This paper reviews studies of transformative learning through public involvement in natural resource and environmental management (NREM). It summarises evidence regarding instrumental, communicative, transformative and sustainability-oriented learning outcomes, and learning processes such as reflection, rational discourse and applying new frames of references in individual and social action. The paper discusses the implications for the design of NREM and public involvement, and presents a new framework connecting non-formal education, involvement in NREM, transformative learning and sustainability. The paper concludes with suggestions for promising future research, such as scaling up transformative learning in the context of NREM, including examining potential complementarities with leading models of social and organisational learning.
This research examined the opportunities for critical education available to participants of a federal environmental assessment (EA) that includes hearings. The Sable Gas Panel Review, an assessment of a natural gas project situated in the Maritimes, was undertaken between 1996 and 1997. This study documented what participants learned through their experiences and how that learning was facilitated. Primary data collection emphasized the use of semi-structured interviews to record the experientially based observations of panel participants. Primary data were supported by a review of material submitted by hearing participants for consideration by the panel, and complemented with literature related to EA, environmental education, and transformational learning theories. Evidence was considered in terms of assessment-specific operational definitions, developed from Shor (1993) The study revealed that participants of the Sable Gas panel review had an opportunity to engage in critical education. While it is important to acknowledge that the panel did not set out to engage participants in a 'critical educational' experience, each of the 10 operational definitions of critical education used in the study were addressed to varying degrees through activities undertaken by the panel secretariat. Results illustrate the types of educational opportunities, such as a class on how to participate in a quasi-judicial hearing, and the importance of participant-led research that can arise out of the panel review process. The findings of this research contribute to the evolving literature regarding the role of critical education in EA and environmental management. Understanding the existing scope of critical education within a panel review provides the foundation for identifying opportunities for expanding the capacity of the existing EA process to facilitate learning by participants. q
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