Learning Patterns of Landscape and Life:
Towards a Learning Framework for Environmental Adult Education
Darlene E. Clover
A thesis submitted in conforrnity with the requirements for the of Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Equity Studies in the Sociology of Education Ontario Institute for Studies in Education University of Toronto
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Abstract Envirortmental addt education is not yet as comprehensively deveioped as it should be bltr there exists an important body of experience to "inform its frctcrre developrnent. " NiACE. 1993: 10
L'sing a historico-contemporary case study methodoiogy based on document analysil; this study delves into that "important body of experience" noted in the quotation above. Through an examination of 42 documents produced around the world from 1972 to 1997 under the auspices of the International CounciI for Adult Education (ICAE) and the Learning for Environmental Action Programme (LEM), this study identifies essential etements which collectively provide some of the seeds necessary to begin to constnict a Ieaming framework for environmental adult education.
This study examines the work of particular prominent theoreticians andor adult educators and highlights some of the inherent anthropocentric biases their ides contain. Therefore. while the learning framework for environmental adult education deveioped in this study maintains its base in many of the principles and important issues of adult education such as gender inequities. racism, literacy and knowledge of critical adult. popuIar and feminist adult education. it challenges the anthropocentric bias of the tield. broadening its aims or goals and adding new elements to re-conceptualise the landscape of adult learning.
Learning is not neutral, rather it is informed by values. New values in the learning framework for environmental adult education include nature's intrinsic value and ecofeminist values of nurturing, caring and different ways of living, learning and being with the rest of nature. The content and context of the learning framework is broadened to include human/Earth relations. ecological knowledge, nature/culture interactions. the challenges of consumerism and devefopment, and fear, powerlessness and green fatigue. The inequities of class. race and gender are discussed within a broader ecological context. The broader strategies of the learning frarnework include learning in. about, and with 'place'. the role of the rest of nature in the learning and teaching process, nature as a partner in building partnerships for change, understanding the Earth's processes, and ecological adult literacy. New tools and praxis are ecological storytelling, Iistening to the rest of nature and outdoor sensory learning.
Although this leaming framework offers new ecological conceptuaiisations of content. context, values, strategies and tools for adult Iearning, further inquiry and theorisation are required if the field is to be a space where people learn to live and Iive to learn with the rest of nature. Acknowledgments
A little over nine years ago, at the age of 30,1 embarked on a journey to see if I could obtain three universities degrees in succession. 1 will forever be indebted to my friend Dickson Mwansa from Zimbabwe, whose advice to me was to "just go" and not "look back." 1 still find it difficult to believe that I am sitting here today wnting these acknowled,=ments for a doctoral degree.
I begin by thanking Rajesh Tandon and al1 the members of the Himalayan Action Research Centre (HARC). Rajesh seemed to understand my need for a place of absolute solitude to begin the process of writing this thesis- He sent me to such a place, to HARC high-up in the Indian Himalaya where the loudest sounds were the cal1 of the cuckoo, the cow bells, peopies' laughter, the raging Yemena River and my own fingers upon the key board.
Words are not sufficient to express my gratitude to my supervisor Professor Margrit Eichler. She was quick to recognise my love of the field and provide me with the excellent ideas. support, humour and encouragement 1 required. 1 would also like to thank David Selby and Edmund O'Sullivan for their careful readings of my drafts, and their inspiring ideas. Many thanks as well to John Hurst, my external. who wrote a most glowing review and then fiew half-way across North America to participate.
I. gratefully acknowledge the support of rny friends Valerie Lemiux. Trudy Stanley. Erma Stultz, Barrie Maxwell, Eva Kupidura and Carole Stark who provided me with distractive moments and conversations around un-related topics such as famiiy, work, relationships. food, gardens, and travel. Collectively, these contributed greatly to the maintenance of my sanity.
In particular. 1 deeply thank my friend ShirIey FoIIen who, dong with providing intellectual stimulation, shared with me a profound love of the rest of nature as together we explored the lakes, oceans, moors, forests, footpaths and sand dunes of the world.
I am deeply appreciative of the steadfast faith my parents, Georgia-Lee and Edward Owens. and rny sister. Carol Owens, held in my ability to actually complete my dream of obtaining a doctorai degree.
Finally 1 thank my compaiero de vida. Budd Hall. to whom 1 am the rnost indebted. It was through his love, encouragement, ideas and sacrifice that this thesis emerged. He was my constant cornpanion and friend throughout this most amazing nine year joumey. Table of Contents
.. Abstract ...... 11 ... Acknowledgrnents ...... 111
Tableofcontents ...... iv
List of Abbreviations ...... xii
Chapter One A Planet Under Siege: A Challenge to the World of Learning and Education . . 1 Introduction ...... 1 The Challenge to Education ...... -2 Contemponry Inter-Govemmental and Substantive Responses ...... -4 Educational Responses ...... -5 The Field of Adult Education ...... -6 The Case for Environmental Adult Education ...... 8 Statement of the Probiem ...... 9 PurposeoftheStudy ...... 10 Defining a Learning Frarnework ...... II LayoutoftheStudy ...... 12 Locating Myself in the Research ...... 14 Limitations of this Study ...... 16 Contributions of this Smdy ...... 19
Chapter Two For The Earth: TheoreticaUSubstantive Responses to Envi tonmental Problems ...... 21 introduction ...... 21 Earth-Bwd Wisdom(s): The Forerunning Context ...... -22 Agrarian Societies and the Rise of the Romantic ...... -24 ConservationEducation ...... 25 The Mechanistic, Reductionist Scientific Worldview ...... 25 TheoreticaYSubstantive Threads ...... 26 DeepEcology ...... 27 Challenges ...... 30 Alternative Ideas for Education ...... -33 SocialEcology ...... 34 Challenges ...... 37 Alternative Ideas for Education ...... -40 Bioregionalism ...... 41 Challenges ...... 43 Alternative Ideas for Education ...... -45 Ecofeminism ...... 47 Challenges ...... 52 Alternative Ideas for Education ...... 54
Chapter Three Educational Responses to Global Environment and Sustainability Concerns ...... 56 Introduction ...... 56 The Problematic of Mainstream Environmental Education ...... -57 The Strengths of Environmental Education ...... -61 Education for Sustainability ...... -63 Challenges ...... 67 GlobalEducation ...... 71 Challenges ...... 74 Relevance for Adult Education ...... -79 HumaneEducation ...... 80 Challenges ...... 82 Discussion ...... 84
Chapter Four Adult Education: The Anthropentric Bias ...... -86 Introduction ...... 86 Definitions of Adult Education and Learning ...... 877 Liberal Aduit Education: 'Self and Personal Growth ...... 89 TheCriticalChallenge ...... 93 Popular Education: Creative and Collective Approaches to Action ...... -98 The Feminist Advance ...... LOO The Anthropocentric Bias in Adult Education ...... 104 Anthropocentrism ...... 105 Freire and Humanization ...... 106 Moses Cody and Nature's Destiny ...... II1 Jurgen Habermas and the Lifeworld ...... 112 Mechthild Hart and Ecological Perspectives on Work ...... 114 Discussion ...... 115
Chapter Five Research Questions Methodology. and Methods ...... 117 Introduction ...... 117 Case Snidy Site Selection ...... 118 Methodology ...... 118 Primary Source Materiai Analysis ...... 121 Analytical Process ...... 122 Research Questions ...... 123 Primary Question ...... 123 Analytical Questions ...... 123 ResearchMethod ...... 124 Pre-Content Analysis Process: Document Selection ...... 124 EpochDivisions ...... 125 Content Analysis Process ...... 134 Locating Myself as the Researcher and a Primary Author ...... I36 Valuing Subjectivity ...... 137
Chapter Six Historical Contexts: The International Council for Adult Education (ICAE) and its Learning For Environmental Action Programme (LEAP) ...... 139 Introduction ...... 139 International Council for Adult Education ...... 140 TheEarlyYears ...... 142 Goals, Objectives, Structures, and Programmes ...... 143 ICAE Networking Publications ...... 145 Convergence ...... I47 First Mention of the Environment in ICAE: 1972-198 1 ...... 147 UN Conference Reflections in Convergence ...... 149 The Silent Years: 1982-1986 ...... 154 The Creation of the Learning for Environmental Action Programme (LEAP), 1987-1990 ...... 154 First Special Issue of Convergence ...... 157 ICAE World Assembly ...... 158 TheRoadtoRio ...... 160 ICAE on the Road to Rio ...... 161 PrepComm IV ...... 164 The World Environmental Adult and Popular Education Charter . . 165 The International Journey for Environmental Education ...... 166 Environmental Education for Sustainable Societies and GIobal Responsibility ...... 167 Conflicting Interests, Different Perspectives: Losses and Gains ...... 167 Other 1992 Publications ...... 169 Geographic and Coordination Change: 1993- 1994 ...... 170 Events and Publications ...... 171 Meeting of Experts ...... 171 Other 1993 Publications ...... 173 From Words to Action ...... 173 New Directions and Coordination: 1995-1997 ...... 175 1995-1996 Publications ...... 176 C0rcJT;INTEAV ...... 178 CONFINTEA V Publications ...... 180 UNESCO's Environment and Society Conference, 1997 ...... 181 Academic Publications ...... 182 A Future Publication ...... 183 Discussion ...... 184 RegionalChanges ...... 184 TheRoleoftheUN ...... 184
Chapter Seven The Content, Context and Values of Environmental Adult Education ...... 186 Introduction ...... 186 ContextmdContent ...... 187 Understanding Human/Earth Relations ...... 187 Ecological Knowledge ...... 189 RecognizingChange ...... 192 Ecologicai Cultural Identity ...... 194 Nature/Culture Interactions ...... 197 Dealing with the Frarnework of Economic Development ...... 198 Life-Centred Development ...... -201 Challenging Patterns of Consumption and Production ...... 203 Challenging inequity and Oppression ...... -206 Environmentai Racisrn ...... -206 Gender hequities ...... 207 Class Inequities ...... 209 Deaiing with Fear, Powerlessness, and Green Fatigue ...... -210 Values ...... 213 Non-Neutrality in Adult Leming ...... -214 Nature's Intrinsic Value ...... -217 Feminist Values ...... 218
Chapter Eight The Strategies. Tools and Praxis of Environmental Adult Education ...... 221 Introduction ...... 221 Strategies ...... 221 Increased Provision of Learning Opportunities and Participatory Approaches ...... -221 Including Feminist Perspectives ...... 225 Learning In, Through, With, and About Place ...... 229 The Rote of the Rest of Nature ...... -233 Undentanding the Eh's Processes ...... -235 Building Partnerships and Alliances for Collective Action ...... 237 Challenging and Working with Relations of Power ...... 239 Nature as Partner ...... -242 Empowennent in the Learning Process ...... -243 Challenge. Controversy, and Complexity in the Learning Process ...... 247 Remembering Fun and Celebration ...... -248 Longer-Term . Non-formal Learning Activities ...... 250 Ecological Adult Literacy ...... -250 Participatory Research ...... -252 StudyCircles ...... 253 RoIes of the Environmental Adult Educator ...... -255 Environmental Adult Educator As Co-learner ...... -255 The Educator-Activist ...... -257 The Reflective Practitioner ...... -258 ToolsandPraxis ...... 261 Identifying and Creating Learning Materials and Resources ...... 261 BeyondtheWrittenWord ...... 264 Stimulating the CriticaVCreative. Ernotional. and Embodied ...... 265 Encouraging Voice ...... 266 The Art of Listening ...... 268 Listening to the Rest of Nature ...... -270 Drama and Rote Ptaying ...... 271 ArtandDrawing ...... 273 Ecological Histones and S torytell ing ...... -274 Using Success Stones ...... -277 Outdoor Sensory Learning ...... -278
Chapter Nine Learning Patterns of Landscape and Life: Concluding Reflections and Recommendations ...... 280 Introduction ...... 280 The Maturation Process ...... -282 From 'Awareness-Raising' To Respecting Knowledge ...... -285 A Challenge to My Own Assumption ...... -286 Fundamental Challenges and Changes to Adult Education ...... -287 A Nascent Learning Framework for Environmental Adult Education ...... -288 Recornmendations and Ideas for Future Theorising and Work ...... ,291 Recognizing Cornplicity ...... -291 Thelssueofhguage ...... 292 Lack of Authorid interaction ...... -294 Listening and Sensory Perception ...... -294 Resource Management vs Nature as Partner ...... -295 People-Centred vs . Life-Centred Development ...... -295 TheWorldofAnimals ...... 296 Ecological Media Literacy ...... -297 Wither Militarism? ...... 300 The Educator Activist and Policy Change ...... -302 The Place of Environmental Adult Education ...... 303 Lessons Learned and Significance of this Study ...... -305 Recognizing Limitations ...... ,...... -309 FinalConclusions ...... 310
Bibliography ...... 313
viii Appendix 1...... -...... -.....340
Appendix2...... --...... 344 List of Tables
Table 1
Table 2 List of Figures
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3 List of Abbreviations
AALAE Afncan Association for Literacy and Adult Education
ALECSO Arab League, Education, Scien tific and Cultural Organisation
ASPBAE Asian South Pacific Bureau of Adult Education
CARCAE Caribbean Regional Council of Adult Education
CASAE Canadian Association for the Studies of Adult Education
CEAAL Consejo intemacional de la educacion de adultos de américa latina (Latin Arnerican Council for Adult Education)
CEC Centre for Environmental Concerns
EAEA European Association of the Education of Adults
GE0 Gender and Education Programme
IC AE International Council for Aduit Education us International Literacy Support Service Programme
NFORSE international Forum for Sustainable Energy
NGO International Non-governmental Organisation
LEAP Learning for Environmental Action Programme
NIACE National Institute of Adult Continuing Education
NAAPAE North Amencan Association for Popular and Adult Education
NGO Non-governrnental Organisation
REPEC Red de educacibn popular y ecologia (Popular Environmenta1 and Ecological Education Network)
Peace and Human Rights Programme
xii S APs Structurai Adjustment Policies
SCUTREA Standing Conference on University Teaching and Research in Adult Education
UTE UNESCO Institute for Education
UN United Nations
UNCED United Nations Conference on Environment and Development
UNEP United Nations Environment Programme
UNESCO United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation
-*. Xlll Chapter One A Planet Under Siege: A Challenge to the World of Leaming and Education
We adults seem more inclined to prepare our children to make heroic sacriflces for the planer than to do them ourselves. Mark Burch. 1993:3
Contemporary environmental probkms have put a new face on challenges for the twenty-
first century. Educator David Orr ( lW2:83) argues that the environment
is not only a permanent feature on the public agenda, for al1 practical purposes it .3 the agenda. No other issue of politics, economics and public policy will remain unaffected by the crisis of resources, population, climate change, species extinction, acid rain, deforestation, ozone depletion and soi l loss.
The World Watch institute asserts that ecological deterioration will soon eclipse ideological
conflict as the dominant national security concern of countries throughout the world. Wars
and civil struggle around the issue of land and diminishing resources such as water and fuel
will increase steadily (Brown, 1997). Other studies show that more than half of the world's population will live in cities in the early part of the next century: ciries in which there is existing scientific proof of "a link between air pollution and respiratory diseases [and a] rise
in morbidity in terms of cancer, bronchitis, emphysema, and other senous illnesses"
(Douglas, 1983: 167). David Abram (1998:40) describes these illnesses in both their physical and psychological manifestations:
[illnesses will range from] severe immune dysfunctions and cancers. to widespread psychological distress, depression, and ever more frequent suicides, to the accelerating number of household killings and mass murders committed for no apparent reason by otherwise coherent individuals. This statement is supported by the research of Kaplan and Kaplan (1989: 10) who have
discovered that the ''loss of nature calculated in terms of biomass seerns to be accompanied
by an increase in the rate of violence and other urban problems. En addition to these problems,
David Abram (1998:40) notes that "hundreds of our fetlow species becomes extinct each
month." In many ways, this is tmly a time of crisis.
Bandarage (1998:3) beiieves that one description of crisis is a time "when the oid is dead
but the new is not yet born .,. [and] a point when critical decisions have to be made." Fritjof
Capra ( 1982:26) dr?.ws from the Chinese term for crisis - wei-ji - composed of the characters
for 'danger' and 'opportunity' to formulate his idea that crisis is "an aspect of
transformation." Learning to make these critical decisions poses an interesting challenge to
fields of education, for as David OIT(1992:83) notes, al1 too often "we still educate at al1
levels as if no .., crisis existed."
The Challenge to Education
Nobody expects education to do it sirzgle-hundedly, but the expectations generuted by rnujor intemutional events srich as the Earth Summit ut Rio and rize anxieries incrtrred by well-publicised disasters such as Bhopal and Chernobyl or the rtnpredicted eflects of pollutants such as CFCs and oestrogenic chernicals have raised the lmel of demand for action. John Smyth. 1995: 14
The mass media have played a major role, not always unproblematically, in making many
people aware of global environmental problems. Voluntary organisations too "deserve much of the credit for the great increase in public interest in the environment in recent years"
(NIACE, 1993: 10). The United Nations and its many conferences and documents have also raised awareness among many in governments. For others, an excellent although often unwelcome teacher has been daily-lived experience with polluted, undrinkable water, toxic leakages, shrinking forests, floods, growing desertification, and so on. If we have learned
anything over the pst thirty years, it is the fragility of our Earth. in fact, according to a
survey published in the Globe and Mail newspaper (p.A2) dunng the June 1997 'Mini-Earth
Summit' which took place at the United Nations headquarters in New York,
people's concem for the planet remains high. Their knowledge of the gravity. scope, and root causes of environmental problems and their relations to politics and global economics has greatly expanded.
What this survey acknowledges and what many other environmental adult educators whose
ideas are captured in this study, myself included, have found is that what aiis people is not a
lack of knowledge or awareness but rather a profound confusion about what to do with that
knowledge.
As people ponder the environmental dilemma their gaze often turns to education. It is
hoped that through education people will have the opportunity to develop their ideas, skills,
motivations, and commitments to bring about the fundamental changes required to move off
this apparently destructive course upon which we seem to be set. The question of how
education will assist with this is of primary concern to many who work in the field.
Upon reflection, some educators began to question the very fundamentals and intentions of modem day education and, in particular, environmental education, suggesting that it may
very well be part of the problem (see for example, Fien and Turner, 1993; Hall and Sullivan,
1994; Orr, 1992; Smyth, 1995). The dominant educational paradigrn often simply reproduces existing social relationships and attitudes that represent the values and interests of those who hold the material and syrnbolic wealth of society (McLaren, 1994). As Orr ( 1992: 186) suggests, [Tt] was designed to further the conquest of nature and the industrialization of the planet. It tended to produce unbalanced, under-dimensioned people tailored to fit the modem economy.
