Educational Studies (EDST) 632

Overview

What will it take to create sustainable and just societies, societies whose design can sustain life on Earth indefinitely, designs that are attentive to and just for the range of human diversities? As societies modernized, they began to lose the understandings of how to live in harmony with other beings and Earth processes. Collectively we now threaten life on Earth, particularly through the climate and biodiversity crises. Education, a primary conveyor of modern ways of thinking, values, and practices, needs to be reconsidered from the perspective of creating livable futures.

In this course, we will consider the big picture by examining the historical arc of Western society in terms of how we got to converging crises, explore the civilizational shift now occurring, and consider the change pathways that lead to different kinds of futures. From a micro view, especially as educators, we will examine the history of Western and modern education, examine the history and evolution of environmental and sustainability education, and explore transformative learning that is informed by Indigenous and other non-Western ways of knowing as well as the New Science. In an innovative approach, we will experiment with a range of interesting activities, demonstrating transformative pedagogies that help envision pathways into a more sustainable and just future and which can be applied in various contexts.

Outline

Part I: Introduction to Sustainability Education

Part II: How Did We Get Here?

Part III: Environmental and Climate Education

Part IV: Transformative Sustainability Education: Theory and Practice

Part V: Our Great Work – Reimagining Education, Reimagining Our Future

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course, students should be able to

1. describe the history and state of the field of environmental and sustainability education, including definitions and critiques of sustainability;
2. identify the historical arc of Westernism and modernity, including its gifts and its problematic beliefs and practices;
3. understand and discuss the historical context of modern education, including its competing logics and fluctuating dominant models;
4. identify and critique various approaches to sustainability education;
5. discuss transformative learning theory in relation to sustainability education;
6. detail facets of the relationality approach to sustainability education;
7. experiment with various ways of knowing and being, particularly contrasting modern ways of knowing and being with relational ways of knowing and being;
8. demonstrate a high level of critical reflection on their lived experience, their learning process, and the habits of mind/assumptions that they carry, particularly in relation to sustainability and unsustainability;
9. demonstrate a high level of critical and analytical reflection about course content; and
10. develop an integrative portfolio that compiles their reflections, critical analysis, and pedagogical experiments.

Evaluation

To receive credit for this course, students must participate in the online activities, successfully complete the assignments, and achieve a final mark of at least 60 per cent. Students should be familiar with the Master of Arts—Interdisciplinary Studies grading system. Please note that it is students' responsibility to maintain their program status. Any student who receives a grade of "F" in one course, or a grade of "C" in more than one course, may be required to withdraw from the program.

The following table summarizes the evaluation activities and the credit weights associated with them.

Materials

Digital course materials

Links to the following course materials will be made available in the course:

Lange, E. (2023). Transformative sustainability education. Routledge.

Sterling, S. (2024). Learning and sustainability in dangerous times. Agenda Publishing.

Physical course materials

The following course materials are included in a course package that will be shipped to your home prior to your course’s start date:

Poirier, N. (2023). In the world of flesh and bone: Uncovering the spiritual ways of Earth.

All other course materials can be found online.

In addition to the Study Guide commentary and textbook readings, there will be a selection of other readings by theorists of note in the field as well as supplementary readings for students to explore further on various topics, especially for the assignments and the final paper/project. These will be available through the Digital Reading Room (DRR). There will be one story-based reading and one experiential activity per week to be discussed in the Reflection Forum and then, generally, three academic readings per week to be discussed in the Discussion Forum.

Important links

• Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies
• Focus Areas
• Courses
• Fees and Funding