Environmental education

In broad terms, environmental educators provide educational activities that foster meaningful learning about challenges to the flourishing of communities of life on Earth. They nest this work within diverse understandings of the ways that human activities shape life on this dynamic planet—a situation that also underscores that the potential subject matter for environmental education (EE) is extensive and evolves. To illustrate, EE provision might address historic to contemporary qualities of environment-related consciousness and experience, the strengths and limitations of Indigenous and non-Indigenous ways of knowing about people-environment relations in particular places, the roles of citizens and other actors within different levels of environmental governance, and models and aspirations for ecosystem health across multiple scales. Given the breadth of possibility for EE, environmental educators may engage and/or redirect the practices of related fields of scholarship. These typically include—but are not limited to—the principles and priorities of environmental appreciation, conservation, and restoration; “learning beyond the classroom”; and sustainability-related education. Unsurprisingly, significant challenges emerge in determining what (not) to support or do as EE, topics we consider throughout this bibliography. Key considerations include the factors and intricacies that influence a person’s environment-related awareness, knowledge, understandings, motivations, decision-making, and commitments within and across the life span. Another layer is the multiplicity of contexts for—and limitations on—the ways we might live and learn. Put differently, research shows there are various barriers and enablers to becoming “environmentally educated” that individuals and groups will need to be aware of. Many of these become clearer as we consider the capabilities of educators and learners, alongside their constraints, readiness, and priorities. Each of these, and more, influence the effectiveness of environment-related teaching and learning, whatever point of engagement one proceeds from. In this, reflections on the field’s roots, mainstays, and innovations return us to a series of questions. These questions examine the value of education in addressing a plethora of concerns arising from how people relate to their environments in ways that avoid damaging all parties historically, now, and into the future. As questions of what to prioritize as EE are subject to debate, those working to provide and develop EE often tackle a range of considerations that may prove equally contested. In this, scholarly discourse usually centers around questions of the quality of provision, including: Is this expression of EE educationally rich, and to whom is it most relevant, and why?