Therefore, for environmental education to play a role in assisting to bring about any substantial transformation in the way people live on this planet, entirely new frameworks and practices must be developed.
Contem~orarvInter-Governmental and Substantive Res~onses
... we must take the things we leam and use them. Upon being given more tools ... rve must be willing to brrild more things. Upon receiving more knowleclge, we mrrst retrtnt home and do more teaching .... Unlearningfalse information will alloiv advocates to be far more effective. Relearning will help us [re-build J. Shafik Asante. 1997:5 1-52
In response to pressures from the environmental movement, educators. NGO mernbers and other concerned citizens, the United Nations (UN) and its tributaries such as UNESCO organised a number of conferences during the 1WOs, L WOs, and 1990s. The first of these was the UN Conference on the Human Environment which took place in Stockholm in 1972. This was followed by numerous other environmental and environmental education conferences such as the International Environmental Education Workshop at Belgrade in 1975, two joint
UNESCOKJNEP conferences on environmental education in Tbilisi, Georgia in 1978 and in
Moscow, USSR in 1987, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development
(UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 (that included education, training and communications
L~Sa major theme), and UNESCO's Environment and Society: Education and Public
Awareness conference in Thessaloniki, Greece in 1997. Some of the purposes of these conferences were to draw attention to environmental issues, encourage new policies, and sti muiate the re-conceptualisation of environmenta1 education. Although these were not 5 unproblematic spaces with unprobIematic ideas for education, they did provide the opportunity for debate, the development of new ideas, cooperative work, and networking.
Also in response to escalating environmental problems, various substantive standpoints emerged. Although there are many others, the four theoretical threads that this thesis will examine include deep ecology, social ecology, ecofeminism, and bioregionalism. These challenging and controversiai theones developed new ideas about the value of the rest of nature, human/Earth relations and their Iinks to oppression, power, knowiedge. and identity
(Thomashow, 1996). They also provide an interesting array of ideas that can help with the re- conceptualisation of education world-wide.
Educational Remonses
The purpose of leaming is to gain sornething new and to put the new skiffor infomzation to the test of usefulness. In order to learn, one mrrst be willing to risk exposing oneself to new things, willing to test the validity of the old thirzgs in rclrrion to the new, and be willing to form new conclusions. Kei th King, 1 989
Compulsory education' also responded with vigour and imagination to global environmental problems. A number of school-focussed educators, researchers. and theoreticians began to challenge old paradigrns of education and environmental education and articulate new and diverse frameworks for learning and teaching. in fact, over the past 30 years, possibly more than any other aspect of modem education, environmental education has undergone the greatest evolution (Martinez, 1994).Three new frarneworks of teaching have
1. Compulsory education in this context refers to formal child-centred education which most often takes place in schools, although it is recognized that in many parts of the world education for children is not necessq 'compulsory.' It does not refer to university or college education, nor does it refer to teacher training: the former because they are not compulsory anywhere in the world and the latter because teachers are adults. been developed, pnmdly within the compulsory school system, and that this study will examine, including education for sustainability (EFS), global education (GE), and humane education (HE). These contemporary and more holistic theories and practices recognise that future change means working with children and young people to help them to develop alternative ways of thinking about, relating to, and working with the biosphere.
This study acknowledges the excellent work compulsory education is undertaking in deveIoping frameworks that encourage young people to acquire a concern for the environment and Iearn to make the changes necessary for a more sustainable future. What this study attempts to do is to develop a parallel plan for adult education: a learning framework that uses the vocabulary, concepts, and principles of adult education, a learning frarnework for environmental adult education that can complement and support the ongoing work of those in compulsory, school-based education.
The Field of AduIt Education
Ad& eciucntionfloats in a sea of learning. Alan Thomas. 1987: 109
In comparison to the various intellectual and practical activities carried out by the United
Nations, compulsory education advocates and other fields of inquiry such as sociology and philosophy, critical and adult education have been quite silent on environmental and sustainability issues (Bowers, 199 1). Although the field of adult education has been broadened beyond more conventional and narrowly defined educational theories and practices to encompass issues such as race, welfare, employment, and gender (Thomas,
1 99 1 ), it has ail but ignored, until quite recently, the environment as a complex and integnl part of a larger social problem and its important role in human emotional, cuitural, 7 psychological, physical, and spiritual well-being. Walter Leal Filho ( 1997: 1 18) refers to this as a "lack of tradition" in the field and notes,
despite the increasing popularity of environmental thernes, these are yet to be part of the adult education agenda. The fact that most meetings focusing on adult education fail to address environmentai matters reflects that reality.
An examination of sorne of the ideas coming from key theoreticians andor activist- educators Paulo Freire (1970), Moses Coady (19391, Jurgen Habermas (1968), and Mecthild
Hart (1992) reveaIs an inherent anthropocentnc framework of adult education that inadvertently helps to further notions of human separation from the rest of nature and support their domination. It also tends to set up the false dichotomy of the environment versus human welfare, for example in statements such as, "we will focus on the environment once al1 other problems have been solved." In the summer of 1998 a prestigious adult educator actually asked me why the field should focus on the environment when there are so many im~ortant problems.
But in a world where humans are in danger of losing their instinctive links to the Earth and the implications of human actions on the cycles of life are so profound, being anthropocentric is simpiy not sufficient. Nor is waiting to repair other problems first. for things must be done simultaneously. The next wave of creative vision and life affinning adult learning, perhaps the biggest leap yet conceptually and practically, may aise from our coming alongside the rest of nature: of becoming less human in the way in which Paulo
Friere defined through an anthropocentric lens and more what we are, natural beings, as a more holistic perspective would warrant. It is upon this attempt of broadening and re- conceptualising the theory and practice of adult education that this study focuses. The Case for Environmental Adult Education
Our children are growing up wirh the threat of nuclear war, ethnic violence, polluted air and water and an increasingly destabilized environment. At the sarne time, we have enormous resources ut our disposal and an incredible wealth of knowledge and information never matched by previous generations. It is up to us, as adult educators, as citizens, as caretakers of this generation, to determine how we will utilize this knowledge and those resources. Patricia Gouthro, (forthcoming 2000)
In 1986 UNESCO stated that:
It habeen accepted that the educational system tike the rest of society has not been able to adapt quickly enough to rapidly changing environmental conditions. This situation is unlikely to change drarnatically in the next decade and the world cannot wait for the new generation of politicians and decision-makers to emerge. It may be necessary to develop an educationd suategy that is prepared to challenge existing economic principles and practice, which questions traditional social and political goals and aiso cntically examines the personal ethics that are considered the noms of rnany societies. To achieve this in target groups other than pre-primary, primary, secondary and tertiary level students, it is necessary to develop an effective nonformal [adult] education process. Environmental education must be envisioned as a lifelong process and consequently nonformal education is of the utmost importance in creating a society whose citizens are knowledgeable enough to make a valid contribution to decision-making processes (8).
In an article in the journal Convergence in 1992, Patrïcia Mische argued that
given that few schools .., have even begun to undertake the kind of social and environmentai learning required to effectively redress environmental threats, schooling in itself is no guarantee of ecological responsibility (Mische, I99î:g).
This sentiment was reiterated by Chuck Hopkins, a UNESCO consultant on environmental education, in Greece in 1997 at UNESCO's Environrnent and Society: Education and Public
Awareness conference. He said in his plenary address,
the percentage of children around the world receiving profound environmental education is very, very small. The programmes are stilI very nature-centred and by and large offer few realistic alternatives to young people that wilt lead to new ways of thinking about creating sustainable livelihoods and societies.
And finally as Karanja et al. (forthcoming) from Africa add, children will require tirne before they cm be fully involved in decision-making around their environment. Adults, however, have a responsibility to hold that environment in trust for their children. This goal can be met by participating in effective environmental education programmes and activities for adults.
For it is the adults of the world - the citizens, voters, consumers, workers, employers, and parents - who are the largest single "force for social and political change, in both the domestic and global arenas" (Lipschutz, l996:2j. Although young people have been involved and play a key role, the majority of those involved in protests and actions againsr French nuclear testing in the South Pacific, apartheid in South Africa, and who make up the peace, feminist, aboriginal, human rights, and environmentai movements are adults. The Oxford
Dictionary defines adult as "after an age specified by law." In terrns of education, aduit cm also mean someone who is no longer bounded by law to attend compulsory education (where those laws exist).
In spite of changing demographics (PRIA, 1997) it is still the men and women of the world from whom "resistance to and transformation of societai structures emerges" (Welton,
19862 1). But as much as some adults resist and transform, others maintain the status quo.
And at this point in time the 'environmental' status quo will simply not do.
Statement of the Problem
Ifa rvater jug is full of holes, it needs everyfinger tu make it watenighr. Our world is just like such a jug: broken and full of holes. Ifevery one of us dues not mnke the necessary contribution, then this world will perish. Albert Martin Mme, 1993:7
Deaiing with the complexity and enorrnity of environmental problems, as Albert Martin
Mane suggests in the quotation above, will require every finger (Ibid.5). We need to recognise the importance and reievance of environmental issues and pay more attention "to 10 the needs and potentiai contribution of adult leaners" and peoples' needs and concerns
(NIACE, 1993:10). For as Moema Viezzer of Brazil notes ( I992:4),
indigenous people discuss the impact of the presence of hydroelectric plants in their communities; farmers tdk about harmful pesticides and the use of new farming technology ... ; women's groups organize to ensure that high food quality is maintained; neighbours organize to discuss the quaiity of drinking water; and so on. These are just a few examples but they show how important it is for ail adult educators ... to include environmental issues into their [work].
Doing so, however, will require a fundamental change in the field of adult education in the form of a new framework that includes an innovative and conternporary ecological perspective.
Although it is emerging world-wide, the area of environmental adult education is still under-theorised. To date, there have been no major studies undertaken to explore the essential elements of a framework of environmental adult education. The lack of a more coherent and comprehensive framework hamade it difficult to challenge the anthropocentric framework and thereby broaden the theory and practice of formai and non-forma1 adult education. It has also made it difficult to lobby for new adult education policies and programmes to include environmental issues, something that is essential to structural change.
Purpose of the Study
This study utilises a contemporary historical case study involving a content analysis of documents produced ovet a period of 25 years by the International Council for Adult
Education (ICAE) and, in particular, its Learning for Environmentai Action Programme
(LEAP) to discover some of the essential elements of a learning framework for environmentai adult education. The ICAE and LEAP were selected as a site to begin the exploration of the essential elements of a learning framework for environmentai adult 11 education because it is the largest global environmental adult education programme, produces materials on environmentai adult education, and provides me with the opportunity to reflect upon rny own work.
The data were obtained from an examination of 42 documents that include books, journal articles, chapters, discussion and working papers. conference proceedings, and a treaty.
Collectively, their contents weave a new pattern into the ecologically threadbare carpet of adult education.
Defining a Learning Framework
For the purposes of this study a leaming framework refers to something that encompasses context and content, values, strategies, and tools and praxis in Ieming. Frameworks of adult education provide a space for discussion and debate in which many, sometimes competing, positions and ideas are shared, a space in which a pluraiity of knowledge, components, and ideas coexist.
Learning frameworks unfold and alter over time (Scott, 1998). They change not because they are "wrong, but because rapidly changing material contexts and newly emerging theories influence them" (Usher and Bryant, 1989). The value of developing an educational framework cornes not from its permanence but from the contribution it makes to newer and better processes of learning and teaching.
Learning frameworks of education provide an orientation that may be used to guide educational decisions and explain their consequences. They encompass thoughts about the processes of learning and teaching; what constitutes knowledge and expertise; the roles of the leamer and educator; the practice and the values that guide the process; and the social, cultural, environmental and political contexts of the world in which we live that influence what we do and how we do it.
Developing a framework is a way of:
organising and making sense of the extemal world and, most important, a dynarnic source of further research. [It] enables at one and the same time explmation, prediction, control and self-correction ... [ofl new inquiry and new discoveries. It is [a] vehicle for accumulating ... knowledge and yet, because of its provisional status. is also the means by which knowiedge cm be continuously changed (Usher and Bryant, 1989: 13).
The deveiopment of a framework is a social process. It is impacted upon by events. people, and contexts. A framework of environmental adult education i ncludes, among many other things, ideas on human/Earth relations, ecological knowledge and identity, the role of the rest of nature and 'place' in the process, nature's intrinsic value, and outdoor sensory learning. It must, to borrow from Adrienne Rich (1993:2), "smell of the earth and be good for the earth."
Layout of the Study
Chapter Two examines some of the principles and critiques of the theoretical strands of deep ecology, social ecology, bioregionalism, and ecofeminism. Each of these strands is analyzed in terms of the alternative ideas they can bt-ing to environmental adult education.
Chapter Three examines the umbrella concepts of education for sustainability, peace education, global education, and humme education. It highlights their key features as well as some of the challenges or critiques that have been raised. It also, as with the various standpoints outlined in Chapter 2, examines what elements of these educational theories would be most useful to environmental adult educators. 13
Chapter Four moves into the world of adult education. examining various aspects of the
theory and practice in terms of its principles and the ways in which it has responded to challenges from criticai pedagogy, popular education, and feminist adult educators. An analysis of sorne of the major practitioners andor theoreticians of the field uncovers the anthropocentric framework that has hindered the development of an ecological perspective on the process of learning and teaching.
Chapter Five outlines the historical contemporary case study methodology used in this study. The site selected was the international Council for Adult Education and, in particuiar, its Leming for Environmentai Action Programme. This chapter also identifies the primary research question, the secondary questions used to analyze the contents of 42 documents published over a period of 25 years. from 1972 to 1997. The chapter concludes with an analysis of my own position as an environmental adult educator - the International
Coordinator of LEAP and author of 14 of the 42 documents identified for analysis.
Chapter Six provides a brief historical background of the ICAE and LEAP, the context within which the 42 documents used for analysis emerged. This chapter includes facts about activities that have contributed to the development of the various publications as well as rny own thoughts on situations and events. In particular, 1 examine various contemporary inter- govemmental and United Nations' activities that were points of departure for discussions on environmental problems and/or environmental education. The conferences and documents have been important although not unproblematic elements in pushing forward debate, new ideas, and policy on environmental adu lt education.
Chapter Seven begins the exploration of the 42 documents. It identifies and analyses 14 some of the essentiai elements for a leaming frarnework for environmental adult education within the broad categories of 'content and context' and 'values'.
Chapter Eight focuses on the aspects of strategies, tools and praxes as derived from the examination of the key documents. Woven throughout the data analysis of Chapters Seven and Eight are my own reflections on the various elements and the authors' ideas. 1 also put forward various recornmendations and, at times, questions that 1 feel need to be addressed.
The finai chapter begins with a brief historical overview of the maturation process of ecologically-focussed ideas over the 25 years within ICAE and LEM. It highlights various essential elements that were missing from the data or that require further theorisation and research if adult education is to tmly become a space of learning to live and living to leam with the rest of nature. 1 conclude this thesis by discussing the significance of this study to the field of adult education in general and LEAP in particular and highlight various limitations 1 feel environmental adult educators will need to accept-
Locating Myself in the Research
... research efforts should enable the ... researcher arid the readers of the research to reflect on their own lives in a way that is supporrive of change. Karen Malone 1996:28 1
My foray into the field of environmental adult education began when 1 was asked in 199 1 to assist Moema Viezzer, a BraziIian feminist-popular educator and the first International
Coordinator of LEAP, with the development of the Learning for Environmentai Action
Programme (LEAP) and, in particular, with the organisation of the International Journey for
Environmental Education for the upcoming Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. 15
In 1994 1 took part in a LEAP organised training workshop in the Philippines and shortly thereafter in 1995 became the second International Coordinator of LEM, leaving my position as Regional Coordinator of the Environmental Adult and Popular Education Network of the
North American Alliance for Adult and Popular Education (NAAPAE).
Over the years, as 1 searched for literature on environmental adult education to assist me with my work, 1 found that little if any existed. 1 began to redise that more writing projects needed to be undertaken on LEAP's work and particularty on the new ways in which adult educators world-wide were beginning to re-frame the field of adult education to meet an ecologicdly changing world. 1 began to write a nurnber of pieces for journals. books, and conference proceedings. 1 also edited a third special issue of ICAE's refereed journal
Convergence on environmental adult and popular education and encouraged others around the world to do more writing and dissemination of their own ideas and work. 1 have attempted to disseminate these writings as widely as possible at United Nations and academic conferences as weli as through LEAP's newsletter Pachamarna (Mother Earth). This study hashown me that there is still much work to be done.
The lack of a comprehensive framework of environmental adult education came most prominentiy to my attention at UNESCO's Fifth International Conference on Adult
Education (CONFINTEA V) that was held in Hamburg, Germany in 1997. During this conference LEAP members from around the worid struggled to make profound and specific changes to the officia1 documents. As we struggied, the ten of us from LEM and the
International Forum for Sustainable Energy (INFORSE) began to realise that our difficulty in influencing policy had to do first of al1 with the newness of the concepts and issues we presented; second, with the Iack of support we had been given by ICAE and the field of adult 16
education: but. most important. with the lack of an articulated framework that could support
the changes we were proposing.
To conclude. an important aspect of adult education is reflection. Usher and Bryant
( 1989: 1 ) believe that "improving and enhancing the practice [of adult education] is a matter
of its enrichment through critical reflection." This study has provided me with the
opportunity to engage in that very important process. Because 1 am not neutral in this
reseurch process, 1 had to accept the limitation that an outcome of this research could not be
the conclusion that environmental adult education is unnecessary. 1 personally believe that
ridult education must be broadened to include new learning frameworks based on diverse
ecoIogicaI and whole-life centred concepts if fundamental change is ever to take place.
Reflecting on my own work has provided me with the opportunity to see how my own
writing and thoughts have changed over the years and also how much further the tïeld and 1
still have to go.
This thesis reflects my attempts to understand the origins of my own dreams and
iissumptions about society and nature and the role education can, does. or should play. It is
my own ongoing struggle to articulate new ways of thinking about social and ecologicaI
change through the lens of adult education.
