	0 0 0	16 45 35	0 0 0
Promoting development	11	International aid	Aid for DRR and CCA	1 + 1 = 2	24	0.5
	11	Non-government organizations	Role of NGOs in DRR/CCA	2 + 2 = 4	24	1
	12	Rural development	Community awareness on DRR/CCA. Role of NGOs/gov. in CCA/DRR	1 + 1 = 2	25	0.5
	12	Local and national organizations		1 + 1 = 2	25	0.5
	13	Regional and international organizations	Role of int. and regional organizations in CCA/DRR	1 + 1 = 2	15	0.5
Development and environment	11	The earth’s natural environment	Causes of climate change	7	38	2
	12	Environmental degradation and sustainable development	Environmental conservation and sustainable development	10	20	2
	12	Land and energy issues	Renewable energy	2	20	0.5
	13	Climate change, ozone depletion and environmental treaties	Nature causes and impacts of CC. Mitigation and adaptation of CC and DRR. Treaties on CC and DRR	2 + 12 = 14	20	3
	13	Natural disasters and development		6	20	1
Social, cultural, spiritual and political development	11	–	–	0	38	0
	12	Women and youth in development	Role of women and youth in CCA/DRR	1 + 1 = 2	20	0.5
	12	Cultural and spiritual influences on development	Moral, spiritual and traditional values that build resilience	1 + 1 = 2	20	0.5
	13	Spirituality and development		3 + 3 = 6	40	0.5
Research project	12	Research project			25	?
Research project	13	Research project			35	?
All strands	11 12 13		3 + 10 = 13 4 + 16 = 20 61 12 + 16 = 28		132 165 462 165	10% 12% 13% 17%

Source: The authors (based on analysis of the official curriculum for development studies [CDU, 2018c]).

Table 4.

Importance of Resilience in the Year 11–13 Syllabus: Earth Science

Strand	Year	Topic or Sub-strand Relating to Climate Change or Disasters	Aspect of Resilience Education (CC = Climate Change)	Estimated Teaching Hours on Disasters and CC per Year	Total Teaching Hours for the Strand per Year	% of Teaching Time (All Strands Years 11–13) on Resilience
Planet earth, its geology and its external and internal movements	11	Solar radiation and climate	Nature of climate, atmosphere and oceans	16	80	4
		Atmospheric and oceanic movement		16	80	4
		Earth realms	Holistic approach	2 + 2 = 4	80	1
		Internal structure of the earth	Nature of earthquakes	8	80	2
	12	The lithosphere and plate tectonics	Nature/causes of disasters and atmospheric processes	8	80	2
		Earth as a heat engine		3 + 1 = 4	80	1
		Measuring geological time	Nature/causes of climate change	4 + 4 = 8	80	2
	13	Mineralogy	Impacts of disasters	10	80	2
	13	External geological processes	Nature/causes of disasters	10	80	2
Climate change and disaster risk reduction	11	Earth realm in peril	Ozone layer	6	28	1
		Climate change issues	Climate, weather, variability, causes	8	28	2
		Mitigation of climate change	Mitigation of GHG emissions	7	28	2
		Disaster risk	Disaster risks and vulnerability	7	28	2
	12	Earth realm in peril	Greenhouse effect	9	43	2
		Climate change issues	CC causes/impacts	12	43	3
		Mitigation and adaptation of CC	International efforts. Mitigation and adaptation	12	43	3
		Disaster risk reduction	Vulnerability	10	43	2
	13	Earth realm in peril	Sources of GHGs	8	43	2
		Climate change issues	Impacts of CC	10	43	2
		Adaptation to CC	Adaptation to CC	12	43	3
		Disaster risk reduction	Hazards resilience	13	43	3
Renewable energy	11	Solar energy Wind energy Marine energy	CC mitigation (renewables)	4	12	1
				4	12	1
				4	12	1
	12	Geothermal energy Hydraulic energy Solid biomass: wood		6	21	1
				9	21	2
				6	21	1
	13	Biomass: biogas Biomass: biofuel	CC mitigation (renewables)	10	21	2
	13	Biomass: biogas Biomass: biofuel	CC mitigation (renewables)	11	21	2
Water Supplies and management of water reserves	11	Exploitation of water resources	Impacts of CC and disasters	3 + 3 = 6	12	1
		Pollution of fresh water	Impacts of CC and disasters	6 + 6 = 12	12	3
	12	Managing reserves	Climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction	5 + 5 = 10	21	2
		Water purification		10 + 11 = 21	21	4
	13	Desalination		5 + 5 = 10	21	2
		Rain water catchment		11 + 10 = 21	21	4
Internal assessment	11	Internal assessment		(Included in hours for content strands)
	12	Internal assessment
	13	Internal assessment
All strands	11 12 13		26 + 76 = 102 40 + 75 = 115 332 49 + 66 = 115		132 165 462 165	77% 70% 72% 70%

