Initial teacher education (ITE) programmes aim to equip aspiring teachers with the knowledge, skills and professional behaviours needed to establish a successful start to a career in teaching (Grossman et al., 2008; DfE, 2024). The multi-layered nature of ITE means that student teachers play the dual role of both ‘learning to teach’ and ‘teaching to learn’ (Loughran, 2006). Teachers gain a more in-depth understanding of teaching and learning by experiencing it through the lens of the pupil, creating a shift in the way teachers normally think about pupils and learning (Flutter, 2017; Flutter and Rudduck 2004; Rudduck and Flutter, 2003). Traditionally, pupil voice is not formally integrated into ITE programmes, although the potential for the positive impact upon incorporating pupils’ perspectives has been recognised (Hull, 1985; McKelvey and Kyriacou, 1985; Meighan, 1977). Initiatives such as the ‘Pupil Mentoring Project’ (Youens and Hall, 2007) and ‘Teaching and Learning Together’ (Cook-Sather, 2009) facilitated structured opportunities for student teachers to understand pupils’ perspectives of teaching and learning through ITE. These studies demonstrate that if pupil voice is used effectively it can result in student teachers developing deeper insights into pupil thinking, the importance of pupil-teacher relationships, and an improved capacity to reflect upon their teaching practice (Youens and Hall, 2007).

The National Curriculum in England makes direct reference to teaching topics related to sustainability and climate change only in secondary Science and Geography (DfE, 2013). The ongoing curriculum review presents an opportunity to embed climate change and sustainability education more purposefully into the curriculum (Rushton and Walshe, 2024). There is an identified gap in the exposure to teaching and learning about sustainability and climate change in teacher education programmes (Greer et al., 2023) and research by Teach the Future (2021) report 70% of student teachers say they haven’t received training on any aspect of climate change.

In this study, we specifically explore what science student teachers can learn from the inclusion of a pupil-led teaching session on climate change within the ITE curriculum. The impact of the session on the student teachers’ perception and learning from pupil-led teaching was assessed through a short questionnaire. Analysis of the questionnaire responses indicated the positive impact of the session on a range of developmental aspects for the student teachers.

Dr Ashley Beattie is Assistant Professor in Science Education (Chemistry) at the University of Birmingham Department of Education. Prof. Donna Dawkins is the Professor in Science Education (Biology) at the University of Birmingham Department of Education.