THE ROLE OF ECO-LITERATURE IN EDUCATING CHILDREN ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE IN UZBEKISTAN
Keywords:
climate change, eco-literature, children’s literature, environmental education, sustainability, ecological awareness, environmental values, Uzbekistan, climate education, cultural narratives, children and youthAbstract
Climate change has emerged as a key challenge of the 21st century globally, and calls for both scientific responses and education, and associated cultural responses. In Uzbekistan, which has been experiencing social and ecological challenges for decades due to issues such as water shortages, desertification and the Aral Sea catastrophe, it is particularly urgent to instill a sense of responsibility toward life on our planet in children. This article focuses on the contribution of Eco-literature in teaching children climate change in Uzbekistan. It discusses how environmental literature for children serves as a mediator in terms of awareness building, formation of environmental values and stimulation of sustainable behavior at an early age. Engaging a qualitative, descriptive analysis, the research considers representative children’s literature text and educational materials from Uzbekistan to learn about dominant ethical messages, narrative methods and cultural emphasis. The results indicate that Eco-literature serves to simplify complicated environmental issues for children, and leads to the development of an ecological consciousness based on regional cultural history.