Source: The authors (based on analysis of the official curriculum for earth science [CDU, 2018a]).

Students who choose geography spend 25% of their time on resilience issues, almost equally divided between CC and DRR. Those who opt for development studies spend only 13% of their time on resilience, largely on CC. But those who study earth science spend 72% of their time on resilience, of which two-thirds is on CC. Thus the most comprehensive treatment of resilience issues is in earth science, which has a heavy emphasis on climate science and geology but also examines mitigation, adaptation and vulnerability in some detail and gives students a valuable technical background in renewable energy and the management of water resources. Development studies has the least amount of teaching hours on resilience, and most of them occur in years 12 and 13; CC and DRR are placed within the framework of sustainable development, and there is some acknowledgement of the ethical and traditional values involved in resilience education. Geography gives adequate time to resilience but focuses on geological and hydro-meteorological processes, their features, distribution and impacts rather than on mitigation and adaptation. In none of the three syllabi is there explicit mention of fieldwork or practical training on strategies for CCA or DRR.

If we look in more detail at geography in more detail, the most popular of the three optional subjects, we find three principal knowledge strands and a fourth strand devoted to generic geographic skills and ideas. A student who completes years 11, 12 and 13 is exposed to 462 teaching hours of geography, of which 89 hours (19%) cover the nature, causes and impacts of disasters and climate change, and 28 hours (6%) are on mitigation and adaptation—with half of that time on conservation and sustainable development. Ethical principles involved in CC—prevention of harm, equity and justice for the most vulnerable, sharing of knowledge and technologies (UNESCO, 2019, pp. 13–15)—are not addressed. Also lacking are specific skills such as risk mapping and fostering of community awareness, attitudes such as avoidance of consumerism (Kagawa & Selby, 2009, p. 241) and environmental responsibility (Wahlstrom, 1998, p. 65), and the promotion of behaviours such as CC advocacy and environmental care. Pedagogical approaches are not promoting the kind of participatory, field and affective learning needed to engage with communities and build proactive citizenship (UNICEF & UNESCO, 2012, p. 8). Thus many aspects emphasized in Vanuatu’s two key environmental policies—the Climate Change and Disaster Reduction Policy 2016–2030 and the National Sustainable Development Plan 2016–2030—are missing. Contrast the specific outcomes for the geography sub-strand that contains the fullest treatment of CC (Table 5) with the goals of the two key policies (Table 6).

Table 5.

Specific Learning Outcomes in Geography for the Sub-strand 13GEO3.2 on Issues Relating to Climate Change

Identify the major elements in climate change.

Describe the major elements in climate change.

Describe ways these elements interact to result in climate change.

Explain why the interactions of these elements result in climate change.

List some local, regional and global characteristics of climate change.

Describe the characteristics of climate change.

Describe the major global patterns of climate change.

Compare the major global patterns of climate change.

Discuss the effects of climate change on the environment, using specific examples.

Discuss the effects of climate change on people, using specific examples.

Source: CDU (2018b, p. 53).

Table 6.

