Advertisement

International Review of Education

, Volume 62, Issue 5, pp 587–607 | Cite as

Ecopedagogy as an element of citizenship education: The dialectic of global/local spheres of citizenship and critical environmental pedagogies

  • Greg William Misiaszek
Original Paper
First Online:

Abstract

Emerging from popular education movements in Latin America, ecopedagogy is a critical environmental pedagogy which focuses on understanding the connections between social conflict and environmentally harmful acts carried out by humans. These connections are often politically hidden in education. Ecopedagogy, while being pluralistic, is in its essence defined as a critical, transformative environmental pedagogy centred on increasing social and environmental justice. Its ultimate aim is to find a sustainable balance between the conflicting goals of diverse notions of human progress and environmental wellbeing. This article is based on two comparative research projects. The first was a qualitative study on ecopedagogical models involving 31 expert ecopedagogues in Argentina, Brazil and the Appalachian region of the United States. They were asked for their perspectives on how successful ecopedagogy can be defined within the contexts in which they taught and conducted research. The second study analysed how 18 international expert scholars of citizenship and/or environmental pedagogy from six world continents regarded the ways in which citizenship intersects with environmental issues and the pedagogies of both in an increasingly globalised world, with specific focus on Global Citizenship Education. Results from the first study indicate the following two needs for effective environmental pedagogies: (1) for there to be an ecopedagogical paradigm shift in environmental teaching and research; and (2) for ecopedagogy to be an essential element of citizenship education (and vice versa). This article examines how conflicting processes of globalisation both help and hinder in achieving such a paradigm shift by decentring traditional nation-state citizenship. Results from the second study indicate how critical teaching within and between different spheres of citizenship (e.g. local, national, global, and planetary citizenship) is essential for ecopedagogy (and the ecopedagogical element).

Keywords

Ecopedagogy Citizenship Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Global Citizenship Education (GCE) Globalisation 

Résumé

L’éco-pédagogie, élément de l’éducation à la citoyenneté : dialectique des domaines mondial/local de la citoyenneté et pédagogies critiques de l’environnement – Née des mouvements éducatifs populaires d’Amérique latine, l’éco-pédagogie est une didactique critique de l’environnement axée sur la compréhension des liens entre conflit social et actes nuisibles à l’environnement accomplis par l’être humain. Ces liens sont souvent passés sous silence dans l’éducation pour des motifs politiques. Tout en étant pluraliste, l’éco-pédagogie se définit dans son essence comme une pédagogie critique et transformatrice de l’environnement, tendant à renforcer la justice sociale et environnementale. Son but ultime consiste à établir un équilibre durable entre les objectifs conflictuels des diverses notions du progrès humain et du bien-être environnemental. Cet article se fonde sur deux projets de recherche comparée. Le premier est une étude qualitative sur les modèles éco-pédagogiques impliquant 31 experts éco-pédagogues en Argentine, au Brésil et dans la région des Appalaches aux États-Unis. Ils devaient exprimer leurs avis quant au degré de succès de l’éco-pédagogie qu’ils pouvaient établir dans leurs contextes respectifs d’enseignement et de recherche. La seconde étude a analysé dans quelle mesure 18 experts internationaux spécialistes de la citoyenneté et/ou de la pédagogie de l’environnement, originaires des six continents, considèrent que la citoyenneté rejoint les questions environnementales et les pédagogies des deux disciplines dans un contexte de mondialisation croissante, avec un accent particulier sur l’Éducation à la citoyenneté mondiale (ECM). Les résultats de la première étude signalent les deux impératifs suivants pour des pédagogies environnementales efficaces : 1) un changement de paradigme éco-pédagogique dans l’enseignement et la recherche sur l’environnement, et 2) l’éco-pédagogie en tant qu’élément essentiel de l’éducation à la citoyenneté (et vice versa). L’auteur examine comment les processus conflictuels de mondialisation à la fois favorisent et freinent ce changement de paradigme en décentrant la citoyenneté traditionnelle de l’État-nation. Les conclusions de la seconde étude indiquent que l’enseignement critique dans les différents domaines de la citoyenneté et entre ces derniers (par exemple citoyenneté locale, nationale, internationale et planétaire) est essentiel pour l’éco-pédagogie (et l’élément afférent).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

Notes

Acknowledgments

I would like to acknowledge the following funding from the Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University: the 2014 Fundamental Research Funds for the Comprehensive Construction of the Discipline of Education.