Limitations of this Study
The literature chapters do not pretend to put forward an exhaustive review of al1 the
activities by the UN: the intricate and inherent positions and critiques of deep ecology, ecofeminism. bioregionalism, and social ecology; or the educational practices of global education. humane education, and educution for sustainabi li ty. They do recognize t hat other educational theories such as education for sustainable development and ecological philosophies such as environmental sociology exist. Moreover, these educational frameworks and philosophies inchde sufficiently diverse and exciting ideas to compare with aduit education and use to enhance the leaming framework. The purpose of these review chapters is to highlight only some of the importance of üN activities, for they have deeply affected the work of ICAE and LEAP and the emergence of environmental education as a whoIe. as well as sorne ideas from which environmental adult education has drawn or can draw. it is recognised that this study does not include other types of ecologically-focussed education being developed for universi ty students.
This study is limited to an examination of a specific set of publications: only those produced and disseminated under the auspices of the ICAE and/or LEM. Also, since LEAP is an international network with members in every region of the world, data collection through methods such as personai and telephone interviews or site observations would have meant a great deal of global travel to a variety of countries or limiting the study to a single region that would not do this topic justice. Although interviews can be conducted by e-mail at much less cost, after a few test tries 1 felt the written responses did not contribute sufficient information to warrant the effort. Moreover. there are LEAP members in Africa and the
Arabic-Speaking States or Arab Region' who do not yet have access to e-mail or have perpetually faulty telecommunications structures.
Although 1 attempted to collect ail the materials produced by ICAE/LEAP that included an environmental focus, there is no doubt that some have probably ken missed. 1 Say this based on the fact that the African Association for Literacy and Adult Education (AALM),
2. This is how ICAE characterises this area of the world. 18 the African regional representative of the ICAE, no longer exists and therefore, if there were any substantial documents produced by them within the past five years, they were not fowarded to the ICAE office in Toronto and have not been included.
This is a broad study that atternpts to highlight al1 the essential elements of a framework as they emerged from the documents. The idea was to make it as inclusive, broad and comprehensive as possible so it would perhaps be more usefui as a starting point for discussion for as wide a range of people in different settings and contexts as possible.
Therefore, each of the essential elements or categories is not deait with in as great a detail as it could be.
1 am not only the researcher of this study but was ais0 a substantial contributor. I wrote,
CO-wrote,or contnbuted to 14 of the 42 documents inciuded in this study. This means chat my position is not neutral or unbiased. Recognising this, 1 have attempted to allow the data to terich me through its own story. By engaging in this study, 1 began to see the flaws and changes in my own writing and ideas and more diverse ways of seeing things such ris the idea of 'place' that 1 had never reflected upon. Others may see further changes that I missed.
This study does not include a focus on teacher training nor does it examine formal adult education in depth. Although these are extrernety important areas, the vast majority of authors focus on non-formal education in communities and not on forma1 programmes or teacher training from an adult education perspective. Developing a framework of environmental adult education for teacher training is an important process that should be undertaken in the future.
Chapter Six, the historical chapter, examines some events and activities that impacted upon ICAE, LEAP, the emergence of the documents, and in particular the developaent of the 19
theory and practice of environmental adult education. 1 deal most often with the organisation
as a whole rather than the individu& for 1 cannot always know what infiuenced the authors,
nor cm 1 know their specific contexts. I use ICAE, a social organisation, to demonstrate that
the creation of a learning framework is a sociai process, not an individual process, as dlof
the authors are connected under the auspices of this organisation in one way or another.
Contributions of this Study
For the first time in the history of the ICAELEAP this study brings together ideas from
around the world that provide content, methodology and a pedagogical framework that
contributes to the construction of a new body of global-oriented environmental knowledge
and a new framework of environmental adult education. These include such things as our
relationship to the rest of nature, ecological knowledge, identity, and the reciprocity between
nature and culture; the role of the rest of nature in the Iearning and teaching process: whole
life-centred values that include nature's intrinsic vaIue and feminist values around caring and change; the role of 'place' in the adult learning process; and the roles of the educator working within a complex ecological paradigrn. These are ideas that have not previously been included in the field of adult education, and it is hoped that they wil 1 open up new ways of thinking about adult education and its role vis-à-vis the contemporary environmental crisis.
Before this study, there was no one comprehensive list of ICAWLEAP documents that focus on the environment. This list as welI as the findings of this study will be disseminated broadly by the KAE as a way to provoke dialogue and further research. for the relevance of environmental adult education to other forms of adult, feminist, and popular education wili only becorne clearer with wider exposure to and engagement with it. 20
This study highlights the fact that practitioners, those working on the ground. have
something significant to contribute to creating a richer episternology around human/Earth
relations. It also illuminates how the development of theory is a social process, how it
emerges from the interaction of action and thought in specific 'real world' settings. However,
practitioners' lives are by nature over-subscribed. The time and space needed for many to
engage in writing is not easy to come by. For many, writing time consists of stolen moments, during unpaid hours that many can il1 afford. Although many of the authors cited in this study
would describe themsetves solely as practitioners, there is no doubt that, individuaIly and collectively, they are theoreticians as well.
Perhaps most of dl, the study dernonstrates that although there are now a number of essential elements that favour a new whoIe life-oriented framework that can broaden and strengthen adult education pnctice, theory, research, and educational policy work, much more analysis and research into each of the elements is stilI required. Chapter Two For The Earth: TheoreticaVSubstantive Responses to Environmental Problems
Introduction
New patterns of thought and belief are emerging that will transform our experience. our thinking and our action .... This emergent world-view is rnuirijïaceted: it has been particularly described as systemic, holistic, more fem inine. Peter Reason, 1998:42
Problematic changes in the environment brought about by development activities, modern scientific innovations, and so on were brought to the world's attention prirnarily by the environmental and women's movements, the media, concemed scientists such as Rachel
Carson, and first-hand experience. Growing concern around the world inspired V~~OUS alternative standpoints and philosophies around humans and their relationship to the rest of nature to ernerge. Four of these are deep ecology, social ecology, bioregionalism, and ecofeminism.
This chapter begins with a very brief historical sketch of Earth-based wisdoms and environmental thought and education. It then examines some of the more problematic changes that have taken place as a result of modem mechanistic science and, in particular. its privilege over al1 other forms of thought and ways of understanding and relating to the world.
Following this is an analysis of some aspects and critiques of the complex strands of deep ecology, social ecoiogy, bioregionalism, and ecofeminism and the alternative ideas they bring to education. Earth-Based Wisdom(s): The Forerunnimg Context
Ecolugically sustainable fom of knowledge include tacit and nnalogrte ways of knowing; these foms of knowledge also involve a more complex view of the environment as a system of signs - that is a language rhar allows for interspecies communication. C.A. Bowers. 199 1 :106
Al though for some the idea of interwoven philosophies of living and learning wi th the environment are new, for many others the idea of a lifelong, integrated practice or process of understanding and learning from, about, and with the land is not. For centuries in Africa, for example, people learned from and took care of the surroundings they utilised for their
1 iveli hood (Karanja, et al.. forthcoming). The learning and teaching process "was largely non- forma1 or informai ... handed down from generation to generation orally" (Mucnguzi,
1995:338). Native peoples also used stories "of a time of the past to connect with a lifestyle and culture. They are the medium through which [people] atternpt to make sense of it ail"
(Profiet-Leblanc, 1995: 14). Of primary importance was learning "how to live in a habitat
[that] involved learning from the elders, generations no longer present. plants, animais soil, weather patterns, and al1 other elements of the habitat" (Bowers, 199 1: 106). "Learning, knowledge, context, roles and practice were intertwined and ho1 istic" (ibid. : 106). Edmund
O'Sullivan (forthcoming 1999) argues chat
[if'j we take away the romanticization of native cultures (which seems also part of the current interest in indigenous ways) there is much to be learned about a proper orientation to the earth community from the traditional 'wisdoms' of the native peoples .... 1 say 'wisdoms' because there is a tendency to lump native cultures into a common soup while ignoring the incredible variety and splendour of differences.
He goes on to observe that apart from the dynamic differences, there are four features of sameness that seem to cut across these differences. The first "is that of a common understanding that the Earth is not a dead resource for human consumption but a sacred community and web of profound intricacy." The second is the profound sense of "intimacy with the natural processes of the Earth." The third, "although not universal," is an orientation to the Earth in the nurturant form of 'Mother'. And the fourth revolves around "a mysticd sense of place."
Fundamental relationships to the land are a primary driving force behind rnany of the political activities and struggles in which aboriginal peoples engage, for the land is the culture of the people and it is also from where children leam what it is like to be part of that culture. There are hundreds of examples of stniggles by aboriginal peoples that are at the same time education and leaming opportunities to maintain their identity, land, dignity. ethno-ecological politics, and ways of knowing and king. Aboriginal peoples across Canada and around the world refuse to forfeit or leave lands where their ancestors lived, lands that contain historical mernories and a rernembrance across generations and boundaries of time and space, lands that are, as John Mohawk (1996: 1 1 ) says, "our bible. We don't have chapters and verses; we have trees and fish and animals." These are spiritual places that are themselves identity and meaning.
The struggles in Chiapas, Mexico are an articulate "expression of the defence of local ecology combined with indigenous peasant politics" (Parajuli and Kothari, 199820). The activities of the men and women in this region have "influenced the debates and practices of developrnent and politics the world over. It has also contnbuted to redefining indigenous politics in Latin America and elsewhere" (Ibid.:21). An important, albeit not often acknowledged aspect of Canadian history, at least until recently, is that for 500 years aboriginal peoples have stmggied against environmental destruction and the loss of their lands. In Quebec, one Cree nation has refused to move from the land where their ancestors 24 lived to make way for a hydro-electric dam whose first phase, lames Bay 1. has caused countless environmental and social problems (Clover, 1996). Cree actions have included the erection of road blocks, organisation of a boycott by the state of New York on electricity, and raising their claims for human rights at the United Nations. These actions have been an inspiration to many struggling for change and the retention of self, land, and identity.
Agrarian Societies and the Rise of the Romantic
The practice of agriculture first emerged from women's knowledge on gathering and nurturing. However, with increased mechanisation and the "creation of patriarchy" they soon lost their place .... (Bandarage, 1998).
Even with the conternporary and rather problematic evolution of agrarian societies. David
Orr ( 1994: 1 17- 1 18) observes,
for al1 their flaws, fmswere schools of a sort in natural history, ecology, soils. season, wildlife, animal husbandry, and land use .... To be sure, the experience of farm life varied greatly with the quaiity of the fam and [other] differences ... [and] they could sometimes be tedious, narrow, and parochial .... [However], farms did what no other institution has ever done as well. They taught directly, and sometimes painfully, the relationship between Our dai ly bread and soil, rain fall, animals, biological diversity, and natural cycles.
Farrns "taught life or human skills such as patience, cooperation, hard work. self-reliance, practicai skill, thnft, and inter-connectedness" (Ibid.: 1 17). In Central America, agricultural practice showed "a great ecological intelligence, carefully and artfully woven into rural
Iandscapes over a millennium or more" (Tbid.: 1 18).
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries romantic poets and ecological phi losophers such as Wordsworth, Thoreau, Muir, Leopold, and Rousseau wrote of aiternative ways of engaging with the rest of nature. This had its strengths for it brought attention to the other 25 than hurnan world in a more emotional and spiritual way. It celebrated the rest of nature and our connections to it. But it also created notions of nature in the Western mentdity that were
"romantic, proscribing idealized places and times to protect or return to ... the nature we know in the West is largely born out of this colonial imagination" (Helier, 1999:4).
Conservation Education
Ln the 1930s conservation, preservation, and even outdoor education began to emerge. going through an expenrnentation phase in the 1940s and becoming standardised in many schools in North America and Europe in the early 1950s (Worster, 1977). These forms of education often romanticised nature, frarning educational activities around wilderness appreciation andor preservation and conservation. However, they also demonstrated the vuherability of the world's environment and attempted to create some type of balance between industrialisation, development, and conservation.
The Mechanistic, Reductionist Scientific Worldview
Science has been produced by a particular srtb-set of the human race, that is, almost entirely by white, middle-class males .... They soughr a philosophy that deserved to be called 'rnasculine', thar could be distinguished from its ineffective predecessors by ifs 'virile' powers, ifscapacity to bind Nature to man 'sservice and make her his sluve. Susan Harding, l986:8
The rapid nse of scientific discovery primarily based upon the ideas of Bacon, Descartes,
Kant, Linnaeus, Newton, and Darwin rnoved the world into a fundamentally different direction, into a different way of understanding and learning about the environment. The
Scientific Revolution, the Enlightenrnent, and the Industrial Revolution were viewed as "the great leap forward that enabled Western capitalist nations to dominate the affairs of the 26
globe" (Hicks, 1998: 166). The mechanistic, reductionist scientific worldview they promoted
"linked the cause of tuberculosis to a bacillus rather than to slum housing, and the cause of
cancer to oncogenes rather than to industrial pollution" (Rowe, 199050) as they reduced the
world to a series of locally connected scientific fact. But although science matters, not everything is a matter of science.
This dominant worldview pushed previous views based upon respect, interconnectedness, empathy, partnership and/or cooperation, diversity, symbiosis. egalitarianism. complexity, and decentralisation to the margins. In Africa the heavy scientific orientation of education has resulted in the fact that today "most Africans have lost their close relationship with the land
.... There is almost no appreciation for nature for its own sake" (Karanja et al., forthcoming
2000). Reductionist science included worldviews based on an artificial divide between humans and the rest of nature that is the scaffolding of some forms of concemporary environmental education (Smyth, 1995). Edmund O' Sullivan (forthcoming 1999) argues that this objective/mechanistic view of the world is "one of the major factors in the deterioration of Our relationship to the natural world" (ibid.).
TheoreticaYSubstantive Threads
Running paralle1 to the global conferences mentioned above is the emergence or enhanced deveiopment of four diverse yet interwoven ecological theories: deep ecology, social ecology, bioregionalism, and ecofeminism. These responses represent complex and often controversial discourses that make them difficult to define. Deep Ecolosv
Tlir question of hman 's propcr relation to natrire. wliile centrai fo ecologicol erhics. also transcends it, challenging any ethicai -stem anyvhere. Caroline Richards. 1 990: 1
The term deep ecology was coined by Norwegian philosopher Arne Naess in his 1972 essay titled "The Shallow and the Deep, LongRange Ecology Movement" and then articulated at the Third World Futures Conference in Bucharest, Hungary the same year.
Other prominent philosophers of the tradition inchde Bill Devall, George Sessions. Warwick
Fox. and particularly David Foreman of EARTH RRST!. a US based organisation (Sturgeon.
Deep ecology asks deeper questions about life on earth than mainstream environmentalists allow themselves to ask (Naess, 1973). The
'deep' connotes an attempt to uncover the most profound Ievel of human-nature relationships, stressing the need for persona1 realisation as accomplished by integrating the 'self with nature. The central theme of deep ecology is the fundamental reevaluation of conventional. modemist perspectives on the role of hurnans in the natural world, and an orientation that stresses that al1 life on exth hüs intrinsic value, that the richness and diversity of iife itself has value. and that human life is privileged only to the extent of satisfyinp vital needs (Thomashow. 199658).
A central assumption of deep ecology is that environmental problems stem from anthropocentricity, a human-centred ideological position. This means that these problems can best be solved by adopting a bio-centric approach. Biocentrism is a view that the Emh is a living organism with a value "not predicated upon its utility for human beings, and that al1 life - animate or inanimate - is equal with nature" (Roussopoulos, 1996:75). Linked to the idea of biocentrism is a belief in the importance of maintaining diversity because
diversity enhances the potentiaiities of survival, the chances of new modes of life. the richness of forms. And the so-called struggle of Iife, and survival of the fittest should be interpreted in the sense of ability to CO-existand CO-operatein complex relationships, rather than ability to kill, exploit and suppress. 'Live and let live' is a more powerful ecological principle than 'Either you or me' (Naess, L973:96).
Maintenance of diversity also includes human ways of Iife, cultures, and econornies
(Ibid.: 1973).
Another aspect of deep ecology is the idea that simply reforming normative institutional
frameworks or conventionaf channels of environmental legislation is ultimately ineffective.
Solving the environmental crisis
requires a radical new vision, including a fundamental re-assessrnent of consumption and production, basic changes in the economic and political structures of advanced industrid civilisation, a re-orientation of how quality of life is assessed, and an emphasis on 104 autonomy and decentralisation (Thomashow, 199658).
Deep ecology places an emphasis on the ways in which civilisation itself is destroying the biosphere and therefore neither resignation nor refom is the correct response, but rather critiquing dominant structures of power, in particular, 'normative govemment institutions'
(Thomashow, 1996:59).
Much inspiration for deep ecology, and particularly for Naess, cornes from
... religions and ways of life of prima1 peoples around the world, and Taoism, Saint Francis of Assisi, the Romantic Nature-oriented counter-culturai rnovement of the nineteenth century and its roots in Spinoza, and the Zen Buddhism of Alan Watts and Gary Snyder (Sessions, 1995:42).
Eastern religions are re-configured in deep ecology as ecological spiritualities and reflect a deep ecological philosophy or psychology of the 'Self-in-nature' (Ibid.:42). Naess distinguishes between
'self and 'Self the lower-case nomenclature indicates an individualist, egoistic self; the upper-case Self is an expanded Self as conceived in certain Eastern traditions of atman. This larger 'Self embraces al1 the life forms on the planet together with their individual forms (Ibid.:42). 29
Joanna Macy (1989:205) argues that "the findings of twentieth-century science [has undermined] the notion of a separate self, distinct frorn the world it observes and acts upon."
It is this fdse reification of the self that is "basic to the ecological crisis in which we now find ourselves" (Ibid.:205). Lachapelle (1989: 159) also includes Christianity that she argues
"focuses on the endings of things, the transience of life ... [that] permits total exploitation of nature." Norberg-Hodge argues that, although deep ecology is often seen to undermine the value of the individuai. this is not so. She believes that
the tragedy of the modem age is that in the name of individualism, what's king promoted is, in fact, a mass culture where people are fearful of developing their unique characteristics (Naess and Norberg-Hodge, 1997:24).
Deep ecology also adopts a non-dudistic frarnework. Duaiities between humans and nature are merely Western constructs (Fox, 1984; Zimmerrnan, 1990). They have led
"western humanity to spiit off its dark side - its mortality, dependence and finitude - and to project it upon the body and nature, which it then attempts to dominate and control"
(Zimmerrnan, 1 990: 140).
Deep ecologists also argue that in order to stop environmental destruction the growing world population must be dealt with at the level of crowding, as there are too many people now on the Earth (Naess, 1973). This is potentially disastrous not only to the human race but to al1 other species on the planet. The problem can be addressed only by focussing education and birth control efforts on women:
We hope that no woman would give birth to more than one or two children during this period of cnsis. Adopt children. Let reverence for life and reverence for the feminine mean also a reverence for other species and for future human Iives most of which are threatened (Snyder, 1998: 14).'