Goals of Vanuatu’s Two Current Policies on Resilience

Vanuatu Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction Policy 2016–2030	National Sustainable Development Plan 2016–2030
Priorities for achieving the strategic goal of ‘resilient development’, classified by themes	Environmental pillar 3: Climate and disaster resilience: Policy objectives
Climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction • Vulnerability and impact assessment • Community-based adaptation • Loss and damage • Ecosystem-based approach Low carbon development • Energy road map • Renewable energy • Energy efficiency • Mitigation and REDD+ • Blue carbon Response and recovery • Planning and preparedness • Community awareness • Early warning systems • Post-disaster assessment • Recovery	A strong and resilient nation in the face of climate change and disaster risks posed by natural and man-made hazards • ENV 3.1 Institutionalize climate change and disaster risk governance, and build institutional capacity and awareness • ENV 3.2 Improve monitoring and early warning systems • ENV 3.3 Strengthen post-disaster systems in planning, preparedness, response and recovery • ENV 3.4 Promote and ensure strengthened resilience and adaptive capacity to climate related, natural and man-made hazards • ENV 3.5 Access available financing for climate change adaptation and disaster risk management

Sources: Adapted from Government of the Republic of Vanuatu & SPC (2015, pp. 17–25) and DSPPAC (2016, p. 14).

A comparison of Table 6 with the development studies syllabus for year 13 (Table 7) shows a greater degree of correspondence, and with earth science year 13 (Table 8) much more so, but even in these two subjects, practical work on CCA and disaster mitigation is minimal.

Table 7.

Specific Learning Outcomes in Development Studies for the Sub-strands 13DST4.3 and 13 DST4.4 on Climate Change and Natural Disasters

Identify some of the changes in climate that have occurred in geological history.

List the major causes of the changing climatic patterns in the Pacific region.

Describe the impacts of climate change on people and the environment.

Describe important treaties and conventions addressing environmental problems.

Discuss opinions on the difficulties in reaching agreement over international conventions on climate change.

Summarize important treaties and conventions that have been made regarding climate change, biodiversity and the mitigation of natural disasters.

Propose specific actions to offset climate change, e.g., re-afforestation, multiple water sources for humans and animals, cultivation of heat- and drought-resistant crops, walking to school/work.

Evaluate the effectiveness of various forms of adaptation, and measures that will help slow down the rate of ozone depletion, using examples.

Describe a natural disaster (e.g., earthquake, volcanic eruption, flood, landslide, drought or tsunami) ant its impacts on development.

Give examples of methods of disaster reduction management, e.g., warnings, building designs.

Summarize measures that can be taken to mitigate some of the harmful effects of natural disasters.

Source: CDU (2018c, pp. 36–37).

Table 8.

Specific Learning Outcomes in Earth Science for the Sub-strands 13ESC2.1, 13ESC2.2, 13ESC2.3 and 13ESC2.4 on Earth Realms in Peril, Climate Change Issues, Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction

Identify sources of carbon dioxide emissions.

Carry out and write a report on a research into the carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere since before the start of the Industrial Revolution until today.

Analyse data on CO2 emissions per household in a country of your choice.

Carry out and report on a research into the methane content of the atmosphere since before the start of the Industrial Revolution until today.

List the sources of methane.

Explain how different sources of methane (CH4) world-wide affect the concentration in the atmosphere.

List the impacts of climate change on the atmosphere, the oceans, ecosystems and human society.

Explain the impacts of climate change on the atmosphere.

Explain the impacts of climate change on the oceans.

Explain the impacts of climate change on ecosystems.

Explain the impacts of climate change on human society.

Compare rainfall totals during wet and dry seasons in Vanuatu.

Analyse predictions for changes in Vanuatu’s temperature, rainfall and the number of extreme events.

Predict a scenario for the likely consequences and impacts of these future climatic changes in Vanuatu.

Define sustainable livelihoods.

Name the different measures being taken to adapt to climate change at community levels in Vanuatu.

Explain the scientific basis of these measures taken at community level in Vanuatu.

Evaluate and report on the practicality of these measures being taken to adapt to climate change at community level in Vanuatu.

Discuss how adaptation measures need to be adopted in order to provide sustainable livelihoods for Vanuatu communities in the future.

Define ‘hazard’.

Define ‘disaster’.

Define ‘hydro-meteorological hazards’.

Explain the difference between a hazard and a disaster.

Analyse the nature of hydro-meteorological hazards such as drought.

Analyse the causes of hydro-meteorological hazards such as drought.

Analyse the consequences of hydro-meteorological hazards such as drought.

Analyse the nature of hydro-meteorological hazards such as cyclones.

