Educating During the Great Transformation

Abstract

During this shifting of historical epochs, the “usual ways of doing things” is catalysing existential questions about the survival of humanity. Yet, it is precisely these points of severe disruption where the creation of something more complex and life-giving can evolve. In this article, we explore how the dominant Separation Paradigm has created the current disruptive socio-natural conditions. Individuals and societies steeped within the Separation Paradigm are unwittingly destructive, because they do not perceive, and thus unintentionally sever, the incomprehensibly relational nature of our universe. We summarise the overarching dynamics of the Separation Paradigm and critique how existent learning processes, including sustainability education, are reproducing the Separation Paradigm. A salve to the diverse manifestations of Separation, we describe multiple sources of the Relationality Paradigm as well as implications for relational ways of knowing and being, through an interweaving of theoretical and personal vignettes. Finally, we sketch the implications of a possible worldview transformation for educators and processes of education, particularly within transformative sustainability education.