Influence of Principals’ Incorporation of Climate Change Education into Curriculum on Climate Change Awareness amongst Students in Public Secondary Schools in Westland Subcounty, Kenya

Climate change has become an existential environmental threat ravaging societies disproportionately. While it remains a complex global challenge with debilitating impacts, its mitigation considers climate change awareness as prerequisite for informed action, adaptation and sustainability. SDG 13; Climate Action, moreover views climate change education as a tool for empowerment-enhancing climate knowledge and skills-thereby transforming young people into agents of climate change rather than mere spectators. This role of education in climate change awareness can leverage principals’ inclusion of CCE into curriculum for enhance climate change awareness thus environmentally conscious future generation. This paper investigated the influence of principals’ incorporation of CCE into curriculum on climate change awareness amongst students in public secondary schools in Westland Subcounty, Nairobi. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods were employed in the study in which 15 school principals, 70 secondary school teachers and 460 students were purposively sampled for the study. Questionnaires and interview schedules were administered to students and teacher, and school principals respectively. Pearson Chi-square test (x²=79.826 p=0.005) was highly significant indicating that principals incorporated CCE into curriculum that contributed to climate change awareness amongst students. This showed that there is significant relationship between principals’ incorporation of CCE into curriculum and climate change awareness. It is evident from the results of the study that developing CCE curriculum, supervision and instruction, provision of materials and integration of ICT were given key consideration.  It is then recommended that principals should leverage on ICT to bolster sharing of CCE materials and resources, develop monitoring and evaluation tools, provide TML as well as effective instructional supervision. To improve principals’ vocation, there is need to equip principals with knowledge, skills and competencies.