Analyse the causes of hydro-meteorological hazards such as cyclones.

Analyse the consequences of hydro-meteorological hazards such as cyclones.

Analyse the nature of hydro-meteorological hazards such as floods.

Analyse the causes of hydro-meteorological hazards such as floods.

Analyse the consequences of hydro-meteorological hazards such as floods.

Research and report on ways of becoming more resilient to these hydro-meteorological hazards.

Analyse the nature, causes and consequences of geological hazards such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, ash falls and tsunamis.

Research and report on ways of becoming more resilient to these geological hazards.

Analyse the nature, causes and consequences of biological hazards such as pests and diseases.

Research ways of becoming more resilient to these biological hazards.

Explain the major causes of people’s vulnerability to disasters.

Relate development frameworks (Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, etc.) to the strengthening of people’s resilience.

Source: CDU (2018a, pp. 34–36).

On a broader scale, we praise the inclusion of resilience issues in these three school subjects, but question whether any of them will have done enough to promote behaviours that can create ‘a more sustainable future in terms of environmental integrity, economic viability and a just society for present and future generations’—the goal of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (UNESCO, 2020b, p. 1).

Student Attrition and Resilience Education

Education is not compulsory in Vanuatu, but the Government subsidizes school attendance. Tuition fee grants are provided to all children at pre-primary level and to pupils at primary and junior secondary levels (years 1–10) in government and government-assisted schools. For senior secondary pupils (years 11–13/14), a smaller ‘operational grant’ is given, but because of the restricted number of schools at this level, such students can no longer live in their home villages and must meet additional travel and boarding costs. This is one factor accounting for the high rate of student attrition in the country (Table 9). Another relates to national examinations at the end of years 8, 10 and 12, which permit only those with higher grades to continue. In practice, 84% of year 8 primary students continue on to year 9, and 61% of year 10 students move on to year 11. In 2019, there were only 1,864 students who had reached year 11 and 1,064 who were enrolled in year 13, as compared with 10,367 in year 1 (MOET, 2020, p. 17): this represents attrition rates of 82% and 90%, respectively. More accurately, statistics for 2007 reveal that when the current year 13 students were in year 1, they numbered 8,150 (MEYDT, 2007, p. 25): thus the exact attrition rate between years 1 and 13 is 87%.

Table 9.

Total Students in Vanuatu Schools Enrolled in Each Level, 2019

ECCE^a	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Year 4	Year 5	Year 6	Year 7	Year 8	Year 9	Year 10	Year 11	Year 12	Year 13	Year 14^b	Total
16,445	10,367	10,728	10,426	8,609	7,716	6,974	5,314	4,542	3,797	3,064	1,864	1,533	1.064	201	92,644
% change between successive years		+3.5%	−2.8%	−17.4%	−10.4%	−9.6%	−23.8%	−14.5%	−16.4%	−9.3%	−9.2%	−7.8%	−0.6%

Source: MOET (2020, p. 17).

Notes: ^aEarly Childhood Care Education (kindergarten/pre-primary)

^bYear 14 only exists in French-medium senior secondary schools. It is being phased out as the new Vanuatu National Curriculum for years 1–13 is implemented, and will be discontinued after 2021.

Regarding the numbers of students learning about resilience through the three optional subjects, an example can be given from Malapoa College, the nation’s leading and largest English-medium secondary school. In 2020, there are 347 students enrolled in year 11. All take English, mathematics and various optional subjects, but only 133 (38%) study geography, 91 (26%) take development studies and 64 (18%) learn earth science. Out of the 266 students in year 12, the percentages are similar—32% for geography, 16% for development studies and 25% for earth science (Obed, L. personal communication, October 23, 2020).

Since most learning about CC and DRR only takes place in the senior cycle, especially in years 12 and 13, and is restricted to three optional subjects, the vast majority of young people in Vanuatu are not benefiting from formal exposure to resilience education. In 2020, the most effective in-depth study of CC and disasters occurs in all three years of earth science and in year 13 of development studies, but these two courses are taken by a minority of those students who managed to reach year 13, who themselves represent just 13% of those who began in primary level 1 in 2007.

