Deep Ecology and Secondary Schooling: Exploring Ecocentric Alternatives
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Deep Ecology and Secondary Schooling: Exploring Ecocentric Alternatives A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy William Smith B.Agr.Sc (La Trobe), Dip.Ed (La Trobe), B.Ed (La Trobe), M.Agr.Sc (Melbourne) School of Education College of Design and Social Context RMIT University March 2017 Declaration I certify that except where due acknowledgement has been made, the work is that of the author alone; the work has not been submitted previously, in whole or in part, to qualify for any other academic award; the content of the thesis is the result of work which has been carried out since the official commencement date of the approved research program; any editorial work, paid or unpaid, carried out by a third party is acknowledged; and, ethics procedures and guidelines have been followed. William Smith March, 2017 i Acknowledgements I wish to express my deepest gratitude to my principal supervisor, Professor Annette Gough, for her inestimable patience and valuable time in supporting me through my doctoral journey. Her wisdom and guidance are gifts to me that I will always cherish. I am also indebted to my second supervisor, Professor Amanda (Mandi) Berry, for her time reading through the many drafts of this thesis, and for providing an irreplaceable perspective on the study - one that helped shape the final thesis. I am also grateful to Mandi for her words of support when the doctoral journey seemed insurmountable. Thanks are also extended to the participants in this study - the teachers, the staff, the parents and the students for giving generously of their time. I would also like to thank the principals of the participating schools for allowing me to work in their schools to conduct the study. Support also came from the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (northern, south eastern and inner city regions) and from the Catholic Education of Melbourne (Melbourne Diocese). I acknowledge the support I have received for my research through the provision of an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship. I also acknowledge financial support from RMIT University via two Higher Degree by Research Travel Grants to present papers at Hobart, Australia and San Diego, California. My study at RMIT University has been a great pleasure and I will always look back fondly at my time spent at the University completing my doctorate. I also wish to thank my earlier second supervisors (Dr. Andrew Gilbert and Dr. Adam Bertram), the support staff in the School of Education (Dianna, Loretta and Louise), and the milestone advisors for their advice and expertise. Lastly, I acknowledge the thorough and professional editing of my thesis by Dr. Adam Bertram from Splash Editing. ii Table of Contents Declaration .................................................................................................................................. i Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................... ii Table of Contents ..................................................................................................................... iii List of Appendices .................................................................................................................... ix List of Figures ............................................................................................................................ x List of Tables ............................................................................................................................ xi Abbreviations .......................................................................................................................... xii Abstract .................................................................................................................................. xiii Chapter 1. Introduction .............................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Context of the Study: Explaining the Problem ................................................................ 1 1.1.1 Why ecocentrism is important. ................................................................................. 3 1.1.2 Dismantling anthropocentrism. ................................................................................. 6 1.2 Theoretical framework ..................................................................................................... 7 1.3 Significance of the study and gap in the literature ........................................................... 9 1.4 Aims of the study ........................................................................................................... 11 1.5 The research questions ................................................................................................... 12 1.6 Scope of the study and environment clubs .................................................................... 12 1.7 Sustainable schools in Australia .................................................................................... 13 1.8 Summary of methodology .............................................................................................. 14 1.9 Organisation of the thesis ............................................................................................... 14 Chapter 2. Literature Review ................................................................................................... 18 2.1 Introduction and theoretical framework ......................................................................... 18 2.2 Education for sustainable development (ESD) .............................................................. 20 2.2.1 Meanings of sustainability. ..................................................................................... 20 2.2.2 A brief history of EE, ESD and EfS. ...................................................................... 21 2.2.3 Criticisms of sustainable development. .................................................................. 23 2.2.4 United Nations meetings. ........................................................................................ 26 2.2.4.1 Overview of the United Nations sustainability goals. ................................................... 26 2.2.4.2 The 1972 Stockholm Declaration. ................................................................................. 27 2.2.4.3 The 1977 Tbilisi Declaration. ........................................................................................ 28 2.2.4.4 Brundtland Report 1987, “Our Common Future”. ........................................................ 29 2.2.4.5 Earth Summit 1992, Rio de Janeiro. ............................................................................. 30 2.2.4.6 Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD). ....................................... 31 2.2.4.7 Summary of UN implications for this thesis. ................................................................ 33 2.3 Deep ecology and the deep ecology movement ............................................................. 34 2.3.1 Ecological philosophies and worldviews. ............................................................... 34 2.3.2 The deep ecology worldview. ................................................................................. 37 2.3.3 Locating deep ecology. ........................................................................................... 38 2.3.4 The deep ecology movement. ................................................................................. 44 2.3.4.1 Deep ecology: The principles. ....................................................................................... 45 iii 2.3.4.2 Transpersonal ecology/psychology and metaphysics. .................................................. 46 2.3.4.3 Importance of Devall and Sessions to deep ecology. .................................................... 48 2.3.4.4 Critiques of deep ecology. ............................................................................................. 49 2.3.4.5 Recent discourse in deep ecology. ................................................................................ 52 2.3.4.6 Other opponents/proponents of deep ecology. .............................................................. 55 2.3.4.7 Spinoza, deep ecology, Self-Realization and planetary thinking. ................................. 56 2.3.4.8 Deep ecology, metaphysics and secondary schooling. ................................................. 60 2.3.4.9 Neophilia and excessive consumerism. ......................................................................... 60 2.3.4.10 Guattari and Dewey: the other ecosophies. ................................................................. 61 2.3.4.11 Biospherical egalitarianism and Intrinsic Value Theory. ............................................ 64 2.3.4.12 The Catholic church, interfaith and anthropocentrism. ............................................... 66 2.4 Earth Education and connecting to nature ..................................................................... 69 2.5 Ecoliteracy, and ecological intelligence ........................................................................ 72 2.6 Environmental stewardship ............................................................................................ 74 2.7 Environmental activism in school students ...................................................................