1. This comment is addressed under the 'Challenges' section that follows. 30
Deep ecology is viewed not simpiy as a philosophy or ideoiogy, but also as practice, as
something in which to actively engage. To this end, Naess puts fonvard the following
challenge to the field of education; he asks: "Which education is beneficial for al1 life on the
planet as a whole, and then we ask further what we need to do in order to make the necessary changes?" (Lachapelle, 1988: 13).
UZtimately, deep ecology represents an rrnfuifil led promise and a lost opportrrnih for rvomen and men who were genuinely interested in transfonning their relationslzip rvith the extemal world. It appears to be simple male pasturing. Joni Seager, 1993
Aithough in the 1980s it was hoped that deep ecology would be "the pin set to burst the bubble of environmentai hubris on which we build our human privilege." it is now being critiqued for its arnbiguous notion of biocentrism, apolitical approach, and the at times sexist and racist implications of its population philosophy (Seüger, 1993:223).
Ariel Saileh (1984:344) outiines her deep suspicions around the deep ecologist reliance upon Eastern religious philosophies. She argues that often they are not wornen-oriented or inclusive:
the desire to become one with nature that is ceiebrated by deep ecologists reflects not just a suppression of real, live, ernpirical women, but equally the suppression of the ferninine aspects of men's own constitution .... This is the self-estranged maie reaching for the original androgynous natural unity with himself.
Salleh also criticises deep ecologists for not identifying 'androcentrism' (niale-centredness) as the main culprit in producing a worldview that assumes "not only a radical split between culture and nature but also the right of mankind (generic mascuIine intended) to use nature at man's discretion" (Ibid.:42). Men and women "are painted in the same broad bmsh stoke and are equally indicted by deep ecologists for 'anthropocentric' attitudes to nature" and the deterioration of the environment (Sturgeon, l997:23 1 ). In spite of the contemporary work being done by women such as Joanna Macy within the framework of deep ecology, many of the people writing in the area claim to forge "a radical new relationship with nature ... [but] give no credit to the women who broke this path for them" (Ibid.:23 1). Moreover, aithough they "speak reverently of rediscovering intuition in relating to nature, of breaking through the barriers of hierarchicd thinking, of the necessity of viewing life on earth as an unbroken continuum, of celebrating the interwoven connectedness of us dl, they too ignore or scorn these female-identified traits" (Ibid.:230). The generalisations of deep ecology blur the distinctions not only of gender, but of race, clas, and ethnicity too. They portray humans as a cancer on the Earth and do not attempt to make a
distinction among peoples, nations or cultures in assigning accountability for ecological destruction. Humanity is not an undifferentiated whole, and it is not credible to lay equai blame for environmental degradation on elites and minorities. women and men, industrialised and non-industrialised countries, the poor and the rich, people and governments, the colonised and the colonisers (Seager, 1993).
Cornrnents by deep ecologists such as "we hope that no wornan would give birth to more than one or two children during this period of crisis" (Snyder, 1998: 14), as quoted previously, are pathetically androcentnc and allocate the process of 'reproduction' as the sole responsi bility of women. By association, would not the problem of over-population then be attributed to women? 1s this not why the vast majority of population controls measures such as sterilisation are aimed at women?
Murray Bookchin's (1 995: 1 16) critique of biocentrism is that
viewed heuristically, biocentrism is an effort to bridle 'human' arrogance toward the other Me-forms and defy the present destruction of the biosphere. But how long one can continue to belabor 'humanity' for its affronts to the biosphere without distinguishing between rich and poor, men and women, whites and people of color, exploiters and exploited, is a nagging problem that many ecologicai philosophers have yet to resolve, or perhaps even recognise.
Biocentnsm becomes less an ecological principle and more an "argument against the human
species itself as a life-form" (Ibid.: 1 16).
Seager ( 1993:223) notes that although deep ecology is a philosophy, it is also a practice.
This is a strength since ideas should not remain in the abstract but should be taken and used.
However. some manifestations of its practice give the philosophy a bad name world-wide.
For example, David Foreman, an avowed acolyte of deep ecology and rnember of EARTH
FIRST!, has openly suggested that famine in Africa was a " 'natural' measure against over-
population which should not be mitigated by human assistance" (Roussopoulos, l993:76). He
argues further that
When 1 tell people how the worst thing we could do in Ethiopia is to give aid - the best thing would be to just let nature seek its own balance, to let the people there just starve ... they think that is monstrous. But the alternative is that you go in and save these half-dead children who never will Iive a whole life. Their development will be stunted. And what's going to happen in ten years' time is that twice as many people w il1 suffer and die. Likewise, letting the USA be an overfiow valve for problems in Latin America is not soIving a thing. It's just putting more pressure on resources we have in the USA. It is just causing more destruction of our wilderness, more poisoning of water and air, and it isn't helping the problems in Latin Amerïca (Foreman, 1986:2).
Bookchin (1995: 1 17) observes that this statement resonates with imperialism, racism, and
genocide. To even
consider starvation as merely an 'alternative' to the civil war that racked Ethiopia and the destruction of so much of the cultural integrity of Latin American villages by (largely American) corporate interests reveals a shocking social arnnesia. It is breathtaking to contemplate the extent to which this 'ecological' ensemble of ideas defiects public attention from the social origins of ecological problems (Bookchin, 1995: 1 17).
It also reflects a neo-Malthusian quality that many feminists have struggled active1y against
(for example, see Bandarage, 1998). Problems such as overpopulation and mass starvation 33
are in fact not a 'natunl' problem but one caused by military spending, a legacy of
colonial ism and nec-colonialism. patriarchy. and global isation (Bandarage. 1998). At times.
deep ecology also neglects to acknowledp violent birth control policies imposed on women
from the South (and sometimes even men; for exarnple. see Bandarage 1998) - policies that
are fundamentally about controlling, or better said. continuing the control of women's
reproduction by technical means to solve the population problem rather than looking at
aspects of empowerrnent through educational and work opportunities (Bandarage. 1998:
S turgeon. 1997). Wackernagel and Rees ( 19%) support the belief that population is not the
problem and they demonstrate this through their educational process "Our Ecological
Footprint." This process draws attention to the role of the imbdance of materiaiism and
consumerism in environmental destruction.
Alternrrtive Ideris for Educntion
Safislz: YOLLhave described the corzditions tlzat optirnize self-realization. Horv do rve ger from hcre to ~lzere?Acne: One fnct is ed~tcution. Interview of Arne Naess. 1997%
Although deep ecology contains some problematic elernents, particularly in terms of
population, it also contains various ideas and an ecological framework that can help to
strengthen re-conceptualisations of education. Learning and teaching approüches that
incorporate a deep ecology perspective attempt to "enlarge the narrow self and the smüll
piece with which it identifies to include ever wider reaches of Me, embracing, finally, al1 of
being and the bonds which hold everything together in an ever-expanding universe"
(Richards, 1990: 10). For. as Joanna Macy ( l994:205) notes, "throughout the history of evolution. it is the individual plus environment, the species plus environment for they are 34 essentially symbiotic." Ideas such as these enhance the further exploration of adult ecological
identities and knowledge and the sharing of adult experiences based upon critical self-
reflection on ourselves as a species that thinks, decides, and acts within our environment and
not apart from it.
By refusing to make the hierarchical distinctions between humans and other forms of life
that adult education makes, deep ecology instills the idea of the right to live on this Earth as
intrinsic to a11 beings. The basic constructs of this values framework are that people are a part of the larger ecological processes and communities and that the rest of nature has an intrinsic value not just an instrumental value. They provide a useful starting point for discussions around alternative ways of living as ecologically responsible members of the ecosphere and open the door to discussions about sustainability and humane treatment of the rest of nature.
Finally, deep ecology is not about 'tinkering' with the capitalist economic growth system but about completely changing this fundamentally flawed system. This provides the opportunity to introduce ideas about real change processes taking place in the world such as barter systems that operate outside the current economic paradigrn or new visions of work and how that relates to quality of life.
Social Ecolow
Ecology in rny view, hm always meant social ecalogy .... Social ecology has tu begin ifsquest for freedorn not only in the factory but cclso in thé family, not on& Nt the economy but also in the psyche, not only in rhe muterial conditions of life brrr nlso in the spiritual ones. Murray Bookchin, 199 1
Canadian sociologist John Hannigan (1995) notes that in the early nineteenth century the natural world entered into sociological discourse through the work of British historian Henry Thomas Buckle who "ascribed particular sociological significance to the visual aspect of
nature" and through "the Daminian concepts of 'evolution', 'natural selection', and the
'survival of the fittest' [that were] seized upon by many of the early conservative sociological
thinkers who applied its principles (not always accurately) to the human context" (Ibid.5-7).
But gradually these
evolutionary laissez-faire doctrines of the nineteenth century [gave] way to a new emphasis on social planning and social reform. 'Meliorism' - the dehberate atternpt to improve the weIi-being of mernbers of society - flew in the face of these social theories which viewed social causation as unalterable, whether due to geography or biology ... furthemore ... many sociologists had come to accept psychology as the foundation of sociology in place of physics or biology (Ibid.:7).
Even great thinkers such as Marx tended "to treat nature simply as a medium of social
progress" (Giddens, 1986: 159).
But "in the past quarter-century, sociologists have shown a more concerned interest in the
environment than was the case in the past" (Ibid.: 1 1). Out of this changing interest emerged
the idea of environmental sociology, but perhaps the best known world-wide is social
eco!ogy, a theory large1y associated wi th American socioIogist Murray Bookchin. Social
ecology encompasses the notions of decentralisation, self-reliance, values. and local
democracy. It revolves around the terrns 'social' and 'ecology'. The word 'social'
underlines the belief that it is people who make meaning [and] meaning is understood to be a social construction, always sitting within particular cultural settings or domains .... The term 'ecology' is "derived from the Greek 'oikos', meaning 'house and logos', in this usage, meaning knowledge or study of (White, 199260).
Based on a social structuralist critique, social ecology identifies environmental destruction "as emerging from a number of social structures, most fundarnentally capitaIism
and the centralised state" (Gmen, I998:357). Social ecology does not advocate total anarchy,
but instead promotes a softer, more local form of governance by introducing as "a programmatic idea the creation of dual power in which official political power is sought but on1y simultaneously with the creation of decentraiised bases of popular control"
(Roussopoulos, 1993: 126). The strategy is to devolve ever more power to the base in a gradua1 process of dismantling the central State (Ibid.: 126). Social ecologists privilege as a political strategy, the creation of neighbourhood councils or assemblies, the forms of which depend on the size of the city. This process of municipal decentralisation "would re-structure city counciI to create an assembly of mandated and revocable delegates from the neighbourhood councils; the office of the mayor would itself be rendered a Iargely symbolic position" (Ibid.: 125). The structure is changed because
the municipdity ... is the most immediate political arena of the individuals, the worid that is literally a doorstep beyond the privacy of the family and the intimacy of personal friendships. Ln that primary politicai arena, where politics should be conceived in the Hellenic sense of literally managing the polis or community, the individual can be transformed from a mere person into an active citizen, from a private being into a public being (Bookchin, 199 1%).
However within the municipality andlor community, social ecologists see the home as a major source of change and empowerment. For it is at home where
people really have a measure of control over the creation of new values and the consequences of political decisions are actually felt, our homes, in this broader sense have the potential to be the centres of real change (Warren, 1998: 133).
Social ecologists view the world in terms of first and second natures. Bookchin
( 199 1 :190) argues that "human society is but a part of the whole biotic society, growing naturally from this 'first nature* that existed before humans. Second nature comprises a uniquely human culture and technic, but whose creation by humans was 'eminently natural'.
Therefore, "biological and human natures can never be treated as separate, discrete entities" but second nature does imply a special distinctness (Pepper, 1993: 164). For second nature, informed by first nature, involves the processes of reason, logic, and rationality, uniquely 37 human qualities that rnake them different from animals. This inherent logic serves as the foundation for a "dialecticaity naturdist ethic" (Gruen, f 998:2 1 ).
Dialectical naturalism
offers an alternative to an ecology movement that rightly distrusts conventional reason. It cm bnng coherence CO ecological thinking, and it can dispel arbitrary and anti-intellectuai tendencies toward the sentimental, cloudy, and theistic at best and the dangerously antirational, mystical, and potential 1y reactionary at worst (Bookchi n. 1995: 15).
For dialectical naturalism "discerns evolutionary phenornena fluidly and pIasticaIly, yet it does not divest evolution of rational interpretation" (Ibid.: 15).
Unlike deep ecology, social ecology implies no 'centricity', be it biocentric or ecocentric for these are viewed as king linked to spintuality and mysticisrn. Social ecology sees any spiritual focus as taking away from political stmggle. causing people to withdraw from social concerns, and is an ineffective strain within the environmental (Pepper, 1993).
A key point arising from the theory of social ecology is that tne very concept of dominating nature stems from the domination of human by human through specific ideological lenses and creates social structures. Unless these ideological and structural relations of domination are dealt with first, it is unlikely that hurnan relationships with the rest of nature will change (Bookchin, 1995).
Challen pes
As r-vomen, of course, we must be very careful with a movement that ideçtiizes home ... und promises a better world because often their political theories do nothing to improve the day-to-day reality of mosr women. Karen Warren, 1998: 132
Feminist critiques of social ecology focus on the idea of the home as a space of liberation.
For women the home has not necessarily been a liberating space. In order for it to be so, the home must first be re-organised and structurally supported through alternative replations as is argued by child-care activists and the labour movement and also cntically analysed and newly understood, revalued, and redefined:
We have to put Our house in order, and this means an exmination of gender relations both within and outside the home but this does not emerge in the social ecology debate (Warren, 1998:134).
A second but related critique is that although Bookchin "rejects the notion that women are physically weaker or less intellectually capable than men, he posits the idea that the gendered division of labour produced different masculine and feminine temperaments"
(Sturgeon, lWT32). This often reduces women to their reproductive roles and their roles as mothers:
he [Bookchin] celebrates the mother-infant relationship as the basis of ethics and reason in a social ecological society, the 'cradle in which the need for consociation (sic) is created. in doing so, Bookchin wishes to see women as equals to men, but he leavcs intact the familiar patriarchai reduction of women to their reproductive role (Ibid.:35).
And although social ecology stresses the concept of a new ecological society, nowhere does it discuss whether gender roles would be different in this society. It is not that Bookchin's writings
are 'antifeminist', Ijust] that he does not use feminist texts .... He does not ernploy the feminist concept of gender, he does not explore the implications of seeing the gendered division of labour as socially constructed for his vision of a social ecological society, and he does not examine motherhood as an historical and sociai institution (which seems particularly lacking, given the emphasis he places on motherhood as social fundamental). In short, he does not engage in a ferninist analysis (Sturgeon. 1997:35-36).
Others argue that Bookchin's theory of social ecology is hostile to the new rival critique of anthropocentrism and is eager to subsume it under some form of human domination:
The domination of nature, he assures us, carne after the domination of human by human and is entirely secondary to it. Thus he asserts an historical reduction thesis [that] al1 our notions of dominating nature stem from the very real domination of hurnan by human .... As an historical statement [this] declares in no uncertain terms that the domination of human by hurnan preceded the notion of dominating nature (Plumwood, 1993: 14-15).
This means that the liberation of humans must corne before the liberation of nature: that
humanhuman hierarchies must be eliminated "before we cm hope to achieve a tmly rationai,
ecologicai society" (Plumwood, 1993: 15). Russell and Bell ( 1992) argue that instead of
making this into yet another hierarchy, we shou!d be dealing with problems together. as a
package of sorts. But Bookchin sees politics as confined
to intra-human relationships, and his textual practice appears insensitive to the colonising politics of western humanhature relations .... [He] rarely mentions 'non- human' nature without attaching the word 'mere' to it (Plumwood, 1993: 15).
There is also a critique of social ecology's emphasis on the supremacy of reason and the
rejection of the spirituai side of human nature. The
Western humanist-enlightenment emphasis on reason found in social ecology is oppositional to spirituality, and maintains the traditional role of reason as the basis of human difference and identity. This has been the chief justification of human supenonty over nature (Ibid.: 15).
Deep ecology disagrees with this idea of human hierarchy and attempts to make a balance
between the spiritual being and the thinkinglcognitive actor: deep ecology expresses "a value
priority system only in part based on results of rationai scientific research" (Naess,
199 1 :246). Because poiitics is confined to intra-human relationships, social ecology tends to defend assumptions associated with the human coIonization of nature and certain foms of
intra-human hierarchy that draw on this. Second nature in social ecology is defined as a self- reflexive, a thinking nature that knows itself and cm guide its own evolution and this has a tendency to leave no room for any independence, difference and self-directedness on the part of first nature, making it impossible to represent conflicts of interest between rational 'second narural' and non-rational first-nature (Plumwood, 1993: 16).
Social ecology' s idea of strengthening local govemments and the "impetus towards
decentralisation" is supported by deep ecology (Naess, 199 1 :246). However, social ecology
does not go far enough as it merely tinkers with a flawed system. The entire governing
system itself must be re-worked to include an ecological value sense before rnere
decentralisation will be effective (Naess, 246).
Alternative Ideas for Edrrcation
Concerned with improving the quality of the interrelationships between people and
between people and the environment, social ecology can contribute much to environmental education work. Learning from a social ecology perspective is based upon
an integrated process that involves the whole person, including intellectual, moral, spiritual, emotional and aesthetic sensibilities within an environmental/cultural context [and] an interactive process where leamers actively participate (through inquiry, exploration and reflection) in making better sense of their experience (and in understanding their own learning) (White, 1992:66).
Social ecology also provides ideas for buiIding partnerships and alliances through a education lens. It argues that alliance building should not be seen simply as winning people over but as a tmly 'educative' experience constructed around the ideas of ecological sensi bility, ecological forms of organization, and ecological practices (Bookchin. 199 1 ).
Within a social ecology framework, the idea of the adult learner and the practitioner as
CO-learnersis highlighted. Learning too becomes a process of experiential learning that takes place outside the classroom, in the community at large. Social ecology also provides a framework that can help environmental educators engage people in more complete analyses 41 of advanced capitalist societies and how the social structures within these societies are antithetical to both humans and the rest of nature. Moreover, social ecology advocates stronger partnerships among groups and strengthening the role of civil society in governance and decision making. Within this framework, environmental educators cm reflect upon their own important roles as activists and agents in the processes of change.
