Introducing Climate Change in Non Formal Education Sector in Nigeria: Instructors? Perspective

The non-formal educational sector in Nigeria encompasses a variety of citizenry, across the rural and urban settings. Evidently, this educational sector can be a key contributor to the dissemination of information on climate change, which is necessary for its mitigation and adaptation. As Nigeria government is incrementally enabling the introduction of a climate change education to the school curriculum, the non-formal education sector engagement is vital. The study herein described is aimed at determining the extent of climate change awareness by the instructors of non- formal education as it is expected to streamline perspectives and understanding of how the individuals and government can contribute to its mitigation and adaptation. A descriptive survey design was used to sample ninety non formal education instructors which were selected through purposive sampling from eighteen non-formal education institutions in Akwa Ibom State, Southern Nigeria. The applied data were gathered by means of the “Non-Formal Education Instructors Climate Change Questionnaire” (NEICCQ). The study results revealed an overall moderate awareness of climate change issues; awareness of mitigation and adaptation measures; with the instructors indicating a need to be more informed on the subject before they can teach it. Thus, our findings led to the conclusion that non- formal education instructors were not sufficiently informed to provide instruction on climate change that can make the required impact on the students and communities. Special training programs on climate change education are needed to be put in place for instructors of the non-formal education sector in order to establish a robust climate change education in this educational sector.