Out of sight, out of mind: global connection, environmental discourse and the emerging field of sustainability education

Abstract

How might we understand the complex nature of our existence in the world, and what are the implications of such examination? Moreover, how might we go about engaging others in this practice and what are the complications of such an endeavor? Expanding on Quigley, Dogbey, Che and Hallo's findings, I consider the implications of human-environment connections and examine the difficulty of articulating such connections via photovoice methods in particular places. Further, I use a Foucauldian discourse lens to situate this connective process to larger political and social dynamics at work in their paper, and in environmental education in general. Implications for sustainability and sustainability education are then developed, along with suggestions for future research in this emerging field.Keywords Sustainability Á Environmental education Á Photovoice Á Environmentality Á Ecology If you understand, things are just as they are. If you do not understand, things are just as they are.-Zen Proverb I write these words perched above the University of Rochester's academic quad. Sitting near the top floor of a library named after a famous philosopher, I look west toward the Greater Rochester International Airport as commuter planes arrive and depart. This is

Act Globally, Teach Locally: Developing an Eco-Justice Stance Among Preservice Teachers Through Place-Based Service-Learning

“…At its core lies the recognition and valuing of the interdependency of all systems. Individuals are prompted to understand themselves as part of a larger system and to develop a consciousness of connection upon which we may act, (Lupinacci & Happel-Parkins, 2016;Henderson, 2015). As part of developing a consciousness of connection, individuals must recognize the hierarchal systems that position humans over nature, and some humans as supreme over others, and how schools and culture perpetuate these belief systems.…”