Bioregionalism
Bioregionalisrn is from the Greek bios (life)and the French région (region), irself from the htin regia (territory) and earlier, regere (to rtrle or govern). Etyrnologically, bioregionalism means life terrirory, place of ive, or perhaps bu reckless extension, government by life. Jim Dodge. 19965
Bioregionalism is a new tem for an ancient animating cultural principle. Much of its new energy cmbe attributed to Canadians Judith and Chnstopher Plant. Bioregionalism is often described as a pattern of existence that revolves around living in place, closer to home. with and through the land. It calls for a paradigm shift from the industrio-scientific paradigm with its centralising and hegemonic tendencies to a bioregional paradigm that includes concepts such as conservation, decentralisation, stabil ity, cooperation, sel f-sufficiency, and diversity
(Sale, 1985). These are in fact "king practised al1 over the world though they are rarely referred to as such" (Diamond and Orenstein, IWO: 159).
There are a number of basic components of bioregionalism. The first is the importance it places on natural systems "both as the source of physical nutrition and as the body of metaphors from which our spirits draw sustenance" (Dodge, 1990:6). Second, bioregionalism is viewed as a social movement chat encompasses the concept of resistance. This "resistance involves a struggie between the bioregional forces (we [people] represent intelligence, excellence. and care) and the forces of heartlessness (who represent a greed so lifeless and
forsaken it can't even pass as ignorance)" (Plant. 1990: 1 1 ). Third, bioregionalism is based on
decentralisation and local control. This
decentralist, localist perspective ... appeals strongly to al1 those who reject the tendency to ever-increased centralisation, in both city and country. Whether it's restoring and greening city neighbourhoods, or 'reinhabiting' darnaged rural lands and making them flourish once again (Ibid~28).
Fourth, bioregionalism "honours and abets the spiritual development of its members" by
putting forward a framework of interconnection with the land and place (Ibid.: 10). Living
"within sustainable and ecological limits is only possible when people are connected
materially and spiritudly to the place where they Iive" (Thornashow, 1996%1). The fifth, is a
focus on the revaluing of home. As in social ecology, home is the locus of liberation from a
culture of violence because it is here where people realty have a mesure of control over the
creation of non-violent values. Sixth, bioregionalists support a view of the environment as a
collection of bioregions each possessing its own ecological integrity. A11 other political
divisions such as national borders are considered arbitrary and artitïcial. To live
'bioregionally' means to live within the Iimits of place and primarily with those things
provided by a place; It is a way of life that can be passed down from generation to generation
(Roussopoulos, 1993).
The basic chailenge for the field of education is not so much how to teach bioregionalism
as content, but how "to teach the intangibles of bioregional thought" (Calliou. 199572).
Bioregional awareness is not just about loving nature or wanting to be in harmony with Gaia.
Our relations to the natural world take place in a place, and they must be grounded in
information and experience" (Plant, 1990: 18). Bioreginalisrn is based on the idea of living on a scale that "that humans can reaily know and understand" and learning how to think small 43
scale (Prakash, 199452). Biogregionalism involves local people buying from and supponing
each other within "cultural spaces that belong to them and to which they belong" (Ibid.55).
Challenees
Accepting the fact that 'naturaï' regions have begun to give way in people's lives and consciousness tu functional (i.e. cultural) regions, we should resolve to take advantage of whatever potential these hold for developing an attitude of ecological and social responsibility. Donald Alexander, i 990: 172- 173
Just as with social ecology, the revaluing of women's roles, the home, and the idea of re-
integrating men into the home must be properly understood if bioregionalism is not to simply
repeat and reproduce unheaithy relations and dynamics (Gaard, 1993). The further we move
towards the notion of 'home'
the closer we get to what has traditionaily been thought of as 'women's sphere' that is, home and its close surroundings .... The catch is that, in practice, home with al1 its attendant roles, will not be anything different from what it has been throughout recent history without the enlightened perspective offered by feminism. Women's values, centred around life-giving, must be revalued, elevated from their once subordinate role (Plant, l990:82).
The appeal to community, in the form of neighbourhood unit, block or Street, or urban and
rural commune could be viewed as a form of anarchism based on the re-tribalization of
society (Pepper, 1993). Care needs to be taken or we could re-create the isolated communal
lifestyles of male control, the separated and alienated social organisation of the past and
present that prevailed for so long.
Another foreseeable problem is the fact that much of the population of Western countries
is now composed of peoples from a variety of countries and cultures whose cultural culinary practices depend upon products that cannot be grown in northern climates. 1 do not impIy here that people cannot adapt and change to suit their new environments. What 1 do caution is how we bhgabout that change. The change will only be effective and people will only leam to live in place with the resources available if their perspectives and needs are solicited rather than dictated from the tcp, as often found in bioregionalism.
Pepper ( 1993: 19 1) argues that a romanticism and 'apoliticism' mns through much of bioregionalism that is problematic. Ides such as 'sacred place' and 'earth bonding', as they are articulated in some bioregional beliefs, are often less
the inventions of displaced natures than the romantic contrivances of well-meaning outsiders. For the native peoples of the South-West [USA], the key to bioregional renewal lies not in the rommtic retum to 'sense of place', but rather in the stmggle to regain access and control over land and water rights that are expropriated by capital and the state through violence and politicalAega1 chicanery (Pena, l992:89).
Robinson (1983: 14) cautions that even though bioregions "do exist, one should be aware that they are human intellectual constructs." Alexander ( 1990: 169) also notes that the idea of a bioregion is complicated in that there are bioregions within bioregions that have distinct
"vegetation and ciimate zones, each of which have enorrnous impact on land-use patterns."
He believes that "although nature sets limits ... it does not dictate how we should treat one another, nor the kind of polity we should adopt" (Ibid.: 169).
There is also the risk of parochialism in the intense local focus of bioreginalism or what
Prakash ( 19945 1 ) refers to as "taking us back to the dark ages." At tirnes parochialism can lead to conservatism and intolerance for difference and change (Bandarage, 1998). In many
Western countries where racism is a reality and where diverse people from around the globe are continuing moving into 'bioregions', this could become problernatic.
There is also a certain naivete in bioregionalism. First in terms of its lack of attention to intense diversity for "not every bioregion would be likely to heed to the same "values of democracy, equality, liberty, freedom, justice and the like" (Pepper, 1993: 192). Second in 45 terms of the belief "that bioregionalism can unite The National Rifle Association hunter ... with the environmentalist" (Ibid.: L92).
There also appears to be a large complicated 'urban/privilege' denial inherent in bioreginalism as well as in deep ecology. Ln numerous articles for both of these philosophies, only large rural areas dotted by small towns with like-minded. well-meaning peoples are pictur~d.Naess ( l997:26) argues that
[i]t is true that deep ecology in the countryside is more easily possible, because it means that you have people in nature ... [but] if you present people with the possibilities [of a variety of jobs such as hunting, fishing, farming] and self- realisation, it's much bigger than the attraction of cities.
This seems to imply that people are in a position to leave the city and move to the country; that for many is simply not the case. There seem to be few ideas for stirnutating and encouraging a 'sense of place' in populous but particularly poor urban, multicultural areas.
1 also wonder what the implications of bioreginalism are around the issue of food in a multicultural society. In bioregionaiism al1 food must be grown locally. However. one fundamental of Indian curry and many Thai recipes is coconut milk - from a tree that does not and will not (global wming not-with-standing) grow in Canada. Does bioregionalism mean that we would have to dictate changes in diet or limit social diversity'? Or would bioregionaiism be open to a combination of organic farms and green or hot houses capable of producing diverse foods? To date 1 have found no satisfactory responses to these questions in the l i terature.
A liernative Ideas for Education
In spite of its difficulties, bioregionalism too has much to offer in terms of learning in place. A bioregional focus in environmental education would be based on leaming to becorne natural to place. fitting ourselves to a particular place, not fitting a place to our predetermined tastes. But becoming native to a place - leaming to live in it on a sustainable basis over time - is not just a matter of appropriate technology. home grown food, or even 'reinhabiting* the city. It has much to do with a shift in morality, in the attitudes and behaviours of human beings (Diarnond and Orenstein. 1 990: 1 59).
Bioregionalism cm enrich pedagogical practice through its support for interactive learning processes that use "the natural area of the iearner to aid direct contact and communication and improve sensory knowledge, This demands that a lot more of school education takes place out-of-doors and a lot more of the out-of-doors gets into the classroom
(Callilou, 1995:70). The use of the rest of nature helps the learner identify with her or his ecologicd identity that refers to the feelings and relationships people develop with landscapes and how they identify with nature in the process. And by discovering
the place where you live, seeing the patterns in the Iandscape, understanding how the land changes and how humans live on the land, recognising that humans share the land with other species, conceptualizing an ecological neighbourhood - these learning activities directly expand your circles of identification (Thomashow, 1996:62).
Because the bioregional framework is rooted in the politics of place, it asks people to notice where things corne from, how the basic patterns of everyday life are embedded in an ecological web:
When you shop at a supermarket or drive your car, or use appliances, you are likely to forget that al1 of the commodities you use are extracted frorn nature, and have an ecological and social impact. Where did the kiwi fruit corne from? (Ibid.:6 1 ).
Bioregionalism is not just environmental education but teaching ways to
legitimate and formalise appropriate socio-cultural lifestyles which foster 'understanding activities' and evolving social behaviour that will enrich the Iife of that place, restore its life-supporting systems and establish an ecologically and socially sustainable pattern of existence within it (Andruss et al., 1990:35). 47
It can also "provide teachers with a way to focus dialogue about becoming empowered to live
an ecologically responsible [way of life] and empowering learners to also do so" (Callilou,
1995:70).
Bioregionalism also places a strong emphasis on community development and therefore promotes the idea of learning around such things as the creation of community pardens and community-shared agriculture (see for example, Callilou, 1995; Prakash, 1994). This could result in weaving together more adult learning with that of children through engaged activities within the community.
Ecofeminism
There are four basic principles which are contmon to [ecofeminism]. These principles emphasize 'holism '. interdependence, equaiiiy and process. Katherine Davies. 1988:4
The term 'ecofeminisrne' was coined by French feminist psychologist Francoise d'Eaubonne in 1974. Ecofeminism represents the potential women have to bring about an ecological revolution that will better ensure continued survival on the planet (d'Eaubonne,
1980). Like bioregionalism, it is "a new word for an ancient wisdom," an ecological wisdom informed by and evolved from various fields of feminist inquiry and "activism such as the peace, labour, health, anti-nuclear and environmental movements" of the late 1970s and early
1 980s (Mies and Shiva, 1993: 13).
Ecofeminism is an umbrella term for "forthright attempts to weave feminism and environmentalism" as a means to articulate a feminist ecological ethic that goes beyond the concept of social justice alone, "re-weaving new stories that acknowledge and value the biological and cultural diversity that sustains al1 life" (Diamond and Orenstien, 1990: xi). The 48 idea is not "that women have a 'mission' to Save the worid from ecologicai disaster" or for a
"female self-sacrifice in the male-led cause of ecology," but to weave the progressive ideas of feminist thought, deep ecology, bioregionalism, and social ecoiogy to create a renewed feminist, life-centred, holistic, socio-political analysis of this contemporary crisis (Daly.
1 978:2 1 ). Ecofeminism operates on the theory that "the ideologies which authorise injustices based on gender, race, and class are related to the ideologies that sanction the exploitation and degradation of the environment" (S turgeon, 1997:X).
WhiIe feminism chailenged the notion of power, suggesting that power is usually defined as 'power-over', specifically the ability to get sorneone to do what you want, ecofeminism includes the idea that 'power' is defined and measured in terms of the control of life- processes and resources. For "understanding the roots of the global ecological crisis rneans understanding power: those who have it and those who don't and what that means not only in tenns of social justice, but also to planetary survival" (Hausler, 1993:84). The ecoferninist concept of power is thus "based on an understanding of the fundamental equality of al1 people, as beings experiencing the sarne basic life-processes of birth, growth. decay and death and the same basic survival needs for food, shelter and love" (Bandarage, 1997:3 18).
Linking feminism and ecology broadens and deepens the theme of the conquest of nature by focussing on the basis of such an approach to nature in patriarchal modes of thought and action. The metaphors of conquest, mastery, and invasion abound with respect to women and nature particularly in Western culture. In ecofeminism there is an explicit confrontation with the structures of maie domination and a dismantling of hierarchical dualism vis-à-vis women and the rest of nature.
From the perspective of women engaged in survival struggles which are simultaneously, struggles for the protection of nature, women and nature are intimately Iinked. The women's and ecology movements are therefore one and are primarily counter-trends to patriarchal dominance .... Their ecological struggles are aimed simultaneously at iiberating nature from ceaseless exploitation and themselves from limitless marginalisation" (Lechte, 1993: 13).
Ecofeminists such as Valerie Plumwood (1994:8) argue that one of the essential features of an ecological feminism is that it gives "positive value to a connection of women with nature" rather than allowing them to be a grounding for women's devaiuation and oppression.
The key
to the historic agency of women with r~spectto nature/culture dualism lies in the fact that mediating traditional conversion activities of women - mothering, cooking, healing, farming, foraging - are as social as they are natural (King, 198 1 :42).
There is dso a strong sense in ecofeminism that the "crisis that threatens the destruction of the Earth is not only social, political, economic, and technological, but is at root spiritual"
(Christ, 1WO:S8). The
emphasis on 'spirituality' lies in the rediscovery of the sacredness of life, according to which life on earth can be preserved only if people again begin to perceive al1 life forms as sacred and respect them as such. This quality is ... located in ... everyday life. in Our work, the things that surround us, in Our immanence. And from time to time there should be celebrations of this sacredness in rituals, in dance and in Song (Mies and Shiva, 1993: 17- 18).
For many women in the South who are fighting for the conservation of their survival base,
"the spirituai element is the icing-on-the cake" (Ibid.: 19). For them, spirituality is "rooted in the everyday subsistence production of most of the wor!dVswornen" (Ibid.: 19). For people- of-colour involved in environmental struggles "spirituality is encouraged." It is seen as empowering and is expressed in a multiplicity of ways that range from the worship of a transcendent God to observance of Far Eastern religious rites or the traditional ceremonies and rites of Native people (Warren, 1998). Margot Adler (1989: 15 1) argues that many
women are Iooking at the myths of the ancient Goddesses and seeking insights from the fragments of ancient traditions. Sometimes working within established church communities, sometimes creating their own, women have created a body of lote, songs, chants, and rituai techniques - some of sparkling originality.
This spiritual dimension of ecofeminism profoundly challenges our ordinq sense of value.
And it is the 'values' of our society that aise from (and feed into) present-day ideologies that are also to blame for the ecological crisis. If people do not begin to examine their vatues and ethics and link them to our political struggles, fundamental change will simply not occur
(Plant, 1989).
Spirituality can dso be a basis for political action (Allen, 1986:69). A certain strength from a 'spiritual' relationship to the rest of nature is what helps many Native women in their struggle for change: "a center of consciousness that can heip us in our efforts to stop the destruction of ail that is and wants to be" (Ibid.:69). In the streets we see
that the supposed antagonism between active politicai resistance and spiritual passivity does not seem to hold. Indeed, individuals who have ken inspired and motivated by their beliefs in Earth-based spirituality have often been some of the most active defenders of the planet. Thus it would seem that narratives that deny or ignore the spiritual threads of ecofeminism fail to acknowledge some of its most creative features (Diamond and Kuppler, 1!NO:%).
Another fundamental of ecofeminism is a poiiticised ethic of care, a feminine principle that is iife-centred and focuses on transformation for humans as well as al1 other living things. Miles (1996: 136) argues that the main association of women and nature is "in creativity and the maintenance of life [and] provides new categories of thought and new exploratory directions." This "upholds women's capacity to bear and nurture life as a form of power, encouraging men to develop the qualities of nurturance and caring as well"
(Bandarage, l998:3 19).
Ecofeminism also, as Vandana Shiva (1989:224) notes, challenges the ability to name what constitutes ecological knowledge: "centrai shifts in thinking that are being induced by wornen's ecological stmggles relate to economic and intellectud worth. The latter relates to our understanding of what constitutes knowledge, and who the knowers and producers of intellectual knowledge are." In terms of resource management many women have a background of experience
that provides them with a knowledge base and an outlook critical to promoting secure livelihoods. As the primary collectors of food and fuel in the South, as well as being strong political activists, women have developed skills and knowledge of natural resource management that cm be built upon (Dankelman, 1988: 173).
Ecofeminism also engages in a critique of dualism, faIse dichotomies constructed in order to maintain power. To the list of North over South, rich over poor, scientific knowledge over traditional ways of knowing or popular knowledge. one race over another, and men over women it adds humans (and particuIarly men) over nature and what this does to the planet as a whole (Shiva, 1989). The task of ecofeminism is to forge a genuinely antidualistic or dialectic theory and practice that no previous feminism has adequately addressed until the development of ecofeminism (King, 198 1). It is the embodied woman as social historical agent, rather than as a product of natural law, who is the subject of much ecofeminism. And the domination of nature originates in society and therefore must be resolved in society.
Because the rest of nature
is not just a natural fact to which we can 'return' by rejecting human culture. Nature is a product not only of natural evolution but of human historical development. It partakes of the evils and distortions of human development. There is virtually no place on the planet where one cm go to find 'nature' untouched by human hands. Even if humans have not been there before, their influence has ken carried by winds, water, and soil, birds, insects, and animals, who bear within their beings the poisoning effects of human rapine of the globe (Radford Reuther, 1989: 149).
Ecofeminism challenges the dominant development growth paradigrn from an ecologicd perspective. Mies and Shiva ( 199357-58) argue that "virtually al1 development strategies are based on the explicit or implicit assumption that the mode1 of 'the good life' is that prevailing in affluent societies of the North." The 'good Iife' upholds the idea of "no limits to the planet's resources, no limits to technologicd progress, no limits to space, to growth." This maldevelopment, as it has ken coined by Vandana Shiva,
is the violation of the integrity of organic, interconnected, interdependent systems that set in motion a process of exploitation, inequality, injustice and violence. It is blind to the fact that a recognition of nature's harmony and action to maintain it are preconditions for distributive justice (Shiva, 1989:84).
Like deep ecology, ecofeminism argues that everything in nature should be viewed as having intrinsic value. This reverence for and empathy with al1 life forms is an essential element of social transformation. We need to recognise and appreciate ourselves as physical beings, developing a conception "of human nature informed by a nonpatriarchal conception of the interconnections between humans and non-human nature" (Davies, 1987:67). Because the transformation required in the world today "is not simply an intellectual one; it is prirnariiy a shift of the human heart: from ignorance, greed and hatred towards wisdom. generosi ty and compassion" (Bandarage, 1997:3 19).
