Environmental Education Theory Research Articles

Social pedagogy and social work from the perspective of the research areas and practical activities – selected contexts

The theoretical and practical development of social pedagogy was influenced by many social, economic and cultural factors (e.g. industrial and cultural revolutions), which took place in Europe and America in the 19th century. In turn, in 1908 Helena Radlińska created the scientific bases of social pedagogy in Poland and initiated its disciplinary development. In her activities, the researcher emphasized the role of a human in the transformation of reality in which they live. Her concept had a lot in common with the theses of the then German and French philosophical and pedagogical thought, among others Paul Bergman, Jean-Marie Guyau, Paul Natorp, Gabriel Séailles (Theiss, 2018, p. 13). The key moment in the initial phase of the development of so-called Helena Radlińska’s school of social pedagogy was the creation of The Social-Educational Work Study of Free Polish University in 1925. It was the first university in Poland to educate, at the academic level, future social and educational workers and educators in the area of adult education, mother and child care , and organization of social life. Social pedagogy as a science of human education, upbringing, and social functioning is a discipline of humanistic and social science. It has an interdisciplinary character shaped on the basis of the knowledge of various sciences, that includes: philosophy of human life, psychology (experimental, social, clinical), general pedagogy, sociology of education, ethics, social policy, family and guardianship law, theory of environmental education (Kamiński, 1974).

Strange loops, oedipal logic, and an apophatic ecology: Reimagining critique in environmental education

There are currently two broad forms of critique undergirding environmental education theories: the first is one of subtraction from perceived reality as it seeks to reveal and remove illusions and ideologies, while the other takes the inverse form of adding to reality in the form of investigating how matter comes to matter. We suggest a third form that explores the paradoxical and uncanny aspects of ecological awareness and assumes an apophatic, self-negating form, which short-circuits and relinquishes all attempts at epistemological closure. In this third form, we are drawing on themes from dark ecology, which maintains that ecological awareness is decidedly ‘weird’ as it assumes the guise of an ‘Oedipal’ logic, a narrative trope in which the protagonist seeking to avoid a tragic fate finds out that avoidance itself is the realization of the tragedy. Using Timothy Morton’s work as a springboard, we unpack the import of such looping temporality onto the onto-epistemological frameworks of environmental education.

Issues of Critical Environmental Education Theory Rooted in the Criticism of Capitalism

Issues of Critical Environmental Education Theory Rooted in the Criticism of Capitalism

The relational, the critical, and the existential: three strands and accompanying challenges for extending the theory of environmental education

This paper begins with a very short overview of the environmental and educational challenges that exist today. It proceeds through three pedagogical strands – the relational, the critical, and the existential – that have been woven through the practices of many outdoor and environmental educators for the last 60 years. After each strand is described the paper offers a considered push with the goal of inspiring possibility and taking pedagogy further. Each push is described within the context of a Wild Pedagogies touchstone. The conclusion suggests that gathering all three strands, along with their proposed extensions, offers some promise towards responding to the global environmental challenges at hand. In fact, what might be needed is a comprehensive educational practice that draws best practices from all three along with their respective rich amalgam of skills. The paper ends with a call to outdoor and environmental educators.

Permakultura a teorie environmentální výchovy (EV): mapující přehledová studie

The text deals with the concept of permaculture in the context of environmental education (EE). It shows the position of permaculture as a concept in the context of established theories of EE. The review is based on library research of approximately 400 texts from Czech and foreign library sources. The texts were chosen based on the following key words: environmental education (theory, values, and history), ecological education global education, education towards care of the environment, education for environmental protection, education for the sustainable development (Czech sources); theory of environmental education, permaculture (foreign sources). An own typology of EE theories (micro-theories, medium-range theories, macrotheories and philosophical and ethical theories) is used in the text for framing the concept in the field. The main finding is that permaculture as a concept lies on the periphery of theoretical discussions in EE, at the moment it is more of a tool of practical EE (mostly in the form of manuals for using gardens in EE) rather than a component of EE theory. The biggest overlap is between permaculture and global education and theories of place based education and experience based education. In general, permaculture is not a sufficiently sophisticated theoretical concept, but it has theoretical potential. In this respect permaculture is a challenge for theoretical research in educational sciences.

