Yonmenkaigi System Method as an Educational Framework for Climate Change Within the United Kingdom: A Pilot Study

Climate change can be viewed as probably one of the greatest environmental issues that society is currently facing. It is already being argued that society is already feeling the effects of climate change, with an increase of 1 °C being experienced worldwide. Climate change impacts within the United Kingdom are expected to be extensive, with an increased probability of droughts, heatwaves and flooding events by the end of the century. Despite these potential effects, there is at the moment only a limited education on the subject of climate change mitigation and adaption strategies within the United Kingdom’s education curriculum. One potential option to overcome this issue is an engagement framework that can be used within schools and colleges, such as a Yonmenkaigi System Method [YSM]. Therefore, a Yonmenkaigi System Method was undertaken with sixteen first year Northumbria University Environmental Management students on the 4th October 2018; a questionnaire before and after was given to monitor the students perception of climate change throughout the engagement exercise. It was found that there was a significant change (p < 0.10) in the way a number of questions were answered within the questionnaire. This demonstrates that the Yonmenkaigi System Method has a potential to be used as an educational approach for educating students within the United Kingdom about environmental issues, such as climate change.