Dr Syafiq Mat Noor

Profile

I am an Associate Professor in Climate Change Education. I joined the School of Education at the University of Leeds in 2023, where my research centres on climate change education and education for sustainable development, with a particular focus on ethnoclimatology, traditional/local ecological knowledge and human–wildlife coexistence. My work draws on participatory approaches to curriculum development and decolonising methodologies.

I am currently advancing research on ecological understanding of the relationships between climate, nature and people, with a particular focus on environmental and climate change education. I have been leading,Voices of the Rainforest, a British Academy-funded research project on participatory curriculum development for climate change education in collaboration with Indigenous communities. Alongside my research, I contribute to student education as Programme Lead for the MA Education, one of the School of Education’s flagship postgraduate programmes. In this role, I draw on my expertise in curriculum development to support the programme’s continued growth and success.

News

COP30 in Belém: Indigenous children are increasingly vulnerable to climate change

Decolonising climate change curriculum through the use of traditional ecological knowledge

Leeds’ team wins the Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Bootcamp

Co-producing climate curriculum with indigenous communities

Dr Syafiq Mat Noor wins a British Academy ‘Knowledge Frontiers: ODA International Interdisciplinary Research 2024’ grant

Responsibilities

• Programme Lead for MA Education

Research interests

My research centres on ecological understanding of the relationships between climate, nature and people, with a particular focus on climate change education and education for sustainable development. I examine how learners understand the connections between ecological processes, environmental change and human activities, and how this understanding develops through everyday experiences, cultural practices and relationships with place. I am particularly interested in how curricula can help learners move beyond identifying individual elements of the environment towards understanding their interdependence, including how people both shape and are affected by changes in climate and ecosystems.

A central strand of my research concerns traditional/local ecological knowledge and its significance for environmental learning and human–wildlife coexistence. Through Voices of the Rainforest, I have worked with Indigenous communities to explore how knowledge of the relationships between nature and people can contribute to climate change education. This includes examining how ecological knowledge is practised, shared between generations and understood by children. My developing research on human–wildlife coexistence explores how cultural knowledge, conservation practices and access to ancestral lands shape relationships with wildlife, and how education can support coexistence while recognising Indigenous knowledge and rights.

Methodologically, my work draws on participatory curriculum development, participatory action research and decolonising methodologies. Building on my previous and ongoing research with rural and Indigenous communities, I approach curriculum development as a collaborative process involving teachers, children and community members. I examine whose knowledge is recognised, whose priorities shape curriculum decisions and how research relationships enable or constrain participation. Through dialogue, reflection and shared decision-making, I explore how traditional/local ecological knowledge can shape curriculum practice while respecting the contexts in which it is held, practised and transmitted.

Primary investigator (PI)

• Investigating sustainability leadership and climate action plans in education
• Participatory co-production dialogue circle for grant development on the climate–nature–indigenous peoples nexus
• Training of trainers’ programme with indigenous teachers on teaching climate change grounded in traditional ecological knowledge
• Voices of the rainforest: Co-creating a traditional ecological knowledge-based climate change curriculum framework with indigenous communities in Malaysia

Qualifications

• PhD in Science Education (University College London, UCL)
• MA with Distinction in Education (Science, Maths and Technology)
• BTeach with Honours (Primary Science Education)

Professional memberships

• Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society
• Associate of the Yorkshire & Humber Climate Commission
• Associate of the Leeds Climate Commission
• UK National Association for Environmental Education
• British Ecological Society
• European Science Education Research Association
• Collaborative Action Research Network
• Malaysian Action Research Network

Student education

I contribute to teaching across a range of postgraduate modules in education, with a focus on research methods, climate change education and education for sustainable development.

I particularly welcome enquiries from prospective PhD/EdD students from Black, Asian and other ethnic minority backgrounds, both in the UK and across the Global South, who are interested in climate change education, education for sustainable development, ethnoclimatology, traditional/local ecological knowledge, human–wildlife coexistence, participatory curriculum development and/or decolonising methodologies.

If these areas align with your research interests, I encourage you to get in touch to discuss your ideas and proposals.

Module Lead

EDUC5002M Foundations of Educational Practice

EDUC5003M Advances of Educational Research

EDUC5009M Climate Change and Sustainability Education

EDUC5010M Education for Sustainable Development

EDUC5430M Dissertation

Module Tutor

EDUC5000M Foundations of Educational Research

EDUC5862M Research with Children and Young People

Current postgraduate researchers

• Mardhiah Hanum Omar
• Khaled Abdullah
• Nor Mohamad Zulkifli
• Olevia Rumalutur