CIzullen aes
One critique of ecofeminism is that it takes away from the feminist movement:
The term 'ecofeminisrn' is an insult to the women who put thernselves on the line, nsked public disapproval, risked even violence and jail. Feminism has always been actively involved in the peace movement, in the antinuclear movement, and in the environmental protection movement. Feminism is what helped teach us that the Iink between the political and industrial included the military and was a danger to al1 life on the planet. To separate ecology from feminism is to try to separate the heart from the head (Cameron, 1989: 18).
Karen Green (1994: 134) gives the exarnple of feminist Mary Wollstonecraft to illustrate past
'nature' consciousness. She notes that despite Wollstonecraft's insistence that it is reason that
"elevates humans above the 'brutes' and which makes us capable of being moral," she "also 53 felt strongly about the rights of an independent nature" and through her writings, designed stories "to teach children to care for wild things" and was an early advocate of animal rights.
Essentiaiisrn is another critique levelled at ecofeminism. Sturgeon ( 1997: 1 t 5) argues that it "unproblematically connects women with nature assurning a universal, essential feminine identity constnicted out of bioIogicai femaleness that exists cross-culturally and across racial and class structures." It also assumes that women are by nature more nurturing and therefore better equipped to Save the planet (lbid.). But negotiating the nature/nurture or biological deterrninism terrain has always been dificult for feminists largely because women have nearIy always lost in the cornparison. This blatant dualist ideology relegated reproduction and reproductive work to semi-human status, to the category of 'other' and associated women with nature and men with culture that worked to assist the subordination of women (for exarnples see Ortner, 1972; Sydie, 1994).
Melody Hessing ( 1993: 18) cautions that the nunuring/caring position of ecofeminisrn couId inean that the burden of househoid change would fa11 heavily upon women's shoulders since it is 'household' waste that many see as causing much of the problem. Women will be called upon to implement even more "recycling techniques, constructing compost bins and doing laundry with phosphate-free detergents." They will be expected to buy 'greener' products and use 'greener' practices, whether they have the time and/or funds or not. And if drastic environmental changes do not soon become apparent, "women will take the blame."
Others charge that the 'spiritual' dimension of ecofeminism is problernatic, particularly in the form of goddess worship that is seen as "an inward-turning, self-nurturing goal" and ultimately apoliticai (Quinby, 1990: 126). Janet Biehl ( 199 1 :55) States that: Especially in our present society - a society glutted with myths and tinsel images - we must seriously question the use of myth in alternative political movements. Myth cannot fight myth. Ruling classes have always encouraged confusions between illusion and reality in underclasses. The fact is that whether a goddess was worshipped in prehistory or not, she was an illusion then and she is an illusion now.
Seager (1993:25 1-252) also feels that this 'spiritual' focus in ecofeminism is where it "fails
most sharply." She argues that
[despite] the many ecofeminists who do not faIl into this trap, there is a strong apolitical, acultural and ahistorical undercurrent to ecoferninism that is especially limiting. Environmental destruction takes place in a political and politicized context. Environrnentalism must remain a political movement. Such a movement, while it should certainly be concerned with the psychic well-being of i ts supporters, should not exist pnmarily to rninister to their personal needs ... ministrations of personal psychic well-being do not translate into platforms of political change (Ibid.:252).
Alternative Ideas for Education
Ecofeminism challenges environment educators to develop a theory and practice that
includes the interests of women and others who have been marginalised (including the rest of
nature) and heIps to more clearly understand the world in terrns of exploitation. Bringing a
feminist perspective to environmental education means getting doser to
a more complete analysis of environmental problems and therefore, provide a better understanding of problems and their potential solutions. Such an analysis is political, in that it examines how power relations ... shape the world in which we live; it asserts that the olity (human social world) determines and controls how this social worId is and has been socidly constructed and organised, and hence refutes the myth that the past and present state of the world is a 'natural and therefore justifiable progression (Di Chiro, 1987:40).
Educating from an ecofeminist standpoint means understanding that women's empowerment depends upon a general shift towards life-centred values and social organization and at the same time this shift requires the empowerment of women. The values most closely associated with women (although it is not always the case) such as comrnunity and caring must rise to the centre and be a key principle. If education teaches people ways of knowing, then ecofeminism as education is concerned with validating a different way of knowing beyond male-identified experiences.
An ecofeminist perspective in environmental adult education wouId assume that humans as an interconnected part of nature have knowledge about themselves that is very different from scientific, rational, book knowledge. Ecofeminism would assist environmental educators in their efforts to vaiidate this way of knowing and being in the world. It assumes that humans are an interconnected part of nature and have knowledge and wisdom about thernselves that cornes from this connection to the land. Within an ecofeminist framework. people would be encouraged to see and nurture their communities and the world as a numbet of diverse but interconnected forms of life.
Ecofeminism also "refutes the myth that the past and present state of the world is a
'natural' and therefore justifiable progression" (Di Chiro. l987:4O). Economic deveioprnent, consumerism, and inequity are not natural systems but humanly created and that means people can change them. Environmental education can therefore be a space where people can dare to dream of alternatives and feel more empowered to put those alternatives into action.
Ecofeminism also approaches environmental issues from a more social than indiviciualistic perspective, recasting the question of the rest of nature in terms that reflect people's daily-lived realities and identities. By doing so, it provides a valuable way for adult educators to explore the connections between ecology and social justice, between our daily
Iives and the world around us in far more than just 'productive' terms that means it transcends the limitations of much social theory. Chapter Three Educational Responses to Global Environment and Sustainability Concerm
Introduction
... there being an important link between the 'qrtalis. of the environment' and the 'qttality of education '. Keith Wheeler, 1982: 10
Conternporary environmental problems have aiso stimulated educators to examine their own field and its means to respond. In doing so, many began to question the very fundamentais and intentions of modem day education and in particular, environmental education, arguing that they too were part of the problem, for the dominant modem education paradigm appeared to serve predominantly to perpetuate or reproduce existi ng social relationships and attitudes that represented the values and interests of those who hoId the material and syrnbolic wealth of a society (McLaren, 1994). Its very design appeared to be geared towards the control and exploitation of the rest of nature in the process of building the market economy and tailoring students to fit into that process (see for examples. Hicks and
Holden, 1995; McLaren, 1994; Orr, 1992; Smyth, 1995). Given this, Edmund O'Sullivan argues that "it should not be surprising that our society's present direction aligns itself with programmes that inhibit human-earth relationships" (forthcoming 1999). Therefore. if environmental education was to play a critical role in bringing about socio-environmental change, new frameworks more responsive to broader contemporary needs would need to be developed. Education for sustainability, global education, and humane education are three such new educational frameworks to emerge. 57
This chapter begins with a broad examination of some of the problematic and positive
attributes of mainstrearn or traditionai environmental and outdoor education. Although there
are other educational frarneworks addressing some of these issues, such as peace education
and education for sustainable development, this chapter examines education for sustainability
(EFS), global education (GE) and humane education (HE). These umbrella theories of
cornpulsory education provide important ideas on the content, context, role, purpose. and
principles of Iearning from which the nascent area of environmental adult education can
draw.
The Problematic of Maïnstream Environmental Education
Environmental edrrcation is considered to be more concerned wirh observarion, identification, of relationships, evaluations and appropriate foms of action, thun with the assembly of theoretical knowledge from contributory subject areus. John Smyth. 1977: 103
The first problem is the assumption that environmental education began in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. What this does is ignores "abonginal cultures whose environmental education foundations explicitly located the beginnings of their practice since t ime
immemorial" (Sheridan et al., 1998294). No discussion of the future of environmentai education is complete without a discussion of this very important past (Ibid.).
Another problem cited by critics of conventional environmental education such as Fien
( l993), Orr (1 992 & I993), and Smyth ( 1995) is its narrow focus on the need to help conserve and protect wilderness areas at the expense of those who live there. Wilderness is to be conserved and protected as parkland or for sport hunting, a practice that is often at odds with the lifestyles and needs of Native peoples and/or those who rely on these areas for their livelihood and well-being. included in this is the parochial focus on 'resource management'. 58
Most often environmental education programmes aim solely at creating "good natural resource management practices" for the globai econorny that strips al1 value from the rest of nature, Save its economic one (Orr, 1992). Although wilderness protection and resource management are important, the pedagogy does not take into account other contexts. dimensions, and needs-
A third critique by environmental educators such as Gough (1 9921, Smyth ( 1995), and
Tilbury ( 1 995) is that environmentaIly-focussededucation tended to be informed pt-imarïly by mechanistic, positivist, empirical, and rationalistic science and continues to be so even today.
Many of the world's physical scientists insist that Nature speriks only in a language of quantity and mathematics rather than in an organic way (Rowe. 1990). Learning about the rest of nature became highly scientific, expert driven. It was also based on notions of difference, as humans different to and therefore superior to, of competition, survival of the fittest and competing for space and food and power, the need to control the rest of nature in order to suit human needs. Although this fonn of education is very good at teaching about the objective fundamentals of the biosphere it bas been unable to develop "a new perception of
Our own role and responsibilities in and for the biosphere" (Gough, 1992: i 1 8 j.
Fundamentally it "is il!-equipped to cope with aspects of experience that are un-rneasurable such as values, emotions and feetings because there is no convertible evidence of them in a test tube" (Rowe, 199O:89).
A founh critique that flows from the above is that some environmental education approaches tend to reproduce those of traditional education: one teacher, in this case the scientific expert, and the learners. What the nanird world has to offer is seen as useful only when filtered through the scientific expert (Smyth, 1995)- In fact, the highIy scientific nature 59 of instruction means that it has to be expert driven and devoted to covering the subject matter rather than uncovering "the materials king studied (Hmmerman and Hammerman.
Another major weakness of environmental education is seen to be its predominantly apoliticai and behaviourist stance. Environmental problems are frarned as 'individual' problems that can be rectified by changing personal behaviours. It is simpler to frame the probIem of existing environmental crises around sole responsibility of the individual to change behaviour rather than analyse political systems and ideoiogies at their root. But the belief "that we cm change behaviour by making human beings more knowledgeable about the environment and its associated issues" and this knowledge in turn will motivate them to act towards the environment in more resporisible ways, is simply untrue (Hungerford and
Volk, 1990:9). Research "into environmental behaviour, unfortunately, does not bear out the validity of these linear models of changing behaviour" (Ibid.:9). The problem and the sotution are much more complicated than that. This means that purely
[slcientific understanding is not going to change our habits or give us the political will to change our life - even the hard facts which teIl us we should not do this or that. do not actually persuade people as much as spiritual experience can. You have to reach the hearts of the people (Deri and Cooper, 1993: 14).
Another important critique is that much mainstream environmental education (and further discussions in this chapter indicate that it continues today even in the more progressive of educations) does not include an analysis of gender. in fact, this fundamental social relationship is an almost completely
neglected area in environmental education cumculum and policy. Di Chiro ... notes that a computer search of the descriptors 'feminism' and 'environmental education' in ERIC yielded only two articles: one by herself ... and one by [Ariel] Salleh (Gough, 1992: 122- 123). In April of 1997, before leaving for India, 1 also engaged in my own search of the library system at the University of Toronto and the Metro Toronto Reference library using the same descriptors. There is now an additional article by me fisted from the journal Gender and
Education (7,3). Clearly insufficient efforts are put into developing environmental education that includes the interests of women, reflect the issue of unequal power relations between men and women that have shaped this world. or the disproportionate ways in which environmental deterioration worldwide affects the lives of women. Women, however. do corne up as a category when dealing with issues such as 'consumensm', often reaping much of the blame for this behavioural problem in society (Seager, 1993; Rodda, 199 1 ). A feminist view of environmental education begins with the importance of personal subjective experience in understanding the social world and goes on to offer a broader analysis of environmental problems and, therefore, a better understanding of those problems and their solutions (Gough, 1992; Di Chiro, 1987). Selby (forthcoming) agrees that mainstream environmental education has ... been blinkered in terms of gender but also in terms of class and race/ethnicity.
Final critiques of environrnental education that will be mentioned here focus on courses and materials. Although they do not actually critique environmental education or courses and materials, Seiby and Pike (1988) offer creative alternatives to weaving broader global perspectives on socio-environmental issues across disciplines such as religious studies. the humanities, languages and communications, math, science, biology, and chemistry. Selby
(forthcoming) also argues that in terms of educational materials "there is a prevailing outer- directedness (individuals looking out on the world) and insuficient emphasis upon people's
'inner-ecology' . 6 1
Annette Gough ( 1992: 124) critiques many educational resources for being too focussed
"on individual action; and while there is general agreement that we ail need to do the things
recommended in the manuals we also need to do more." She goes on to say that although
many materials introduce the concepts of 'reduce, recycle and re-use*, they do "not introduce
us to the other Rs: reconstruction or redirection for society" (or the redetïnition of gender
relations 1 would add), that are "definitely what we should be discovenng." The materials do
not encourage the reader to
lobby manufactures about removing their packaging or question why a particular government does not work with manufactures to reduce this packaging instead of producing booklets which tell us to put less in our rubbish bins (Ibid.: 124- 125).
Linked to this is the fact that "there is a great lack of pedagogically sound environmental
education materials suitable for the general education of adults" (Burch. 19945). Although
there is a substantial and growing arnount of literature and other materials on how to educate youth and children in institutionalized settings such as schools and even camps. much less attention has been given to developing resource materials to work with adults. And what is problematic about trying to adapt materials originally designed for children is that "they are often not well received by adults" (Ibid.5).
The Strengths of Environmental Education
TIrere is rnystery in a full moon, in a full moon fully eclipsed.
There is also an acknowledgement of inherent strengths in environmental and outdoor education. These strengths aise from the fundamental premises that we need to develop a better understanding and appreciation for the rest of nature, and this can best be done through involved engagement in a more sensual or sensory nature through the use of the outdoors.
The rest of nature has been viewed as a rich pedagogical cornmunity resource of individual and social learning. For as Cohen (1989) notes "in order to be a part of a life system, any entity, human beings included, must in some way be in communication with that system."
In 1945, Edward Olsen enumerated the value of field trips in "providing for personal experiences which are real, concrete, dramatic and hence. highly educative" (Harnmerman and Harnmerman, 1973:3). Leming in the outdoors has helped students to recognize and respect the vital function, beauty, rights, and pedagogica1 importance of the natural world, communicating an understanding of the interconnectedness of everything, the intrïnsic value of the rest of nature. and human's place within the larger scheme of things (Ibid.: 1973). It has provided a "way back to an understanding of and appreciation for those forms of knowledge that reconnect us with our habitat in long-term sustaining relationships" (Bowers, 199 1 : 106).
Educator and wilderness walker John Hurst (1975) believes that much cm be learned about the power and fragility of al1 of nature. including humans, from studying with and through nature. He teaches that connecting with nature is a powerful process of reflection on emerging meanings:
[tlhe awesome and powerful state of being at one with nature, a part yet apart from it. is rarely, if ever, instantaneous; but rather the result of corning to know, to understand through intensive and extensive experience freely and openly reflected upon (Ibid.: 1 ).
Through experiential outdoor environmental education "one cm attain a sense of harmony within one's self, and with the environment one is in" (Ibid.:7). Stimulating the senses and the emotions or what is now often referred to as 'embodied learning' stimulates new knowledge. For understanding can flow from feelings and senses as much as from dialogue and scientific facts (Den and Cooper, 1995). 63
Another important aspect of environmental education is its use of storytelling. As Karanja et al. (forthcoming) note in both past and present in many parts of Africa "knowledge about the care of the environment is passed on to new generations through stories and ritual. Some communities also used poetry as a rneans of conveying knowledge about animals and plants."
Even at children's camps the telling of stories about animals, the forest, about relationships to the rest of nature has been an important aspect of the overall nature experience (Cohen.
1989).
Finally, although this is seidom acknowledged, there has at times been a more political focus to outdoor/environmentaI education. For example. in 1973 Hammerman and
Hamrnerman ( 1973:9). wrote that "one of the general goals of environmental education is to show that the conditions created by man [sic] through his social. econornic, and technologicai systems have the proven capability of drasticaliy aitering the delicate bioiogical cornmunity."
Teaching in the outdoors at times went beyond using the senses and discovering its beauty to discussions about the human impact on the environment. For example. the Toronto Field
Naturalists society in 1949 used a fidd trip aiong the banks of the Humber River in Toronto to draw its members' attention to the unnecessary destruction of natural green spaces and pollution due to waste disposal. Members were then asked to write to local politicians about the disruptions and pollution this activity was causing (Saunders, 1965).
Education for Sustainability
... srrstainability will require u reduction in consurnption in wecrlthv socirries cmd changes in the kinds of things consumed. David Orr. 1 W4:62 64
Since few if any models of a completely sustainable community actuaily exist today and
there are no guidelines or books that students and teachers can rely upon, processes of
leaning and teaching that generate ideas about living sustainably need to be developed (Fien,
1993). One such educational current is education for sustainability (EFS),developed primarily by British educators Stephen Sterling and John Huckle, and Australian educators
John Fien and Ted Trainer. The fundamental characteristics of this educational philosophy include innovation, infusion, hotism, integration, process, criticalness, balance, connectivity, ethics, purpose, and inclusion (Sterf ing, 1997).
EFS integrates personal transformation ideas found in liberal environmental education with the structural/social transformation ideas of critical education (Fien, 1993). From a liberal perspective, EFS seeks to make the learning relevant to the student "through increasing their understanding of themselves and the world around them. It [encourages] pupils to explore Links between their personal Iives and wider environmental issues" (Tilbury,
1995: 199). From a critical perspective it teaches the politics of sustainability and a radical cuItural shift of world view: "a fundamental rethinking of most patterns of human activity, which integrates ecological sustainability with social justice, and which sees sustainability as a promising metaphor for an historic and necessary structural and personal transformation"
(Sterling, 1996: 18). Environmental problems are not biological or natural but are rather the result of human actions; in particular the "imperative for economic growth and profit that is characteristic of the global capitalist system [that] leads to overproduction and over- consumption in the economically rich countries of the North and exploitation and poverty in the South" (Fien, 1993: 17). Through a critical framework, students lem to analyse fundamental questions about these economic growth paradipms promoted by ideoiogies and 65 structures of power. The criticail liberal focus "helps educate from a body politic comprised of people able to act to maintain the best of what we have, to challenge the unsustainable, and to build the desirable" (Hoepper, 1993:36).