Policies and Frameworks on Resilience

Vanuatu’s Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction Policy (VCCDRRP) 2016–2030 has been developed within the context of international policies such as the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, the Paris Agreement of 2015 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2015–2030, and of regional policies such as the Framework for Resilient Development in the Pacific (FRDP) 2017–2030 (Government of the Republic of Vanuatu & SPC, 2015. p. 3). The broad goals of the relevant policies are summarized in Table 10.

Table 10.

Broad Goals of National, Regional and International Policies on Resilience

Policy	Overall Goals	Reference
Vanuatu’s National Policies
Vanuatu Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction Policy (VCCDRRP) 2016–2030	Vanuatu’s strategic goal for climate change and disaster risk reduction is ‘resilient development’, which includes activities that enable and strengthen capacities to absorb and quickly bounce back from climate and/or disaster shocks and stresses.	Government of the Republic of Vanuatu, and Secretariat of the Pacific Community (2015, p. 8)
National Sustainable Development Plan (NSDP) 2016–2030 (‘The People’s Plan’)	Vanuatu’s goals for resilient development are given under three pillars of sustainability—society, environment and economy. Goal ENV 3.4: A strong and resilient nation in the face of climate change and disaster risks posed by natural and man-made hazards.	Department of Strategic Policy, Planning and Aid Coordination, Republic of Vanuatu (2016, pp. 9, 14)
Regional (Pacific) policies
Framework for Resilient Development in the Pacific (FRDP)	Goal 1: Strengthened Integrated Adaptation and Risk Reduction to Enhance Resilience to Climate Change and Disasters Goal 2: Low Carbon Development Goal 3: Strengthened Disaster Preparedness, Response and Recovery	Pacific Community et al. (2016, p. 3)
International policies
Paris Agreement (COP 21)	Its goal is to limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels. Article 82 calls upon all parties to ensure that education, training and public awareness, as reflected in Article 6 of the Convention and in Article 12 of the Agreement, are adequately considered in their contribution to capacity-building. The Paris Committee on Capacity-building (PCCB) aims to address current and emerging gaps and needs in implementing and further enhancing capacity-building in developing countries.	UNFCCC, 2015, p. 12 UNFCCC (2015) UNFCCC (2020)
Sendai Framework	Substantial reduction of disaster risk and losses in lives, livelihoods and health and in the economic, physical, social, cultural and environmental assets of persons, businesses, communities and countries.	UNDRR (2015, p. 11)
Sustainable Development Goal SDG13 (Climate Action)	SDG13 aims to ‘take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts’. It includes 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning.	UNDESA (2015, p. 27)

Source: Authors and agencies indicated.

The vision of the VCCDRRP is that ‘Vanuatu is a resilient community, environment and economy’. Its implementation involves the mainstreaming of CCA and DRR into all sector policies, plans and strategies (Government of the Republic of Vanuatu & SPC, 2015, p. 5), including the Vanuatu National Curriculum Statement (VNCS). However, the VNCS was published in 2010, well before any of the above policies were produced; there is no specific mention of DRR, and CC is only cited briefly in the context of environmental education for sustainability (MOE, 2010, p. 44). The VCCDRRP itself makes only a few specific references to capacity-building for resilient development through formal primary and secondary education (Table 11). Similarly, Goal 3 of the National Sustainable Development Plan’s (NSDP) environmental pillar refers to climate and disaster resilience (Table 6), but there is no reference to formal school curricula.

Table 11.

References in the VCCDRRP to Capacity-building in Schools

Aspect of Capacity-building	Reference
Including traditional knowledge (of early warning and coping mechanisms) in formal and informal school curricula	7.3.2, p. 14
Incorporating lessons learned (on disaster risk reduction) into school curricula and information education programmes	7.3.4, p. 15
Incorporating an integrated curriculum approach (on climate change and disaster risk reduction) to formal and non-formal education programmes	7.4.2, p. 18

Source: Government of the Republic of Vanuatu & SPC (2015, pp. 14, 15, 18).

This lack of specific guidance on resilience education in national policies contrasts with the objectives of regional and international policies. There are clear references to capacity-building through formal school education in the FRDP (Table 12), the Sendai Framework (Table 13) and the document Strategic Approach to Capacity Development for Implementation of the Sendai Framework (Table 14).

