Socially-critical Environmental Education in Primary Classrooms: The Dance of Structure and Agency PDF
Preview Socially-critical Environmental Education in Primary Classrooms: The Dance of Structure and Agency
International Explorations in Outdoor and Environmental Education 1 Jane Edwards Socially-critical Environmental Education in Primary Classrooms The Dance of Structure and Agency International Explorations in Outdoor and Environmental Education Volume 1 Series Editors Annette Gough , RMIT University , Bundoora , Victoria , Australia Noel Gough , La Trobe University , Melbourne , Victoria , Australia Editorial Board Peter Bentsen, Steno Health Promotion Center, Gentofte, Denmark Kathleen Kesson, Long Island University, Brooklyn, NY, USA John Chi-kin Lee, The Hong Kong Institute of Education, New Territories, Hong Kong Justin Lupele, Lusaka, Zambia Greg Mannion, University of Stirling, Stirling, Scotland, UK Pat O’Riley, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada Cheong Poh-Ai, Gadong, Brunei Darussalam Chris Reddy, University of Stellenbosch, Matieland, Stellenbosch, South Africa Hilary Whitehouse, James Cook University, Cairns, QLD, Australia This series focuses on contemporary trends and issues in outdoor and environmental education, two key fi elds that are strongly associated with education for sustainability and its associated environmental, social and economic dimensions. It has an international focus to encourage dialogue across cultures and perspectives. The scope of the series includes formal, nonformal and informal education and the need for different approaches to educational policy and action in the twenty fi rst century. R esearch is a particular focus of the volumes, refl ecting a diversity of approaches to outdoor and environmental education research and their underlying epistemological and ontological positions through leading edge scholarship. The scope is both global and local, with various volumes exploring the issues arising in different cultural, geographical and political contexts. As such, the series aims to counter the predominantly “white” Western character of current research in both fi elds and enable cross-cultural and transnational comparisons of educational policy, practice, project development and research. The purpose of the series is to give voice to leading researchers (and emerging leaders) in these fi elds from different cultural contexts to stimulate discussion and further research and scholarship to advance the fi elds through infl uencing policy and practices in educational settings. The volumes in the series are directed at active and potential researchers and policy makers in the fi elds. More information about this series at h ttp://www.springer.com/series/11799 Jane Edwards Socially-critical Environmental Education in Primary Classrooms The Dance of Structure and Agency Jane Edwards RMIT University Melbourne , VIC , Australia ISSN 2214-4218 ISSN 2214-4226 (electronic) International Explorations in Outdoor and Environmental Education ISBN 978-3-319-02146-1 ISBN 978-3-319-02147-8 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-02147-8 Library of Congress Control Number: 2015954643 Springer Cham Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 T his work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifi cally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfi lms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. T he use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifi c statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. T he publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Printed on acid-free paper S pringer International Publishing AG Switzerland is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com) This book is dedicated to the memory of Eric Bottomley whose contribution to a sustainable future resides in all the students who have been, and will be, touched by his work. Foreword This book, the fi rst in our series, brings the ideas of Anthony Giddens’ theory of structuration into the fi eld of outdoor and environmental educational research, with the aim of assisting educational researchers, educators and educational institutions to bridge the gaps between current educational practices and the rhetoric and best practices of education for sustainable development. Most environmental educators would agree that the implementation of environ- mental education programmes in many countries has often had less than ideal results, even when well supported and funded by education departments or external agencies. Many explanations have been offered for both the rare successes and many failed attempts at implementing environmental education and education for sustainable development programmes. In this book, Jane Edwards provides a well- theorized and organized argument that sheds light on the rhetoric-reality gaps in the implementation of such programmes. Jane draws on research, guided by Giddens (1976, 1979, 1984, 1991a, b), to: (cid:129) Highlight the potential of Giddens’ theory of structuration, an approach not yet well established in the fi eld of educational research, to provide new and valuable insights into the factors and forces that shape educational practices (cid:129) Provide practical guidance to the use of this new approach to educational research (cid:129) P rovide a new perspective on the nature of the gap between the rhetoric, and the reality, of education for sustainability in Australian primary schools (cid:129) P rovide new perspectives on issues facing educational institutions aiming to introduce effective education for sustainable development, particularly in rela- tion to the need for teachers to adopt new pedagogical practices The effectiveness of educational programmes that contribute to the United Nations Decade for Education for Sustainable Development 2005–2014 (UNESCO 2005) and beyond depends on the ability of schools and teachers to embrace changes that reduce the gap between the reality of classroom practices and the rhetoric of education f or the environment. This book responds to the need to better understand vii viii Foreword the factors that contribute to the rhetoric-reality gaps in order to inform processes for effective, and sustainable, educational change. I n this book Jane explores the experiences of teachers, from Australian primary schools, faced with the challenge of implementing a sustainable school programme. This programme positioned young students as active participants in the social pro- cesses from which environmentally sustainable practices are developed. This required teachers to adopt a socially critical pedagogy—a pedagogy that represents the antithesis of the well-established transmissive approaches they had previously enacted in environmental education. T he insights gained from the teachers’ experiences provide a conceptual under- standing of the classroom nature of educational rhetoric-reality gaps. These concep- tual insights were derived interpretively from Anthony Giddens’ theory of structuration and the notion of the duality of structure and agency—an approach to research only partially established in the fi eld of school education writ large—and with little (if any) infl uence on outdoor and environmental education. Although each teacher justifi ed their classroom practice in terms of specifi c aspects of struc- ture and/or agency, it was important to explore relationships between such aspects, following Giddens. The use of hypothetical scenarios during interviews provided a neutral space for teachers to consider both personal and external factors that infl u- enced their pedagogical choices and highlighted the role of various unstated, uncon- scious and nonconscious ideas in those choices. This provided unique perspectives into the teacher-mediated manner in which certain elements of structure and agency interrelate to enable and constrain classroom practices. T hese interrelationships of agency and structure in the classroom provide valu- able starting points for future research to identify ways to reduce educational rhetoric-r eality gaps and inform processes for effective educational change. Most signifi cantly, this book demonstrates that Giddens’ theory of structuration is a valu- able framework that can contribute to the development of new understandings in the fi eld of educational research. W e are delighted that Jane’s work is the fi rst book in our series as we have had a long association of working together. Annette fi rst encountered Jane as a graduate teacher education student when we were at Deakin University. As a result of her geological research background, she impressed Annette with her writing and research abilities, and Annette suggested that she do her PhD. Jane was an active member of the Gough Girls, our combined doctoral student seminar group, and then she followed Annette to RMIT where she also became a lecturer in science educa- tion for a time, before moving to the Australian Council for Educational Research. RMIT University , Melbourne , VIC , Australia Annette Gough La Trobe University , Melbourne , VIC , Australia Noel Gough Foreword ix References Giddens, A. (1976). N ew rules of sociological method . New York: Hutchinson. Giddens, A. (1979). C entral problems in social theory: Action, structure and contradiction in social analysis . London: MacMillan. Giddens, A. (1984). T he constitution of society . Cambridge: Polity Press. Giddens, A. (1991a). M odernity and self-identity. Self and society in the late modern age . Cambridge: Polity Press. Giddens, A. (1991b). Structuration theory: Past, present and future. In C. G. A. Bryant, & D. Jary (Eds.), G iddens’ theory of structuration: A critical appreciation (pp. 201–221). London: Routledge. UNESCO. (2005). U nited Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development 2005–2014. International implementation scheme. United Nations Educational, Scientifi c and Cultural Organisation. h ttp://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001486/148654e.pdf. Accessed 1 Oct 2014.
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