EFS includes the concepts of education through or in the environment, education about the environment, and education for the environment (Gough, 1992: Fien, 1993). Education through or in the environment means using the "student's experiences in the environment as a medium for education" (Fien and Turner, 1993: 1 5). This leamer-centred approach aims "to add reality, relevance and practicai experience to learning, and to provide students with an appreciation of the environment through direct contact with it" (Ibid.: 15). Education about the environment "emphasises knowledge about natural systems and processes and the ecological, economic, and political factors that influence decisions about how people use the environment" (Ibid.: 15). Education for the environment is "based upon an integration of international trends in environmental education and developments in critical curriculum theorizing and critical pedagogy- It provides for a socially critical or transfomative orientation in environmental education and, as such, is not value free" (Ibid.: 14). It carries
an overt agenda of values education ... [that] aims to engage students in the exploration and resolution of environmental issues in order to foster the values of a New Environmental Paradigrn and to prornote lifestyles that are compatible with the sustainable and equitable use of resources (Ibid.: 16).
Some EFS educators question the idea of sustainable development as a basis for educational programmes arguing that it should not be confused with sustainability because it does not offer an alternative vision but is simply a continuation of economic development and capitalism with a slightly green tinge (for example, see Huckle and Sterling, 1995).
EFS promotes the use of creative processes of learning such as photo de-construction, role playing, CO-researchand investigation and envisioning the future (futuring) that help the teacher to "translate local experience, issues and actions into learning programmes" and stimulate maximum potential and participation (ibid.: 145).
John Fien (1997:2) argues that in order to reorient learning and teaching towards sustainability, it must, just as human society and natural systems do, "operate within an ecoIogy of mutual support." This ecology
integrates not only human society and natural systems but also al1 aspects of the teaching and learning processes - socid visions. aims and objectives, content. pedagogy, resources and assessment. It is not possible to change one without impacting on the others - and the problem of cumculum reform is that this is exactIy what we try to do: new resource kits, new content themes. and so on. However, this leads only to first order or ineffective change (ibid.2).
To achieve what Cuban (1988) calls second order change educators will need to recognize the ecology of teaching and learning.
Hart ( 1990) advocates 'reflection-in-action' as a concept for reconstructing teacher education for sustainability. It is "founded in eiements of critical theory and reflective teaching but ultimately grounded in a worldview of pra,patic reconstructionism" (Ibid.: 14)
He has identified a range of parallels between ecology and educating teachers environmentalIy, as reflective practitioners:
a reflection-in-action perspective on teacher education places emphasis on educational aims and consequences as well as the technical skills of teaching. Teachers (and teacher educators) are encouraged to consider ethical and value-based issues and this facilitates environmental education goals. Teachers (and teacher educators) are also encouraged to contribute to the formulation of policy at classroom. locai, and national levels thus acknowledging the political nature of human interpretations of the ecological process of change (Jbid.: 14).
EFS teacher education programmes that are based on a reflection-in-action paradigm emphasize a process model of education where teachers (and teacher educators) monitor and evaluate their own practice reflexively, that is, an action research model, a cyclical process in which teacher 'action-reflection-improved action' is seen as a dialectic between theory and practice.
Some educators who work under the auspices of EFS, such as Howson and Clerisby
( 1996: 149). focus on the importance of media "in any transition to a more sustainable society." For the media, with al1 their diverse aspects, play a key role in shaping how people view the world. Given this, they argue that there is "a strong educational argument for providing [young people] with the tools necessary to deconstruct media messages"
(Ibid.: 152). Critical media education must help students to understand things such as the fact that messages in the media do "not simply reflect or replicate the world but rather are shaped by values and competing interests. Moreover. cri tical media education must hel p students to understand differences in programmes such as "what constitutes campaigning and advertising" (lbid.: 153).
Based on the philosophy that "education is a process not a place." some British educators have sought to apply the philosophy of EFS to community education (Fagart, 1996: 147).
Cornmunity education is seen as a facilitator/cIient reiationship of working for change.
Challenges
Implicit in the word 'for' is a necessary anthropocentrisrn. Noel Gough, 198750
A pnmary weakness of EFS. as with many other contemporary forms of environmental education, is the lack of a feministlecoferninist perspective (Gough, 1992 & 1993). En fact, terms such as 'feminism' and 'ecofeminism' are seidom if ever incorporated into the literature and 'gender' is only referred to when stringing out lists of oppressions. One reason for this. argues Annette Gough (1993),is that the key founders of the educational 68
philosophies from which EFS draws were men: "Peter Fensham, Russell Linke and Arthur
Lucas from Australia and Harold Hungerford, Bob Roth and Bill Stapp from the USA"
(Gough, 1997:45). Moreover, the vast majority of contemporary advocates and writers in the
field continue to be primarily male, although not exclusively for Melody Hessing is an
example of a feminist writing in the field (1993). Although being male does not mean that a
feminist perspective could not be included, it is not however the case with the vast majority
of male writings on the subject (Gough, 1992). And even when a feminist perspective is
included, it is sornetimes highly problematic.
One example of this 'highly problematic' is clexly evident in an article by Peter
Corcoran and Eric Sievers ( 1994) in which they demonstrate how little they understand
feminist theory (that they suggest in the pretàce). They say that ecofeminisrn celebrates the
prima1 fecundity of the reproductive process and women's intuitive capabiiities. that they
argue is at odds with feminist theory (Ibid.:20), This is an irnproper analysis of whrit the vast
majority of ferninist literature refers to as biological make-up. Patriarchy has used women's biological make-up (e-g., weaker, should stay at home, irrational) as cause for oppression, and it is that which feminist theory attempts to address. Objectifying women's bodies through
magazines, clothing, etc. is dso under the analytical/critical microscope. In fact. most
feminist research has focussed on helping women to re-estabiish a relationship with their own bodies and celebrate being women physically, for example, changing attitudes and vocabulary around menstruation to that of a natural cleansing force rather than a curse (see for example, Chan, 1996).
A second critique is that there is little focus in EFS on the 'spiritual' or what global educators such as Grieg, Pike, and Selby ( 1987) refer to as the 'inner' dimension. The critical and political focus of EFS is cmcial, but it neglects other, perhaps less tangible dimensions of
the human-Earth crisis, such as what Thomas Berry refers to as the awesome mystery of
things (1988) or the idea of inscape (for example, see Orr, 1992). Selby (1992) concurs with
this and argues that any "integrating education framework that would contribute to the
resolution of the myriad environmental and social problems we face [must give] space to
inner journeying." Quoting Roszak (1992:47), Selby suggests that for environmental
education to be most useful, it must be a tool to help young people to understand that
What the Earth requires wifl have to make itself felt within us as if it were Our own most private desire. Facts and figures, reason and logic can show us the errors of our present ways; they cm delineate the risks we mn. But they cannot motivate. they cannot teach a better way to live, a better way to want to live [emphasis in original] (ibid.).
Although fundamental, the political focus is only one aspect of a human's world.
in the 1960s and 1970s Brazilian adult educator Paulo Freire strongly suggested that "a pedagogy must be forged with, not for, the oppressed" (Freire, 1970:33). if we are to look at the environment in the queue of oppressions, then education 'for' wouId "imply a valuer who is external to the environment and who is capable of deterrnining and doing what is good for the environment" just as an education for the oppressed would do (Gough, l987:5O). Noel
Gough (Ibid.50) argues that
apart from being patronising and anthropocentric (who are we to say what is 'good for' the environment, and which environment is 'the environment', anyway?). this slogan maintains the sorts of distinctions that tend to work against a deeply ecological world view - distinctions between subject and object, education and environment, learner and teacher.
Frorn a more liberal perspective, Bob Jickling (1992:8) observes that he would never want his children to be educated for anything because he too feels that educating for something is 70
roo "closely associated with the acquisition of skills which are perfected through repetition
and practice and are minimally involved with understanding."
A third critique is that EFS is by its very nature future-oriented, "imbued with notions of
intergenerational accountability and intergenerational justice" which raises a number of
concerns (Selby, forthcoming). In particular, one problem is that "by emarking a particular
conception of the future as a desired outcome of educational endeavour. are we not
constricting the future as a 'zone of potential'. causing 'virtuai transitions' with ait their
inherent possibility to prematurely collapse?" (Ibid.).
A final critique of EFS that will be mentioned here is in its application to community
learning. Although Fagan (1996) uses the word 'facilitator' rather than 'teacher'. I found that he still tends to promote the usual frarnework of the 'teacher' and the 'taught', failing to view community education as what it must be - a 'CO-learning' process between equals who each has knowledge that needs to be shared. Moreover. once learning has entered the comrnunity,
Fagan refers to adults as 'clients' rather than engaged learners and social actors. In my opinion, environmental education should never be viewed as a business and therefore should not be couched in the language of business.
In spite of these valid critiques, EFS was one of the first compulsory education models to provide environmental education with a strong political orientation. Environmental problems have been framed as political and economic that must be dealt with within that milieu if any fundamental change is to corne about- It also puts forward a leamer-centred approach that requires students to go out into the community and the rest of nature and examine existing environmental problems, thereby weaving an understanding of natural systems and process with community interaction, power relations, and economic and political factors. 7 1
Of particular importance to environmental adult education is the focus on critical media literacy. The media has a profound and far-reaching impact on the world today that is not unproblematic. 1 discuss this further in the final chapter.
Global Education
Despite dtrerences in approach and underlying values, glo bai educutors irl North Arnerica are opening classroonl windows orzto the interconnections rhat rntrke us ail giobal cirizens. Graham Pi ke, 1 997: 8
Selby (forthcoming) argues that global education (GE) has "multiple interpretrttions and many varieties." For some, it
is akin to a world affairs option in a high school curriculum .... For others. it is a project to infuse the social studies curriculum particulariy, but not exclusively. at intemediate and senior grades with a "global perspective" .... For yet others, global education seeks to promote the study of global issues and themes, such as sustainable future, quality of life, conflict and security, and social justice across the curriculum within an integrated interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary framework (ibid.).
For others such as Selby himself, GE "is nothing less than the educational expression of an ecological, holistic or systemic paradigm" (Ibid.).
Some forms of GE attempt to offer "a 2 1" century vision of schooling whose strength lies in its paramount concern to integrate and synthesise, to recognise connections between phenornena, to view the planet as an organic whole" (Pike, 1997/8:7). This particular form is
modelled on our latest understanding, derived from the insights of quantum physics. of the nature of the modem world: a world characterised by the interconnectedness of species, products, ideas and information; a world that is not so much a collection of separate lands and people, but an interactive dynamic system in which choices, events and trends occumng in one location have present and future implications for the well- being of people and their environments in many other parts of the system (Ibid.:7).
Moreover, this GE is "not tinged with, nor does it convey, a single ideology or morality but spans several dimensions ... [and carries] a multiple of perspectives" (ibid.23). However, it 72
does promote the democratic and intellecmal values of freedorn, justice. equality. peace.
pluralism, tolerance, solidarity, cooperation, comrnitment, openness, and responsibility
(CEICI, 1996).
Some global educators use the phrase 'Think Globally, Act Locally' as a bais for their
educational work for they feel that it best "captures the link between individual communities
and the world" (Diaz, Massialas, and Kanthopoulos. 1999:2 1 ). David Sel by moves beyond
this slogan and has coined the term 'glocality' to refer to the radical interconnections or
enfoldedness between the local and the global.
Some forms of GE promote a broad pedagogical approach. Diaz, Massialas and
Kanthopoulos (1999:6) note that "Routine analysis of curricular topics from multiple
perspectives nurtures students' abilities to penetrate at ... higher levels." Often GE attempts to
tüke students' different learning styles into account and provides them with the opportunity to
grow and realize their own potentid (CEICI, 1996). While others go further and promote an
ecology of teaching and learning. This means a focus on the interdependence of teaching
practices and contexts, among teachers, students, and their communities. This ecology of
teaching and learning is consistent with an ecological world view and the principle of
reciprocal relationships as viewed in ecology (see for example, Selby. forthcoming).
Pat Mische ( 1992:22), founder of Global Education Associates in New York. advocates
using ecological systems as leaming models and the basis for the development of alternative
values and ethics. Eco-systems are tremendously complex living systems of evolution that
"are open to many possible solutions and directions." Applying these to socio-economic systems can create alternatives and help to "reduce errors in our images of the world and to find creative solutions to some of Our probiems" (Ibid.:22). Selby (forthcoming) also advocates drawing on the sub-atomic world that can "provide a
powerful model for our thinking about self, society and the planet." He weaves the quantum
worldview as proposed by some leading edge physicists such as David Bohm, Fntjof Capra,
and Danah Zohar into "a four-dimensional model ... for global education." The first
dimension of GE is the spatial dimension which rneans that "the educational process should
foster an awareness and understanding of the interdependent nature of lands and peoples"
(Ibid.: 1 15). The second dimension is issues. In the literature of GE, those issues are typically
arranged under four headings: environment, development, human rights and peace. Each
issue is discussed "at a range of levels, personai to global" (Ibid.: 1 16). The third dimension is temporal in which
past, present and future are perceived of as in dynamic relationship. lnterpretations of the past grow out of our present concerns and prioritisation and out of our (conscious or unconscious precepts of the future) ... it involves giving the future a central place in the educational process so that dl students are offered the opportunity to regulariy study, reflect upon and discuss alternative, possible, probable, plausible and preferred futures at al1 levels (Ibid.: 1 17).
These three dimensions - the spatial. temporal, and issues - are described as the outer dimensions. But GE also focuses on the inner dimensions and the dynamic interplay between the two.
The inner dimension is defined as self-awareness:
As many people who have made voyages of discovery have found, they leam as much about themselves as about the new landscape they enter. The outward joumey is also the inward joumey. The two journeys are complementary and mutually illuminating (Ibid.: 1 17).
The myriad of activities used to promote students' self-discovery include pair and smrtll group discussions, consensus seeking, perspective sharing, esteem-building, peer tutoring, role playing, guided fantasy, and visualization. The latter activities "activate values
clarification, creative thinking and problem-solving processes" (Ibid.: 1 18).
As noted in the beginning of this section, various foms of GE work to infuse global
perspectives "into both the context and methodology of the so-called 'traditional' subjects"
(Pike and Selby, i988:235) such as iiterature, foreign language instruction. math. science
biology and history. These global perspectives include a wide variety of topics such as aid, colonialism, the role of women, population. health, nutrition and literacy, an understanding of negative and positive peace, interpersonal peace, sustainable development, terrorism. and non-violent protest, to name but a few.
Some globaI educators also look at issues of rights and responsibilities such a(; freedom from and freedom to, oppression, self-detemination. human rights, prejudice and discrimination, as well as animal rights. This latter issue has developed into a major area called Humane Education that is looked at in more detail later in this chapter.
Challenges
A sense of reaiity teaches us to rnake a diflerence rvith actions that are not grnndiosely global, but humbly local- Madhu Suri Prakash. 19945 1
One chdlenge to GE cornes from the area of multicultural education (MCE). Diaz.
Masialas, and Kanthopulous (1999:3) note that GE and MCE "have many areas of overlap, including the study of cultural diversity, hurnan rights, varied curricular perspectives and prejudice reduction. The fields Vary most significantly in the context surrounding them."
MCE goes beyond the sole cross-national comparisons of less radical GE and "frames the above mentioned topics within the context of the nation in which the student resides" (Ibid.:3). This "fundamental distinction is criticai because it is often blurred in the school
CU~CU~U~and classroom practice" (Ibid~30).Developing an understanding of diversity both
at home and abroad, "is a criticai component of a well-rounded education" (Ibid.:4).
Prakash (1994540) suggests that the slogan " 'Thinic globally, act locally' ... increasingly
captures the moral imagination of millions of people across the globe including professional
educators." But she feels this is problematic and, drawing on the work of American Wendel1
Berry, argues "there is a dangerous arrogance of those who profess to be thinking globally,
but also of the human impossibility of this forrn of thought" (Ibid.51). She feels we often
tend to "forget how immense, grand, unknown and mystenous is the earth" and therefore, we
have no hope of knowing the globe (Ibid.5 1). Prakash cites the Earth Summit as an example
of how global thinking managed to lead many local groups astray - rnotivating them to fly
"across the world to Rio only to see their valuable initiatives transrnogrified into nothing
more than a footnote to the global agreements" (Ibid.:53).'
Heeding Selby's warning mentioned above that diverse perspectives on global education
exist, 1 focus my challenge on two interrelated aspects of more liberal forms of global and
muIti-cultural education as they are espoused by Diaz er al. in their text Global Perspectives
for Educators published in 1999.1 draw on an idea raised by Prakash about the universality of human rights definitions that are often uncritically exarnined in GE. She argues that often the
idea of 'human rights', particularly in terms of 'individual rights', is cornpIetely alien to
I AIthough 1 have major critiques of UNCED, 1 am not convinced given the work and actions 1 have seen worldwide that local groups wasted their time. 1 think this critique underestimates the importance of coming together globally and the way in which UNCED provided this space. 1 wouId arye that Prakash's disillusionment may be due to her geographical location, the United States, and the particularfy unimpressive behaviour exhibited by that govemment before and during the Earth Summit. many cultures around the world (199454). Yet this important concept is not raised in the
Diaz er ai. text. In addition to this, Diaz et al. cite parts of the En.elish Bill of Rkhrs and the
Dechration of the Riehts of Man and Citizen, both of which are 'Western' documents and which did not in fact pertain to women, although this too is not identified as an area for discussion. Nor do the authors invite their students to discuss the ways in which these documents =e very masculinist in ternis of the differences in how men and women view
'rights.' Carol Gilligan (1982:22) argues that the masculine construction of the 'rights' we have today "may appear frightening to women in its potential justification of indifference and concem." For men the rights conception is geared to arriving at an objectively fair or just resolution to moral dilemmas, while women tend to bring a "different point of view and order human experience in terms of different priorities" (Ibid.22). For example. women are more apt to see the "complexity and multifaceted character of real people and real situations" and therefore have a greater "orientation toward relationships and interdependence" or a more
"contextual mode of judgement and a different moral understanding" (Ibid.22) than do men.
This obviously precludes any analysis of the 'Man' used in titie of the French document.
Continuing with the analysis of Diaz et al., they argue that "population is a seminal issue for global education and one that is easily brought into the CU~CU~U~at al1 levels"
( I999:96). However, an examination of their book suggests that they have a problematically narrow and uncritical analysis of the complex issues of popuIation, environmental destruction, women, and education. First, they argue that "population growth consumes a great portion of resources" worldwide ... [and has] significant adverse affects on the ptanet's ecology. Second, they promote the idea of 'population management' as what student's should be taught "to prepare them for the challenges that lay [sic]ahead" (Tbid.:99). Third, they 77 identify the need to empower women if population is the be managed effectively and. fourth, they discuss the importance of education in population control.