Table 12.

References in the FRDP to Capacity-building in Schools

Goal	Stakeholder	Priority Actions	Page No. in FRDP
1. Strengthened integrated adaptation and risk reduction to enhance resilience to climate change and disasters	National and subnational governments and administrations	q) Strengthen knowledge on the causes, local impacts and responses to climate change, hazards and disasters, and build capacity for local adaptation and other risk management measures, through formal and non-formal education systems, including for loss and damage. r) Improve understanding and applications of successful strategies to increase resilience by documenting traditional, contemporary and scientific knowledge, and lessons learned, to develop and utilize appropriate awareness, communication, education and information materials for communities, media, schools, training providers and universities.	15 16
	Regional organizations and other development partners	n) Work in close collaboration with member countries and other stakeholders to develop and deliver relevant capacity-building programmes, including emerging priorities such as loss and damage as a result of climate change.	17
2. Low carbon development	Civil society and communities	b) Lead and contribute to awareness campaigns and capacity-building in schools and communities, to promote and facilitate energy and ecosystem conservation and the increased use of renewable energy, through changes in attitudes and behaviour.	20
3. Strengthened disaster preparedness, response and recovery	National and sub-national governments and administrations	f) Support existing and additional capacity-building and awareness raising for governments and communities (including churches and schools), to improve their disaster preparedness, response and recovery capabilities, acknowledging they are often the first responders in the event of a disaster.	23

Source: SPC et al. (2016, pp. 15–17, 20, 23).

Table 13.

Specific References to Formal Education on DRR in the Sendai Framework

Objective	Code/Page Number
Prevent new and reduce existing disaster risk through the implementation of integrated and inclusive economic, structural, legal, social, health, cultural, educational, environmental, technological, political and institutional measures that prevent and reduce hazard exposure and vulnerability to disaster, increase preparedness for response and recovery, and thus strengthen resilience.	17 (p. 11)
Promote the incorporation of disaster risk knowledge, including disaster prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, recovery and rehabilitation, in formal and non-formal education, as well as in civic education at all levels, as well as in professional education and training.	24 (l) (p. 14)
Promote national strategies to strengthen public education and awareness in disaster risk reduction, including disaster risk information and knowledge, through campaigns, social media and community mobilization, taking into account specific audiences and their needs.	24 (m) (p. 14)
Children and youth are agents of change and should be given the space and modalities to contribute to disaster risk reduction, in accordance with legislation, national practice and educational curricula.	36 (a) (ii) (p. 22)

Source: UNDRR (2015, pp. 11, 14, 22).

Table 14.

Actions to Promote Capacity Development for DRR Through Education

• Encourage/empower schools (primary, secondary and university) to incorporate resilience programmes that address risk through a multitude of means (e.g., changing the organizational culture, DRR lessons in the curriculum and instituting enterprise risk management).

• Provide teachers with curriculum materials and training of trainer courses to enable broad-reaching exposure of risk reduction education and messaging.

• Incentivize and support the mainstreaming of DRR into standard curricula.

• Provide the materials and support that enables embedding of DRR materials and messages into existing professional training programmes, including employee on-boarding, staff technical training, and other avenues for entry across all government and societal sectors.

Source: UNDRR (2020, p. 53).

Vanuatu, as a signatory to the Paris Agreement, made its first submission to the PCCB (Paris Committee on Capacity Building) in 2017, providing information on capacity-building activities for the implementation of its nationally determined contributions (NDCs) (Republic of Vanuatu, 2017). This submission focused on the first-ever post-secondary Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) course on climate change and disaster risk reduction taking place at the Vanuatu Institute of Technology. Efforts to teach school students about resilience were not mentioned. Vanuatu’s 2016 submission to the UNFCCC mentions the need for ‘awareness raising at all levels’, and ‘capacity-building, including institutional capacity’ (Government of the Republic of Vanuatu, 2016, pp. 6). However, there is no specific reference to resilience education.

