Ecological Education in Action: On Weaving Education, Culture, and the Environment

Ecological Education in Action celebrates the work of innovative educators in North America who explore ecological issues in school and non-school settings. These educators demonstrate how to reshape the thinking of children and adults to affirm the value of sufficiency, mutual support, and community.Courses in environmental education often focus on scientific analysis and social policy -- not cultural change. Children are exposed to information regarding environmental problems and explore Such topics as endangered species, the logging of tropical rainforests, or the monitoring of water quality in local streams and rivers. Some adopt manatees or whales, or create school-wide recycling programs. These topics and efforts are without question commendable, however, missing is a recognition of the deeper cultural transformations that must accompany the shift to a more ecologically sustainable way of life.Contributors to this volume describe courses, programs, or projects that are transformative in nature, aimed at engendering the experience of connectedness that lies at the heart of moral action. The first six chapters describe educational efforts in K-12 schools throughout North America. The next six chapters consider the work of people in higher education and nonformal educational settings and their attempts to instill an ecological perspective into the learning of college students and adult community members. The book thus creates an image of what an ecologically grounded form of education for our own era could look like.