Environmental Education and Learning for Sustainability

Education and learning, citizen participation and whole system innovations are considered important tools in developing people's environmental and sustainability interests, concerns and capacities, but also to improve the performance of people, organizations and systems in transitioning towards sustainable living and ecological mindfulness. This course enables students to actively engage with critical issues in designing an appropriate environmental and sustainability education programme or activity, using a variety of learning and community engagement approaches. During the course students explore the emancipatory use of education, learning, communication, multi-stakeholder participation and whole system re-design. The emancipatory capacity-building perspective, as opposed to an instrumental behaviour change-oriented perspective, will be explored, related, challenged and illustrated by practical examples from multiple contexts.

After successful completion of this course students are expected to be able to:

• Understand the role of education and learning in environmental policy making, sustainability transitions, stimulating awareness, action and a change in lifestyle, connecting people, young and old, with the natural world, and other sustainability-oriented learning initiatives
• Identify forms of education, learning and capacity-building that can contribute to restoring, regenerating and re-imagining human - nature - environment relationships
• Develop and critique an environmental/sustainability education strategy or a specific strategy for an environmental innovation/sustainability transition process of their own choice
• Actively engage their peers in a sustainability topic through a hands-on educational activity they co-design
• Reflect on and express how the course has affected or changed ones own position regarding the role of education and learning in relation to environment and sustainability

Assumed Knowledge:
Master students and 3rd year Bachelor students with at least some background in social sciences (e.g. in education, communication, sociology, philosophy or psychology) and experience in interdisciplinary team work can join this course.