Plant blindness and sustainability

Abstract

Purpose The present paper aims to examine the concept of “plant blindness” in the context of current sustainability debates. “Plant blindness” was the term introduced in 1999 by the botanists and educators James H Wandersee and Elisabeth E Schussler to describe what they saw as a pervasive insensitivity to the green environment and a general neglect of plants on the part of biology education. Design/methodology/approach The fundamental importance of plants for life on Earth and the socio-educational challenges of redacted awareness of this importance are considered. Also, the diverse physiological, psychological, philosophical, cultural and geopolitical origins and consequences of indifference to plants in relation to aspects of sustainability agendas are examined with special reference to education. Findings An examination of the outcomes of a range of research and practical initiatives reveals how multidisciplinary approaches to education and public engagement have the potential to address the challenge of “plant blindness”. The need for these opportunities to be reflected in curriculums is not widely appreciated, and the socio-economic forces of resistance to confronting plant neglect continue to be formidable. Originality/value Plant blindness is a relatively new field of research, and the full breadth of its implications are only gradually becoming apparent. If the present paper contributes to positioning plants as an essential element in sustainability education and practice, it will have met its objective.

The factors which influence the continuance intention of teachers in using the interactive digital identification key for trees in elementary school science education

“…These results are in line with other research which concluded that MS is important in accepting and using technology (Gagne et al, 2000). Previous research by Jose et al (2019), Thomas et al (2021), and Uno (2009) indicates that in the prevention of plant blindness in students, cooperation between teachers, botanists, educational policymakers, and school management is very important. The results of our research indicate that teachers' decisions in relation to CI for using DIKs is most obviously influenced by the recognition of their efforts in using these teaching tools on the part of educational inspectors.…”

Rainforest conversations

“…The students are drawn to plants for different reasons; there is the "need for knowledge" in relation to wanting to know more, but also awe towards plants (Sanders, 2004;Nyberg & Sanders, 2014;Nyberg, 2017), their function for society (Pany, 2014) or ecosystems Thomas, Ougham & Sanders, 2021). The students when noticing a plant, want to know "here and now" what they are looking at, but also possible genetic connections between different plants, the biological life of the plants and how the plants are used or affected by humans.…”

“…This research is thus a response to Sanders' ( 2007) call for more research on teachers' and learners' perceptions of plants. It is also a contribution to biology and environmental didactics and thereby a response to Thomas, Ougham and Sanders (2021), who in their examination of the concept of plant blindness conclude that education is essential and that the training of teachers is critical.…”

“…Lately the relation between plant blindness and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has been discussed, and Amprazis and Papadopoulou (2020) conclude from their analysis that education needs to move beyond conventional botany teaching to overcome the issue of plant blindness. This is also stressed in Thomas, Ougham and Sanders' (2021), examination of the concept of plant blindness.…”

Plant awareness is linked to plant relevance: A review of educational and ethnobiological literature (1998–2020)

“…The aim of this study is to examine the characteristics of plant awareness disparity and human–plant relations in a broad literature base, encompassing both the educational and ethnobiological literature. Other studies have reviewed the educational literature on plant blindness in the context of sustainability education (Amprazis & Papadopoulou, 2020; Thomas et al, 2021) but did not extend to other fields of social research. Balding and Williams (2016) considered ethnobiological studies in their essay about plant blindness in biodiversity conservation but did not undertake a full review.…”