Addressing 21st Century Challenges in Education: An Ecocritical Conceptual Framework toward an Ecotistical Leadership in Education

Abstract

This article critiques the notion of individually-focused notions of leadership, instead offering an ecocritical conceptual framework that works to support education at all levels with the aim of recognizing the importance of how leaders in Western industrial culture think, act, and thus organize communities. This framework is applied to examine the potential for EdD programs to critically (re)imagine the role K-12 and higher education institutions might play in reinterpreting how leadership might be (re)constituted-as local and in support of social justice and sustainability. From this lens, the article explores how 21 st century challenges that emerge from the complex intersections of social justice and sustainability might be addressed through EdD program development, supportive program structures, and course content influencing teacher education and K-12 school leadership. Calling for a particular kind of leadership supportive of social justice and sustainability, this article shares examples from the authors own practice, program structures, curriculum, and future research.

Global human resources or critical global citizens? An inquiry into the perspectives of Japanese university educators on global citizenship education

“…In this view, a critical GCE (see Figure 1 ), as I propose it in this study, must include core elements of de-colonialist (e.g., Andreotti 2006 ) critical/ethical (e.g., Torres 2017 ) and eco-critical (e.g., Lupinacci 2017 ) discourses. For example, it proposes decoloniality and diversity rather than neutral universal subjectivities while allowing learners to undertake analyses of their preconception, positions, and identity as they relate to the complexities of local/global structures (de-colonialism); it promotes St Ignacio’s concept of cura personalis (caring ethics) while encouraging learners to care for individuals and human rights as a foundational pillar (caring/ethics); it encourages ecological consciousness and supports learners in examining the injustice created by humanity’s perception that it is the supreme being on Earth (eco-critical).…”

“…The notion of a GCE conceptualized in this perspective could also represent a potential distinct pedagogical framework to reimagine citizenship education in a more critical and ethical perspective that has its foundation in critical theories as discussed by Freire and Macedo ( 1995 ), Giroux ( 2020 ) and Mignolo ( 2000a , b ). This also encompasses (a) decolonial value-elements, (b) notions of critical ethics, and (c) eco-critical views (Andreotti 2015 ; Torres 2017 ; Lupinacci 2017 ), as I will discuss in more detail in the next section.…”

Teacher Education in a Dangerous Time: (Re)Imagining Education for Diversity, Democracy and Sustainability

“…In summary, ecocritical pedagogies center student learning on recognizing the importance of examining intellectual, environmental, and cultural practices and traditions in regard to how they either support or undermine living systems together with whatever content is being taught. Whether examining discursive practices or economic structures while learning mathematics, language arts, science, or social studies, a key feature of ecocritical pedagogies is the recognition that human knowledge systems are culturally constructed, have consequences for all living beings, and can be re-imagined in transformative ways (Turner, 2015;Lupinacci, 2017). Another distinguishing aspect of ecocritical pedagogies is that, whatever the lesson or activity, students and teachers together address the powerful role that their culture plays in the development of themselves, their values, and their diverse relationships.…”

Item Analysis of a Critical Thinking Skills Test on PLC Programming for Prospective Teachers

“…The 21 st century challenges young people to become good learners who are persistent to always learn from mistakes they have ever made [1]. They also must be independent not because of the teacher's orders or schoolworks, but due to learning on their own encouragement.…”