Vanuatu’s own set of 15 SDGs, outlined in its NSDP, are aligned with the United Nations 17 SDGs and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. SDG 13 is expressed as policy objective ENV 3.4 (Table 10). A review of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda (Republic of Vanuatu, 2019) states that ‘steady progress’ has been made with the implementation of SDG 13 (Republic of Vanuatu, 2019, pp. 22–23). Regarding resilience education, Table 15 summarizes the findings from this review (Republic of Vanuatu, 2019, pp. 77–79), indicating that ‘as of 2017, the National Curriculum at all levels now incorporates climate and disaster modules’.

Table 15.

Vanuatu’s NSDP Policy Objectives on Resilience Education Aligned to SDG Targets and Indicators

SDG Target	SDG Indicator	Vanuatu’s NSDP Objectives and Achievements
Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
13.3 Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning.	13.3.1 Number of countries that have integrated mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning into primary, secondary and tertiary curricula.	ENV 3.4.1 Percentage of public schools using the climate change and disaster risk reduction modules in national curriculum at all levels. • As of 2017: National curriculum at all levels now incorporates climate and disaster modules.
	13.3.2 Number of countries that have communicated the strengthening of institutional, systemic and individual capacity-building to implement adaptation, mitigation and technology transfer, and development actions.

Source: Republic of Vanuatu (2019, pp. 77–79).

Discussion

Article 82 of the Paris Agreement of 2015 calls upon all parties, including Vanuatu, to ensure that education contributes to capacity-building for resilience to CC. The Sendai Framework urges the incorporation of disaster risk knowledge in formal and non-formal education, encourages primary and secondary schools to incorporate resilience programmes that include DRR lessons in the curriculum, advocates the provision of curricular material to teachers, and reminds us that children and youth are agents of change who should be given the space and means to contribute to disaster risk reduction. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development includes Target 13.3 to improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on CC mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning, stating that this will be indicated when a country has integrated those aspects into primary, secondary and tertiary curricula.

On a regional level, the Framework for Resilient Development in the Pacific urges the strengthening of knowledge on causes, impacts and responses to CC, hazards and disasters, as well as capacity-building for adaptation and risk management measures, to take place through formal and non-formal education systems. It asks for capacity-building on the use of renewable energy and ecosystem conservation to occur in schools and communities, and it emphasizes the key role of training and education in building resilient communities.

Within the context of these international and regional policies on resilience, Vanuatu has developed its VCCDRRP and NSDP, each setting objectives for the 15-year period to 2030. The VCCDRRP asks for school curricula to adopt an integrated approach to CC and DRR and to include traditional knowledge of early warning and coping mechanisms and lessons learned on disaster risk reduction. The NSDP includes resilience education under its objective ENV 3.4, stating that the objective is for public schools to use CC and DRR modules in the national curriculum at all levels.

Thus there is clear evidence that key international and regional policies stress the importance of educating students at all levels about resilience issues—mentioned also by Mochizuki and Bryan (2015, pp. 7–8) and Reid (2019)—and that this is echoed in general terms by Vanuatu’s own policies on climate change, disasters and sustainability. However, a closer look at what is actually happening in Vanuatu schools in 2020, 5 years into the lifespan of these policies, reveals that the reality on the ground is different. Four reasons are suggested.

Firstly, although the VCCDRRP says that CC and DRR have been mainstreamed into the National Curriculum Statement (NCS), this statement pre-dates the VCCDRRP: thus DRR is not cited, and CC is only mentioned briefly. All current primary and secondary curricula are being developed on the basis of the NCS, and the guidelines for curriculum writers on resilience issues are minimal. The 2019 review of progress towards Vanuatu’s implementation of SDG and NSDP goals states that the National Curriculum has since 2017 incorporated climate and disaster modules at all levels of schooling. This is not correct, since even in 2020 these modules only exist or are planned for years 5, 6, 11, 12 and 13.

Secondly, the implementation of revised curricula is slow. In 2020, new primary curricula are being rolled out as far as year 5 level, junior secondary curricula are still being written, and senior secondary curricula are only being taught in years 11 and 12, without any official teaching resources (Obed, L, personal communication, October 23, 2020). Thus while students in years 5, 11 and 12 are learning about CC and disasters, those in other years are dependent on out-of-date curricula in which resilience issues have minor significance. Effective learning resources introduced in 2014–2015, such as Learning about Climate Change the Pacific Way, have been largely forgotten.

