Featured researcher: Alison Anderson
School of Society and Culture
Professor Alison Anderson is an internationally leading scholar with over 30 years of experience in public engagement and environmental communication. She has undertaken extensive interdisciplinary research on behavioural science and climate change.
Alison's research, focusing on empowering youth voices to mobilise behaviour change, was exhibited at
COP26
, and her work has featured on BBC Radio and in Der Standard, the Financial Times, the Toronto Star, and The TES.
In December 2021, she submitted evidence to the House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee Inquiry which was cited in the House of Lords October 2022 report In our Hands: Behaviour Change for Climate and Environmental Goals. Her work on climate education features in UK Parliament POSTnote 714 Enabling Green Choices for Net Zero and the Oxford, Cambridge and RSA (OCR) report Striking the balance: A review of 11–16 curriculum and assessment in England.
Alison is a founding member of the International Environmental Communication Association, and a former Editor-in-Chief of the Routledge journal Environmental Communication. She is a Fellow of both the Royal Society of Arts and the Academy of Social Science.
UK secondary school pupils call for relevant and rigorous climate change education
Alison has recently undertaken research with the British Science Association ‘Climate change in secondary schools: young people’s views of climate change and sustainability education’. This included a national survey of 1,000 14-to-18-year-olds and two follow-up workshops to explore the responses in greater depth. In addition, she commissioned a national survey of over 8,000 teachers concerning their views about embedding climate change and sustainability across the curriculum.
How can the education system help to fight the climate crisis?
If the education system is to rise to the challenge, there must be a step change in how it prepares young people for a rapidly changing world.
Scaling up climate education in schools
In partnership with
The Box
, this project evaluates how recommendations from a prior collaboration with the British Science Association are being applied locally.
It focuses on a new initiative designed by The Box to engage young people with climate change by exploring its impact on Plymouth Sound and showcasing the efforts of inspiring 'Marine Citizens' who help to care for and protect the Marine National Park. The research aims to assess the depth of this rollout, providing valuable insights into the effectiveness of place-based, arts-driven educational approaches to climate awareness.
Media politics and environmental debates
Alison’s research in science communication includes mass media and culture, risk, nanotechnologies, marine pollution and environmental sustainability.
Visualising Climate
Exploring the potential for creative participatory processes to foster young people’s sense of empowerment in communicating the climate emergency
Coastal communities and environmental policy
Developing sustainable policy solutions for environmental challenges affecting coastal communities.
Ban on microbeads in cosmetics
Study published in Marine Pollution Bulletin explored attitudes regarding the presence of microplastic particles within readily available cosmetics
The power of place
Can we empower communities to help them imagine a better climate future?
Published in New Statesman, 12 July 2024
Climate Science in the Media – Richard Black and Alison Anderson
Richard Black, Director of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, and Professor Anderson present climate science in the media from both practitioner and academic points of view.
Media, Environment and the Network Society
In her book, Alison discusses the news media and how it has become a key stage for environmental conflicts. Through a series of examples from climate change to oil spills, this book provides an analysis of media politics and environmental debates.
How does culture, community and society impact sustainability?
Alison talks about the role of the media communicating climate change, shaping public attitudes about the climate change debate, and how they contribute to cultural predispositions towards sustainability.
Environment and sustainability
At Plymouth, the environment and sustainability research theme uses the lens of place to offer a transdisciplinary perspective on environment and sustainability. Drawing from fields such as politics, geography, sociology, psychology, literature, education, and the arts, we focus on the human experience and values.
Working with local communities, organisations, authorities and schools, we uncover cultural and social influences on environmental attitudes and explore ethical considerations to foster communication and advocacy and guide efforts toward a more sustainable future.
