Bridging Geopolitics and Environmental Issues in Geography Education: Exploratory Teachers’ Insights from France and Israel

The relationship between environmental issues and politics is underrepresented in geography curricula. This study explores the challenges associated with integrating environmental issues within a political framework in geography education and puts forward a case for their inclusion in teacher development. The present study is predicated on an analysis of the intended and the achieved curricula. A comparative analysis of the curricula, complemented by interviews with a total of 20 teachers, in France and Israel, led to the identification of common barriers. The analysis revealed that both countries' curricula incorporated environmental geopolitics and that the teachers recognised the link between environmental and political decisions. However, they mentioned few local political aspects, and most of them were unfamiliar with this connection from their prior studies. Despite the limited time allocated to the subject, teachers incorporated these topics out of a sense of mission. The paper proposes a model to facilitate the integration of environmental geopolitics into teaching practice. Highlights: • Teachers interviewed in France and Israel recognised links between the environment and politics. • There is no consensus on how to include these topics in the curriculum. • Israeli teachers discussed global politics more openly than French teachers. • French teachers focused on local issues, avoiding political aspects. • All the teachers required better training in geopolitics for effective teaching. • A theoretical model that would enable teachers to teach environmental geopolitics is proposed.