Thirdly, the most effective education on CC and disasters appears in curricula at senior secondary level, by which time most students are no longer in school: statistics from 2019 show that students in year 13 are just 13% of the number who started in year 1 in 2007. Furthermore, such education is confined to three optional subjects—geography, earth science and development studies—each taken by one-third or less of all who reach this level. Thus the number of students benefiting from the most effective resilience education is only a minor proportion of the total.

Fourthly, the content of curricula on resilience education, in terms of knowledge, skills, attitudes and behavioural traits gained, must also be questioned. While years 4, 5 and 6 curricula in social science and science teach basic knowledge and involve skill-sets and field experience, the number of teaching hours over this 3-year period is only 1% of the total time spent in the classroom. At the upper end of secondary school, learners in the three optional subjects have more learning hours on resilience issues, but the syllabi make no mention of fieldwork or practical training on adaptation or mitigation strategies. Indeed, none of the syllabi include teaching approaches that promote participatory, field and affective learning, nor attitudes such as the avoidance of consumerism, a holistic approach to the environment and the value of traditional knowledge, nor behaviours such as climate change advocacy and environmental stewardship. Further, the effectiveness of resilience education at all levels depends not only upon the amount of curricular time, but also on materials used, pedagogy, teacher enthusiasm and commitment, and student motivation—factors that are not being analysed in the present article.

We have demonstrated that in 2020, there is a mismatch in Vanuatu between formal school education on resilience and the policies that advocate such education. As far as the Vanuatu government is concerned, its 2019 review of progress towards the objectives of the nation’s sustainable development goals states that modules on CC and disasters are being taught at all levels of school education. In reality, they are not.

Conclusion and Recommendations

Vanuatu’s revised school curricula do not fully reflect the requirements for formal school education on resilience contained in national, regional and international policies—a situation that is inconsistent with the nation’s status as the world’s most disaster-prone country. Furthermore, implementation of the new syllabi has been slow, so that in 2020, 10 years after the launching of the NCS, modules on resilience are not yet being taught in all years of primary and secondary education, contrary to the government’s statement that the national curriculum has since 2017 ‘incorporated climate and disaster modules at all levels of schooling’.

At present, the most effective delivery of education on climate change and disasters occurs in years 12 and 13, by which time the vast majority of students have already left school. Furthermore, such delivery only takes place in three optional subjects that are taken by a minority of those who do reach these higher levels.

In order to reach the majority of school-age students, we recommend that more intensive learning about resilience takes place at upper primary and junior secondary school levels. The following approaches are suggested:

Those currently writing the junior secondary syllabus can be asked to ensure that the content of social science and science courses addresses the most up-to-date issues on CC and DRR and includes hands-on and field experiences that engage the learners.

Requests can be made to donor partners to fund the printing of suitable learning resources to be used across the curriculum at junior secondary level. Examples are the 16-picture toolkit and its accompanying teacher guide. Funding will also be needed to run short teacher-training courses on these new materials.

Teachers involved in the senior cycle need to have appropriate teaching and learning materials for their students. At present, they rely on internet resources, and there is considerable variation from teacher to teacher. The Vanuatu Institute of Technology is already teaching accredited certificate courses on CC and DRR at TVET level, and the unit learner guides and workbooks from these courses can be adapted for use in years 11–13. Specialist writers must be recruited to do this, and funding found for the production of resources.

Staff from the Department of Climate Change, the National Disaster Management Office and non-government organisations can be approached to assist with running relevant short courses for all secondary teachers, particularly those in key subjects.

Teachers in Vanuatu are ready to help their students contribute towards the nation’s vision of being a ‘resilient community, environment and economy’. They need to be given the tools—materials and in-service training—to be able to do so.

Disclosure Statement

The lead author was involved in the writing and translation of the Vanuatu National Syllabi for Earth Science and Development Studies at senior secondary level (years 11–13) during 2012–2014, while working in Vanuatu as a lecturer at the Vanuatu Institute of Teacher Education. He has 35 years of experience in educational institutions in Vanuatu.

The second author was the lead contributor to Vanuatu’s submission to the UNFCCC-PCCB in 2017 (Republic of Vanuatu, 2017).

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

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