References

  1. Apple, M. W., & Au, W. (2009). Politics, theory, and reality in critical pedagogy. In R. Cowen & A. M. Kazamias (Eds.), International handbook of comparative education (Vol. 22, pp. 991–1007). Dordrecht: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  2. Apple, M. W., Au, W., & Gandin, L. A. (2009). Mapping critical education. In M. W. Apple, W. Au, & L. A. Gandin (Eds.), The Routledge international handbook of critical education (pp. 3–20). New York, NY: Routledge.Google Scholar
  3. Arnot, M. (2009). A global conscience collective? Incorporating gender injustices into global citizenship education. Education, Citizenship and Social Justice, 4(2), 117–132.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  4. Arnove, R. F. (2007). Introduction: Reframing comparative education: The dialectic of the global and the local. In R. F. Arnove & C. A. Torres (Eds.), comparative education: The dialectic of the global and the local (3rd ed., pp. 1–20). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.Google Scholar
  5. Bell, D. R. (2004). Creating green citizens? Political liberalism and environmental education. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 38(1), 37–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  6. Camicia, S. P., & Franklin, B. M. (2011). What type of global community and citizenship? Tangled discourses of neoliberalism and critical democracy in curriculum and its reform. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 9(3–4), 311–322.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  7. Capella, J.-R. (2000). Globalization, a fading citizenship. In N. C. Burbules & C. A. Torres (Eds.), Globalization and education: Critical perspectives (pp. 227–252). New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
  8. Cudworth, E. (2003). Environment and society. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
  9. Dewey, J. (1963). Democracy and education: An introduction to the philosophy of education. New York: Macmillan.Google Scholar
  10. Freire, P. (1992). Pedagogy of hope. New York, NY: Continuum.Google Scholar
  11. Freire, P. (1998). Pedagogy of freedom: Ethics, democracy, and civic courage. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.Google Scholar
  12. Freire, P. (2000). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York, NY: Continuum.Google Scholar
  13. Gadotti, M. (1996). Pedagogy of praxis: A dialectical philosophy of education. Albany: State University of New York Press.Google Scholar
  14. Gadotti, M. (2000). Pedagogia da terra [Pedagogy of the earth]. São Paulo, SP: Editora Fundação Peirópolis.Google Scholar
  15. Gadotti, M. (2008). Education for sustainability: A critical contribution to the Decade of Education for Sustainable development. Green Theory and Praxis Journal, 4(1), 15–64. Retrieved 26 June 2016 from http://greentheoryandpraxisjournal.org/?p=313.
  16. Gadotti, M., & Gutiérrez Pérez, F. (1993). Educação comunitária e economia popular [Community education and popular economy]. São Paulo, SP: Cortez Editora.Google Scholar
  17. Gadotti, M., & Torres, C. A. (2009). Paulo Freire: Education for development. Development and Change, 40(6), 1255–1267.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  18. Giddens, A. (1990). The consequences of modernity. Palo Alto: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
  19. Gutiérrez, F., & Prado, C. (2008). Ecopedagogia e Cidadania Planetária [Ecopedagogy and planetary citizenship]. São Paulo: Instituto Paulo Freire.Google Scholar
  20. Jorgenson, S., & Shultz, L. (2012). Global Citizenship Education (GCE) in post-secondary institutions: What is protected and what is hidden under the umbrella of GCE? Journal of Global Citizenship & Equity Education, 2(1), 1–22. Retrieved 8 June 2016 from http://journals.sfu.ca/jgcee/index.php/jgcee/article/view/52/25.
  21. Jucker, R. (2004). Have the cake and eat it: Ecojustice versus development? Is it possible to reconcile social and economic equity, ecological sustainability, and human development? Some implications for ecojustice education. Educational Studies, 36(1), 10–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  22. Kahn, R. (2010). Critical pedagogy, ecoliteracy, and planetary crisis: The ecopedagogy movement. In J. L. Kincheloe (Ed.), Counterpoints: Studies in the postmodern theory of education series. New York: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
  23. Kellner, D. (2002). Theorizing globalization. Sociological Theory, 20(3), 285–305.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  24. Kopnina, H. (2011). Revisiting education for sustainable development (ESD): Examining anthropocentric bias through the transition of environmental education to ESD. Sustainable Development, 22(2), 73–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  25. Marshall, T. H. (1963). Sociology at the crossroads and other essays. London: Heinemann.Google Scholar
