Navigating controversy and neutrality: pre-service teachers’ beliefs on teaching climate change

Teachers’ climate change knowledge, beliefs, and the controversy surrounding the topic influence their curricular decisions. However, there’s limited understanding of pre-service teachers’ competencies and beliefs to address controversial aspects. This qualitative interview study with nine pre-service teachers in Switzerland explores their perspectives across the audience segmentation groups of Global Warming’s Six Americas and their preparedness to teach controversial aspects. The thematic analysis revealed distinct differences. Teachers’ beliefs influenced their teaching intentions, avoiding bias and controversy. Factors like inadequate pedagogical and content knowledge, the controversial nature of the topic, and perceived pressure result in teachers adopting a neutral stance. Yet, the interpretations of ‘controversy’ and ‘neutrality’ vary individually and contextually. Climate change is often approached as a scientific issue, focusing on private sphere actions, neglecting critical discussions, and hampering transformative learning. These findings highlight the importance of recognizing diverse perspectives in addressing controversial aspects – with implications for teacher education.