Sustainability Education across the Lifespan

Dear Colleagues,

Sustainability education is changing at a rapid pace in the context of a world experiencing increased disruption due to climate change, inequalities, and the understood interdependecies of social and ecological systems. From the advent of greater environmental awareness and international dialogue about sustainable development in the 1960s, the vast majority of people on the planet today have grown up with formal or informal education about sustainability. As Wals et al (2017: 71) have argued, educators “need strategies for anticipatory engagement with changing socio-ecological realities–both in the present and future–in order to be effective within their various embodied contexts”.

This Special Issue will feature articles that address how we can imagine and implement sustainability education across the lifespan, and at particular important junctures in the lifespan and within relational geographies of place and space. We seek articles that argue for, describe, and report the effectiveness of sustainability education that fosters continuing education about anthropocene realities; interdependencies with other social, economic, and environmental changes; possible solutions and improvements of how humans live and thrive within their ecological limits and repair damage done, and invites community that supports adaptation and resilience. This Special Issue will supplement the current literature on sustainability education by addressing the clear need to imagine sustainability education across the lifespan, from cradle to grave, to foster understanding, responsibility, hope, and courage for all ages to have their role in building a better world.

Reference:

Wals, Arjen E.J; Joseph Weakland; Peter Blaze Corcoran. Preparing for the Ecocene: Envisioning futures for environment and sustainability education. Japanese Journal of Environmental Education 2017, 26, 71–76. 

Prof. Dr. Naomi T. Krogman
Prof. Dr. Susan A. O’Neill
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• sustainability
• lifelong education
• resilience
• intergenerational learning
• climate change crisis
• transformative education
• lifelong learning
• ecological systems
• environmental education
• relational geographies
• human flourishing
• social justice education

Title: Telling a different story: self-determination, consent, and sacred respect as foundations of sustainability education
Authors: Mark Fettes; Sean Blenkinsop
Affiliation: Simon Fraser University
Abstract: As usually conceived and practiced, sustainability education is embedded in an overarching narrative of progress: increasing human knowledge leading us to make wiser decisions about our behaviour, as individuals and societies. This article outlines an alternative story that draws on the work of two Indigenous scholars, E. Richard Atleo (Nuu-chah-nulth) and Leanne Simpson (Nishnaabeg), who approach sustainability as a quest to live in harmony and balance with all our relations (that is, the living world of which we are an integral part). Among the core principles they identify are self-determination, consent, and sacred respect, understood both as operative in the functioning of healthy ecosystems and as guides to human development and relationships. We show how these principles are grounded in a quest for the mutual beneficial flourishing of free beings, and trace some of their implications for sustainability education. While stories of this kind are at odds with the current dominant conception of schooling, there are many ways in which they could begin to influence how we think about and practice education for sustainable cultures.

Title: Intergenerational learning for sustainable living: Relational geographies of age and place that shape local communities and lifespan sustainability education
Authors: Susan A. O’Neill
Affiliation: Institute of Education, University College London
Abstract: This paper explores the intersection of intergenerational learning and relational geographies of age and place, which shape local communities and contribute to lifespan sustainability education. It focuses on children’s climate crisis activism through participatory approaches that involve both children and older adults in creating shared meanings. The goal is to develop social practices that are collaboratively constructed and likely to be adopted by participants and others in the community. The conceptual framework places sustainability education within Stetsenko’s (2012) idea of collaborative historical becoming, where identities and worldviews emerge through relational processes that create transformative practices representing the past, present and future. By integrating existing literature on geographies of age (Hopkins & Pain, 2007) and place (Cresswell, 2009), it examines how social practices define a sense of place, community, identities and generational change over time. Additionally, it considers intergenerational learning within relational geographies, emphasizing how lifelong meaning-making experiences can enhance our understanding of sustainable living and local ecosystems. References Cresswell, T. (2009). Place. International encyclopedia of human geography, 8, 169-177. Hopkins, P., & Pain, R. (2007). Geographies of age: thinking relationally. Area, 39(3), 287-294. Stetsenko, A. (2012). Personhood: An activist project of historical becoming through collaborative pursuits of social transformation. New ideas in Psychology, 30(1), 144-153.

Title: What’s Old is New Again: Strategies for Bringing Ancient Forest Garden Indigenous Knowledge into Contemporary Urban Space for Sustainability Education
Authors: Cheryl Matthew; Maria Preoteasa
Affiliation: Faculty of Environment, Simon Fraser University
Abstract: The article explores the intersections between Ancient Indigenous Food Garden knowledge to contemporary urban food forest improvements as a possible solution for urban food insecurity, sustainable food practices, food sovereignty, sustainability education, learning, land- based practice and a move to urban permaculture. Key questions the article addresses are: what are Indigenous forest gardens? How can forest garden Indigenous practices inform contemporary urban food forest planning as a solution for food sovereignty and improvement to sustainable food supply and permaculture strategies? How can food forests be implemented within the university while staying in alignment with practices of Indigenous reciprocity? What was the process for implementing an urban food forest as a pilot study in a post-secondary institution? The article explores both the integration of ancient Indigenous Knowledge and respect for the land into urban food planning and the use of land-based practices as a pilot study for launching a food forest and land stewardship at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia. The pilot project established a process for engagement with local Indigenous knowledge keepers, academics, students and university administration for the creation of an urban food forest within the university lands while acknowledging the contested space and historic uses of the area; and engaging with key communities of interest. Future research could entail a 5 or 10 year plan on potential positive outcomes of urban Food Forests for students, universities and local communities.