  26. Misiaszek, G. W. (2011). Ecopedagogy in the age of globalization: Educators’ perspectives of environmental education programs in the americas which incorporate social justice models. (PhD dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)). Dissertations & Theses: Full text, publication no. AAT 3483199. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA.Google Scholar
  27. Misiaszek, G. W. (2014). Learning from Southern environmental education models: Borrowing ecopedagogy through processes of globalization from below. Éducation Comparée, 10, 209–241.Google Scholar
  28. Misiaszek, G. W. (2015). Ecopedagogy and citizenship in the age of globalization: Essential connections between environmental and global citizenship education to save the planet. European Journal of Education: Research, Development, and Policies, 50(3), 280–292.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  29. Misiaszek, G. W. (forthcoming). Ecopedagogy: Teaching through critical questioning of Education for Sustainable Development. In Z. Fadeeva, L. Galkute, F. Lenglet, & Y. Michozuki (Eds.), Palgrave handbook: Transformative Education for Sustainable Development. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
  30. Misiaszek, G. W., & Misiaszek, L. I. (2016). Global citizenship education and ecopedagogy at the intersections: Asian perspectives in comparison. Asian Journal of Education (Journal of Seoul National University School of Education), 17, 11–37.Google Scholar
  31. Morrow, R. A. (2006). Foreword – Critical theory, globalization, and higher education: Political economy and the cul-de-sac of the postmodernist cultural turn. In R. Rhoads & C. Torres (Eds.), The university, state, and market: The political economy of globalization in the Americas (pp. 17–33). Stanford: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
  32. Pak, S.-Y. (2013). Global citizenship education: Goals and challenges in the new millennium. Seoul: Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding (APCEIU).Google Scholar
  33. Perez, F. G. (1995). A pedagogy for sustainable development. San Juan: Earth Council International Community Education Association Latin America (lCEA-LA)/Latin American Institute for the Pedagogy of Communication (ILPEC).Google Scholar
  34. Postma, D. W. (2006). Why care for nature? In search of an ethical framework for environmental responsibility and education. New York: Springer.Google Scholar
  35. Schugurensky, D. (2007). Higher education restructuring in the era of globalization: Toward a heteronomous model. In R. F. Arnove & C. A. Torres (Eds.), Comparative education: The dialectic of the global and the local (3rd ed., pp. 257–276). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.Google Scholar
  36. Shultz, L. (2007). Educating for global citizenship: Conflicting agendas and understandings. The Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 53(3), 248–258.Google Scholar
  37. Stromquist, N. P. (2002). Education in a globalized world: The connectivity of economic power, technology, and knowledge. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.Google Scholar
  38. Torres, C. A. (1998). Democracy, education, and multiculturalism: Dilemmas of citizenship in a global world. Comparative Education Review, 42(4), 421–447.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  39. Torres, C. A. (2002). Globalization, education, and citizenship: Solidarity versus markets? American Educational Research Journal, 39(2), 363–378.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  40. Torres, C. A. (2009). Globalizations and education: Collected essays on class, race, gender, and the state. New York: Teachers College Press.Google Scholar
  41. Torres, C. A. (2013). Afterword: Another globalization is possible. In R. F. Arnove, C. A. Torres, & S. Franz (Eds.), Comparative education: The dialectic of the global and the local (4th ed.). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.Google Scholar
  42. Torres, C. A., & Rhoads, R. A. (2006). Introduction: Globalization and higher education in the Americas. In R. Rhoads & C. Torres (Eds.), The university, state, and market: The political economy of globalization in the Americas (pp. 3–38). Stanford: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
  43. Torres, C. A., & Teodoro, A. (2007). Critique and utopia: New developments in the sociology of education in the twenty-first century. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.Google Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht and UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning 2016

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Institute of Educational Theories, Faculty of EducationBeijing Normal UniversityBeijingChina

Personalised recommendations

Cite article

Buy options