'Everything has to die one day:' children’s explorations of the meanings of death in human-animal-nature relationships

Children’s experiences of death are a potentially vital component of their developing sense of relatedness to non-human others and nature. Environmental education theory and practice would benefit from a broader understanding of how children view death and loss within ecological systems as well as within human–animal–nature relationships, but such research is currently lacking. This paper focuses on children’s own descriptions of the deaths of companion animals – a largely ignored category of non-human others in environmental education – and explores three emergent, ecological themes. These themes indicate that death experiences within the home space are significant in ecological learning.

Place-Based Curriculum Design: Exceeding Standards through Local Investigations by Children, Place and Sustainability by

Book Reviews 159 Place-Based Curriculum Design: Exceeding Standards through Local Investigations Amy B. Demarest (2015) New York: Routledge, 172 pages $108.95 (hardcover), $45.60 (paperback); ISBN: 978-1138013469 Children, Place and Sustainability Margaret Somerville and Monica Green (2015) New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 200 pages $95.00 (hardcover); ISBN: 978-1137408495 Pathways Toward Complementary Aims of Education and Environmental Sustainability: A Paired Book Review As environmental education (EE) has struggled to take center stage in schools in the U.S., many educators and researchers have argued that when EE is an integral part of classroom life, it not only promotes ecological sustainability, but also general educational aims (Moroye & Ingman, 2013). The two books reviewed here contribute to the field by providing curriculum, pedagogy, and research to support the complementary aims of education and environmental sustainability. Demarest’s (2015) Place-Based Curriculum Design: Exceeding Standards Through Local Investigations and Somerville and Green’s (2015) Children, Place and Sustainability provide teachers, policy makers, and community members the resources and rationale for a prolific role for environmental education in schools. Both authors promote visions of EE that are both good for kids and good for the environment. While there are many ways to argue that a good education is compatible with— even enhanced by—environmental education, one useful framework is John Dewey’s (1934/1997) criteria for an educative (versus miseducative or noneducative) experience: continuity and interaction (Moroye & Ingman, 2013). Continuity describes educational experiences that lead to further similar experiences toward growth. In other words, an experience that propels the learner to seek out additional experiences that enhance his/her skills and knowledge is one characterized by continuity. Interaction, as continuity’s partner, describes experiences that are responsive to the internal conditions of the learner (his/her desires and abilities) along with the external conditions of the experience (content to be learned, context of the lesson, and democratic participation). In reading the work of Demarest and Somerville and Green, we quickly recognized that the examples and ideas met Dewey’s criteria for educative experience. As such, we believe both texts hold promise for revitalizing environmental education and more firmly grounding EE in school curriculum. Further, we noticed that both texts are asking a similar question with different emphases. Demarest asks, “Where are children in environmental education?” noting the importance of place. Somerville and Green ask, “Where are the children in environmental education research?” noting the importance of the child’s voice in research. Together these Book Reviews 160 emphases coalesce in educative experiences and provide worthy reads for parents, educators, researchers, and policy makers. Demarest’s focus is on place and its role in curriculum design as constructed by teachers with their students. She offers an explanation of the theory of environmental education that sets the foundation for her discussion of the elements of place-based curriculum design. She then dives deeply into the practical logistics and challenges we often hear from teachers before offering strategies for wholeschool change, noting the “contrasting patterns” (Demarest, 2015, p. 2) with which children undertake their inquiries into the world, as well the vastly different ways that “students access and experience education” (p. 2). Her approach to curriculum design places equal weight on the internal conditions of the learner and the external conditions as characterized in place-based education, thereby satisfying the criteria for interaction. Further, her text promotes student inquiry and choice balanced by content and standards for learning. The text is written largely in response to Demarest’s own urgent calling that students must not only feel tied to the natural world, but also ask critical questions that lead to investigations. Demarest’s vision is nothing short of transformation—of students, of schools, and of communities—toward the aim of planetary health and vigorous learning experiences. Further, as the product of her dissertation work, Demarest artfully crafts stories of teachers and students on their journeys in, through, and with place. Perhaps this is her more important purpose, in that it emphasizes the immediate and present opportunity we have to engage meaningfully and with integrity in sustainable practices. She notes: There is power in knowing how to take the larger outcomes that emerge from local...

Meanings and implications of culture in sustainability education research

ABSTRACTAs scholars working both individually and collectively, we are interested in exploring what may be achieved through taking up the complex notion of culture in sustainability education research. In this article, we present a bricolage of research, drawing on empirical and theoretical sources that collectively establish the kind of capacity we see as potentially creating the conditions for cultural change. We draw from cultural and environmental education theories. The three empirical examples explore the role of community and family, Indigenous and non-Indigenous knowledge, and personal change through social and ecological justice teaching. The studies demonstrate ways sustainability education research can create the conditions to engage and cultivate communities—both previously established or newly formed—to respond to the pervasiveness and influence of culture as an always/already obstacle to ecologically and socially sound patterns of thought and behavior. Indeed, it seems clear that research and practice must be directed toward cultivating a collective capacity and movement that creates spaces for renewed thinking and action—in other words, for renewed being.

Learning on the Ground: Ecology, Engagement, and Embodiment

AbstractIf theological education is to prepare religious leaders who will respond faithfully and capably to ecological challenges, what models of teaching and learning will best equip them for this work? In conversation with environmental education theory and examples from diverse learning contexts, this paper proposes a model of “learning on the ground” which is characterized by engaged and embodied pedagogy through participation in earth‐honoring social practices. See a companion essay in this issue of the journal (Kevin J. O'Brien, “Balancing Critique and Commitment”) and a response to both these essays (Forrest Clingerman, “Pedagogy as a Field Guide to the Ecology of the Classroom”) also published in this issue of the journal.

Identifying Points of Contact and Engagement Between Legal and Environmental Education

This article explores the shaping and possibly reforming potential of ideas about sustainability in legal education by drawing up a scale of environmental education theories, arranged according to their propensity to transform radically university education. The article offers a critical analysis of current individualist strategies aimed at developing students' environmental skills, in particular that these hamper opportunities for universities to develop a broader and more creative agenda of social change. Applying ideas about how environmental education communities of practice develop, this article identifies some pockets of activity seeking to integrate ideas of sustainability into the law curriculum, including via environmental law and teaching Wild Law or Earth Jurisprudence. These issues form part of an on‐going debate about how well law students are being prepared for work in highly challenging social, environmental, and financial circumstances, against the backdrop of a broader question about ‘what are universities for?’

Environmental Behavior and Gender: An Emerging Area of Concern for Environmental Education Research

Ecofeminism suggests that women are more active than men regarding environmental issues for a variety of social, cultural, and biological reasons. In support to these arguments, women predominate within the overall grassroots of the Environmental Justice movement. However, claims have been made that environmental education theory and research are overlooking gender differences in environmentalism. Although literature research reports that women show stronger environmental concern and attitudes than men and although there has been a growing awareness of the importance of gender in the willingness to act environmentally, we argue that there has been relatively little recognition of its potential in the context of environmentally responsible behavior. Finally, we suggest that by incorporating findings about gender differences in motivation, attitudes, and behaviors, Environmental Education would be in a position to inspire women from all race and class backgrounds to engage in effective ecological and political action.

Like a swallow, moving forward in circles: on the future dimension of environmental care and education

After the moral framework of sustainable development, the focus on climate change appears to take a lead in the practice and theory of environmental education. Inherent in this perspective is an apocalyptic message: if we do not rapidly change our use of energy resources, we will severely harm the life conditions of our children and grandchildren. In this article we argue that environmental educators should liberate us from this highly instrumental dictate by taking their cue from our daily care for our environment as revealed in child’s play in nature. Inherent in the interaction of the Homo ludens with nature is a spiral time experience. This time condition elicits a particular responsibility: rather than calculating which means are necessary to prevent future disasters, we should respond with care to the concentric circles of an open and indefinite future. Therefore, environmental education should not aim to prevent future disasters, but foster anticipating care for nature.

Теорія і практика екологічної освіти наприкінці ХХ століття: проблеми розвитку

The article discusses the contribution of the Soviet and Russian scientists in the 60-ies and 90-ies of ХХ century into the development of the theory of environmental education. It characterizes ideas, opinions and main concepts in the system of pupils’ environmental education presented in the works of leading specialists on environmental education. Key words: environmental education, ecological education, environmental culture, sustainable development.

Reading The Lorax, orienting in potentiality

The Lorax by Theodor Seuss Geisel (1971) is a popular children’s book with a strong environmental message. Previous scholarship on The Lorax has focused on questions about the message and the process of its transmission from the Once‐ler to the child. In contrast, in this study I inquire into the activity of transmission itself. Guided by the work of Agamben and Foucault, I analyze The Lorax and the activity of transmission as matters of human potentiality. I first present an analysis of the logic and function of potentiality itself. Then, with The Lorax as an example, I expose and critique the activity of transmission as one orientation in potentiality. I also indicate ways in which environmental education theory and practice maintains itself in this orientation. Beyond this, I show how The Lorax indirectly presents another orientation which offers a different way of conceiving the child, reading and critique.

Introduction to De Haan's Environmental Education Theory

Introduction to De Haan's Environmental Education Theory

A critical pedagogy of place: from gridlock to parallax

Differences of perspective, standpoint and subjectivity can help to enlarge the conceptual landscape of environmental education theory. Rejections of difference, on the other hand, can become an intolerance that narrows the scope of inquiry. This rejoinder argues that Bowers’ repeated rejections of critical pedagogy are based on a partial reading of the critical tradition, and that these critiques, including his current call to ‘avoid embracing’ a critical pedagogy of place, are unnecessarily dismissive and therefore counterproductive. Environmental education has benefited and will continue to benefit from the critical tradition of which critical pedagogy is a part. Relationships and/or antagonisms are constructed through human responses and interactions. Sameshima’s pedagogical theory of parallax is introduced as a way of seeing relationships between ideas that have been thought to be opposed. Moving toward relationship rather than rivalry, the rejoinder concludes by suggesting that Bowers’ and Freire’s criticality is actually more alike than different.

The action competence approach in environmental education

In this article, the concept of action competence is presented and an attempt is made to locate it within the concept of general educational theory. The concept of action competence, it is argued, should occupy a central position in the theory of environmental education as many of the crucial educational problems concerning a political liberal education are united in this concept. The preoccupation with action competence as an educational concept is based on scepticism about the educational paradigm in environmental education which manifests itself partly in a marked tendency to individualisation and partly in a tendency to regard the educational task as a question of behaviour modification. At the same time, action competence should be seen as a necessary alternative to the traditional, science‐oriented approach to environmental education. Examples from developmental work in Danish schools are used to clarify and demarcate the concept of ‘action’ from ‘activity’ and ‘behaviour change’. Different kinds of actions are discussed, environmental actions are identified and a distinction is drawn between ‘direct’ and ‘indirect’ environmental actions. Finally, four problem areas are identified which require future research.

Accountability and Collaboration: Institutional Barriers and Strategic Pathways for Place-based Education

This article makes the case that place-based and environmental education theory and practice must be responsive to, while attempting to transform, the institutional dynamics of schooling. In the present climate of education in the USA two dynamics of schooling deserve particular attention with respect to the possibilities for place-based and environmental education: the discourse of accountability and the discourse of collaboration. Drawing especially on Foucault's analyses of disciplinary power and governmentality, I show how practices associated with accountability and collaboration limit or preclude the deepening and spreading of place-based and environmental education. However, I also argue that even given the serious limitations imposed by current trends of collaboration and accountability, these trends offer place-based and environmental educators powerful entry points through which to initiate change within the formal school setting. The conclusion of the paper outlines three models of collaboration for place-conscious education through which accountability is redefined in the interest of places.

On Learners and Learning in Environmental Education: Missing theories, ignored communities

This response to Rickinson's (2001) review of empirical studies of learners and learning in school environmental education makes the points that Rickinson is only partially successful in achieving what he sets out to do, and that other, major shortcomings in environmental education theory and research have still to be addressed. Two major criticisms of the review are made: learning theories underlying the empirical research are not examined, and a large body of relevant work in so-called informal education is ignored.

Postmodern Challenges and Modern Horizons: education ‘for being for the environment‘

SUMMARY This article argues that a ‘humanly‐constructive’ critical theory of environmental education called ‘a critical ecological ontology for educational inquiry’ provides a necessary complement to the ‘socially‐critical’ perspective. This humanly‐constructive curriculum theory focuses on our individual and collective ‘being‐in‐the‐world’. It invites learners, teachers and researchers to study how their ‘lived experience’ of socio‐environmentally problematic circumstances is shaped and stretched globally by various economic and technological imperatives. In so doing, ‘a critical ecological ontology’ highlights the personal politic required for a socio‐ecological praxis. Of particular relevance to the socio‐ecological politic ‘for being’ are interpretations of postmodern agency that emerge from three practical applications of ‘a critical ecological ontology’. This dialogue of theory and practice is necessary in the critical curriculum project of environmental education