On the first point, feminist Ashoka Bandarage ( 1997), to name oniy one of many, provides a very comprehensive analysis vis-à-vis resource use, population, and environmental degradation. Bandarage (1997:240) dismantles the myth of overpopulation and its so-called
"inevitable relationship" to resource abuse and reduction through a very detailed examination of the activities of Transnational Corporations and their excessive logging practices. that are the primary cause of deforestation in the South, and their excessive over-fishing practices. that are rapidly destroying "marine ecosystems, including cord reefs, mangroves and sea grasses in the tropics" (Ibid.:241). She also takes on the entire practice of 'population management' from a feminist perspective. Bandarage draws attention to the reaiities of population management as they have been imposed by the World Bank and the USAID
Office of Population, such as involuntary sterilization of poor women and wornen of colour and the use of often untested contraceptives (Ibid.:69). In "the sin,ole-minded pursuit of numbers," these management policies have endangered the Iives of thousands of women around the world (Ibid.:75). Where are these issues in the GE discussion of population as put forward by Diaz et al.?
Diaz et al. ( 1999: 10 1) do, however, examine China's population policy, suggesting that teachers can compare "the Chinese method of population management (one child for each family) to the Nairobi (women's) conference proposal to give couples freedom to choose the number of children they have." But this could be construed as racist since the most oppressive and far reaching policies of population have been conceived and implemented by the World Bank and USAID Office of Population (Bandarage, 1997). Although Bandarage 78 and many others would agree with Diaz et al. that re-addressing women's subordination through empowerment strategies and access to education has a direct impact on the number of children they have, the authors fail to acknowledge men's rote in the population 'problem'.
Diaz et al. also do not raise the issue of the role of education in terms of population.
Again, Bandarage (1997239) draws attention to the coerciveness and "aggressive use of the mas media" and other forrns of education both within and outside schools in motivating
"peopIe to become contraceptive acceptors" regardless of their safety (or lack thereoo factor.
Here education is used to distract people's attention from the fundamental problems inherent in popuhtion management measures, the activities of TCNs in resource destruction and so on.
Another critique of Diaz et al. revolves around the World Bank and its partner the
International Monetary Fund (MF).In addition to their prirnary role in oppressive population management, the World Bank and the MFhave been responsible for Structural Adjustment
Policies (SAP) that have been implemented around the globe and have caused serious socio- environmental damage worldwide (for just a few examples see Shiva, 1989; Sontheimer,
199 1 ; Rodda, 1993). Yet the activity around the World Bank proposed by Diaz et al. is "to compare the exchange rates of different currencies to US dollars" ( 1999: 166). There is absolutely no mention of the devastation of SAPs.
There are other examples of a problematic vision in the text in terms of 'global security'.
The authors argue that students need to examine global security in tems of its impact on the
United States! These are just a few criticisms, but not small matters if we are talking about helping children to understand the world differently, which 1 urge these multicultural/ global educators to take into account when producing resources intended for teachers and schools. 79
A final challenge for GE is that it, Iike other critical and creative educational approaches,
has been an integral part of traditional education in Western societies in particutar (Diaz,
Massialas, and Kanthopulous, 1999). Diaz et ul. ( 19995) argue that this is because "schools continue to be pattemed af'ter the predominant culture" and any "rnacrocultural world view" often finds it difficult to view things from any other angle: "Like beauty defined in the eye of the beholder, a dominant group in any society tends to crate cumculum that places it and its nation as the hub of ali knowledge" (Ibid.5). However, having read Diaz et d'stextbook I can argue that they themselves have developed a resource and learning rnaterial that places the United States squarely at the hub of the world.
Relevance for Adul t Education
Two of the most useful elements of Global Education that can or are being woven into environmental adult education are its spatial or 'outer' dimension and the 'inner' or spiritual
(that is not based on a religious dogrna) dimension.
The spatial includes both the local and the global. understanding the way in which the local is one and at the same time a dynamic way of Iooking at al1 the different levels. For nowhere is left untouched by the time-tested processes of patriarchy and growth; problems and spaces overlap.
Many feminist adult educators and ecofeminists (see for example, Shiva and Mies, 1993;
Walters and Manicom, 1992) argue that fundamental change will not occur without people engaging in forms of collective political action. Most, however, would agree that both the outer and the inner of people are important and should not be seen as in conflict. GE too sees the inner and outer as two interrelated parts that make up a whole person's life. For feminist 80 aduIt educators the inner consists of ernotions, thoughts, and a journey towards self- realization and inner power (Chan, 1992). For ecofeminists, the inner dimension is defined as self-awareness, as an inward process of discovery for people about themselves and the landscape. it is not based solely upon a religion, but bnngs in broader ideas of spirituality as connectedness. The 'inner' is a weave between an Earchly spirit and people's inner power. As
Starhawk (1989: 177) notes "power from within must be grounded. that is. connected to the earth, to the actual material conditions of life, for the material world is the temtory of the spirit in earth-based traditions." As educators, we cannot afford to ignore the outer or the
'inner' dimensions of the person.
Humane Education
I am routiriely accused of caring less for htrrnans just beccrrise I have cliosen to defend the rights of anirnals. It amazes me rhar I have tu defend and explain the iogicui processes which have led me to follow the animal wevare path .... Eveq species does not just have the right to iive; its living is essential for the well-being of lzrtmunkirrd. Maneka Gandhi. 1996: 1 6
As with al1 forrns of education, humane education (HE) has its more narrow and its more holistic sides in terms of educating children and aduIts (Selby, forthcoming). At the narrower end are humane societies that, due to budgetary cuts, have been forced to shift their policies towards "choosing an appropriate pet (adoption and purchase); kindness and responsibility to pets; pets' needs; comfortability, caution and safety around pets (especially dogs)" (Ibid.). In addition to humane societies, field naturalist societies are also spaces that (infomally) teach an appreciation of and respect for anirnals. For example, the Toronto Field Nüturalists society organizes weekly bird watching expeditions that are based on a long-distance appreciation of wild birds and the need to preserve their natural habitats. Their monthly newsletters cany 8 1 diverse issues such as warnings about dogs off leashes and their potentiat danger to squirrels, the risk humans have to beavers in terms of "trappings, road kills ... and sheer malice," and the rnating places of various birds so they can be avoided during particular times of a season
(Toronto Field Naturalists, l998:g).
At the hem of the more holistic framing of HE are "human-animal relationships, animal liberation, animal rights and welfare, [and] the similarities and differences between humans and animais" (Selby, t996:49-50). It revolves pnmarily around the just treatment of animals, drawing attention to their often cruel and violent treatment.
Selby ( l996:49) argues that to be most effective HE must contain more than just animais in its content. Its broad Iearning goals include nurturing a "biophilic (life-loving and iife- affirming) ethic; consciousness of interconnectedness: sensitization to values and perspectives; and a proactive cornmitment to democratic principles and processes." This is done by creating a Iearning context that has "a dekate and tensile balance between comfortability and challenge" (Selby, 199553).
The cumculum of sorne forms of HE includes discussions on the pros and cons of zoos and vegetarianism and veganism through an examination of the humane treatment of farm animals. HE also explores more controversial issues such as the hunting. trapping, and fishing for sport and food. HE engages children in deciding on which grounds it is more or less acceptable to use animals for human needs such as experimentation: from testing for new medicines, to the cosmetics industry, to testing rnilitary chemical weapons. Earth Ideas, produced by a global group of Planet Project team members, includes the idea of 'endangered species in its cumculum. It identifies a number of species in the United States that are on the endangered list and then provides a Iist that teachers can share with their students on ways in 82 which they can help endangered species. Ideas range from the more individual or personal of not "dumping garbage in lakes and streams." "disturbing naturd habitats," or "thoughtlessly killing harmless insects" to more political actions such as never buying "anything, especially clothing, made from fur or feathers" and "supporting animal rights organizations" (Planet
Project, 1994: 1 5).
Many humane educators also understand the need to create coalitions of diverse groups, in particula. feminist, anti-racism activists and those who include animals and their rights and intrinsic value. For their is much overlap between the ways in which women. people of colour and animais are controlied and dominated through patriarchy and Western views of nature/culture divides (for exarnple, see Gaard. 1993). This overlapping view of humans and animal is best espoused, however, by aboriginal peoples and rnuch can be drawn from a belief that "There was a time arnong Indians [sic] when the animals were perceived as people who Iive under the forest canopy and who nin about on four legs .... People who live with animals would have no trouble perceiving thern as another race" (Mohawk, 1996: 10).
Challen~es
One of the key challenges KE faces is put forward by Lynn Lou: "The problems we see, particularly in the inner cities. are not going to be ameliorated by teaching children to pet dogs in a gentler manner" (Arnerïcan Humane Association, 1992: 13). For methods based solely on "the simplistic idea of teaching kindness instead [must also bel directed at strengthening, connecting with, and responding to the needs of individual communities"
(ibid.: 14). Humane education must also examine the complex issues of the scientific study of animals in schools. Garidhi (1996: 17) notes that "when frogs are dissected in classrooms, the result is that farmers have to import cancer-causing chemical pesticide for the rice-growing
areas to replace a creative animai that ate its own weight in pests everyday."
A second challenge is the need to integrate a stronger feminist perspective into the work.
As Scott McVay argues
society cannot even protect women, who unlike children and animals, have the power and ability to speak up and defend themselves .... 1 don't think we can focus on how we treat chlidren and animals without looking first at violence against women (Amencan Hurnane Association: 13)-
By integrating a feminist analysis, HE would be more effective at helping chiIdren to
examine the links between the maltreatment of animals and violence in the home. A feminist
perspective may be one way of helping people to become more caring. For as James
Garbarino suggests, "Feminist literature has pointed out that it is not in the abiiity to think.
but in the ability to feel and form relationships that ... gives birth to human rights. and
ultimately to animai rights. It is in the ability to form relationships ..." (Ibid.:S3).
Selby (forthcoming) notes that pet-oriented themes need to be broadened by "introducing
themes and topics at intermediate and secondary level that on the one hand, directly confront
human exploitation of animals and, on the other. seek to promote wider ecological
awareness." He also highlights the fact that
its longevity notwithstanding, humane education has been perhaps the least successful of the progressive educations in penetrating mainstream education. It has received no forma1 recognition at ministerial level, relatively little active acknowledgement and support from school boards, and its has been an uphill struggle for proponents to establish a foothold in schools, especially at the secondary level (Ibid.).
I would argue that this is also very true of aduIt education. Nowhere in adult education
literature, past or even contemporary, as this study reveals, is there mention of the rights of animals. 1 raise this issue more fully in the final chapter of this thesis. 84
Another challenge 1 wiil mention, and 1 think this is due to the above observations by
David Selby and myself, there is much resistance to the idea of hurnane education. In a workshop 1 organized, the shackles rose when one participant attempted to discuss the humane treatment of al1 anirnals in terms of why he was a vegetarian. Another participant immediately challenged him as to why we should talk about animals when so many people were being expioited and unjustly treated. There is a problematic but very real belief that "we lessen human victims if we argue for animals" (Hoffman, 1W6:Z 1 ). Much more work needs to be done if people are not to continue to see humans as pitted against animals.
Some feminists too have been slow to take up the ideas within hurnane education for two important reasons. The first is that these ideas are associated with animal rights and in particular, the anti-fur campaign that has been viewed as another way to huas women and identify them as culprits even though a study by Joni Seager shows that it is in fact, men who purchase the vast majority of fur coats (Seager, 1993; Burshtein, 1996). Second, many feminists have perceived the equation often made between women and animals "as a way to dehumanize women. Their response was to say, 'We are part of the human species too. We are rational, thinking beings just iike men' " (Hoffman, 1996:S 1 ). However, there is an important book by Greta Gaard titled Ecofeminism. Women, Anirnals and Nature thail educators should read, for many of the authors challenge the human/a.nimal dichotomy in ways that may be more acceptable to feminists worldwide.
Discussion
Although 1 have been told that global education and humane education can (or do) extend to adult and/or non-formal education, 1 would argue that the language used (at lem in the vast majority of literature) is that of formai education and therefore sends a different
message. The language of formal education revolves around schools, pupils, lessons.
teachers, and classrooms. As long as much of the literature, if not the actual practice, continues to be based within this specialized vocabulary, it is unlikely to have much impact, whether rightly or wrongly, on the field of adult education. One way for GE and KE (and even EFS as mentioned above in the critique on language use vis-à-vis community education) to become more acceptable (and this is important because many of the ideas are extremely useful) to the field of aduIt education is to begin to incorporate more systematically words such as participants, educators, programme planning, facilitation of leaming, adult leamers, and spacesfsites of learning. Moreover, although this does occur in more radical foms of GE, they must respect and include the concepts of long-time prior, existing knowledge and the co- learning process in which educators and adult Iearner engage. These are some of the important words and concepts of adult education. They are more inclusive of adults in the world of learning. Chapter Four Adult Education: The Anthropocentric Bias
Introduction
[TJhe nature of ad& education is essentially changing as new ideas and purposes are grafed ont0 existing lines of evolution and developrnent. These generai images also support the elastic and wider interpretations of the meaning of adulr educarion. Barry Elsey, 1986: 1 1
Education is not a preparation for living but is rather Ive ifself. Ed ward Lindeman. 1926: 1
This chapter examines aspects of the theory and practice of adult education. The two
bases of analysis 1 use are the ways in which it has been adapted and changed, and the
ecological crisis, the decline of the planetary life-support system, and how the field has
reacted.
The field of adult education is a complex, dynarnic, and ever-changing field. For liberai
adult educators, adult education is primarily an 'individual process' based upon the self-
directed leamer, the betterrnent of 'self andor job skilIs training. For critical and feminist
adult educators it is a fieid that goes beyond these individually framed views to includes
issues such as welfare, poverty, embodied knowing, employment, gender, and race (Thomas,
199 1 ). It is a liberatory and emancipatory process of learning and teaching that examines
"ideological systems and societal structures that hinder and impede" human development and
the ways in which these systems and ideologies are "reproduced in the subjectivity of men
and women" (Welton, 1995: 13).
However, in spite of Iiberatory and emancipatory re-conceptualizations, the fieid of adult education has in essence remained silent about the ecological crisis (Bowers, 199 1 ). This silence reflects an anthropocentric bias that can be found even in the most influential radical 87 theories of adult education by educators such as Paulo Freire, Moses Coady, Jurgen
Habermas, and Mechthild Hart, although with this latter feminist adult educator, the promise of change is visible. The human-centred framework of adult education serves inadvertently to support ideas and practices of humadnature separation and human domination.
This chapter outlines some of the historical processes or thinking that have produced modern-day theories and practices in adult education in order to create a platform for discussing new ways of conceptualizing change for the field in the next chapters of this thesis.
Definitions of Adult Education and Learning
Gordon Selman et al. ( 1998: 16) observe that
it has been a standing joke in adult education circles that there is such a lack of agreement about some basic terminology in the field. The problem - to the extent that it is one - is not just that practitioners are unclear what the terms mean as they use them; ... there king no agreed upon set of tenns in the field, people use different tenns for the same thing.
Having no agreed upon terms tends to create much confusion about its roles, aims and functions. Is adult education "a discipline, a profession, a field, or a rnovement?" (Grace,
Adult educators, depending on their context, describe their area of work as community education, continuing education, Further education, training, continuing studies, extension, non-formal or informai education, and social learning (Selman, 199 1). Adult education is used to describe the collection of persons and institutions locally, nationally. regionally. or globally that provide educational opportunities for adults. It also describes an area of academic inquiry. Adult education also refers to the learning processes wi thin social 88 movements and other informa1 learning activities and spaces. Adult continuing studies and education and further education describe studies within forma1 institutions such as universities. Training and skills updating most often take place in workplace settings and community college programmes. Non-formal education is defined as any organized education activity outside the established formal or school system, whether operating separately or as an important feature of some broader activity that serves adults and meets specific learning objectives (Lowe, 1982).
One definition of this diverse, lifelong, and ubiquitous activity can be found in The 19 19
Report of the British Ministry of Reconstruction. The Committee defined adult education as
"... al1 the deliberate efforts by whick men and women attempt to satisfy their thirst for knowledge, to equip themselves for their responsibilities as citizens and rnembers of society or to find opportunities for self expression" ( 1).
In an attempt to broaden the definition, C.O. Houle ( 1972:32) placed emphasis on the process of learning and teaching, the providers of adult education and their role. and the possible impact it could have on the Iarger society rather than just the individual: "Adult education is the process by which men and women seek to improve themselves or their society by increasing their skill, knowledge or sensitivities; or it is any process by which individuals, groups or institutions try to help men and women improve in these ways."
Perhaps the most common or frequently cited definition today of adult education was articulated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO). Adult education is
... the entire body of organised educational process, whatever the content, level and method, whether formal or otherwise, whether they prolong or replace initial education in schools, colleges and universities as well as in apprenticeship. whereby persons regarded as adult by the society to which they belong develop their abilities, enrich their knowledge, improve their technical or professional qualifications or turn them in a new direction and bring about changes in their attitudes or behaviour in the twofold prospect of full personal development and participation in balanced independent social, econornic and cultural development (UNESCO, l976:3).
This definition of adult education refiects the diverse views and beliefs of adult educators and the role of adult education in society. But it swings back to the more individual focus that both Posser and Houle had attempted to move away from.
Perhaps most important, aduit education and learning is ubiquitous and pervasive. Often when people think about leaning settings, they assume them only to be socialized. cultural settings such as schools where there are students, teachers, and curricula. However. learning settings Vary greatly as does how and who lems. Learning "takes place everywhere in leisure and at work": in mainstream education institutions, in "community centres, synagogues. church basements, the workplace, the library, women's institutes, labour union halls" and within social movements (Jarvis, 1998:3). Adult education, iike education for children. is provided by many diverse groups, institutions, organizations and movernents as Figure 1. on the following page illustrates. The educational opportunities within these areas ranges from cri tical and engaged Ieaming (e-g., social movements, some NGOs, trade union activities) to skills training for the workforce (e-g., management training, vocational schools).
Liberal Adult Education: 'Seif' and Personal Growth
Education is derived from the Latin educere rnetrning to lead out and to develop. The aim of education was through of as growth or the developmenr of the individual. Amara Pattaptpinyoboon, 1998:SO FIGURE ONE 9 1
Psychology is one of the first 'foundational' disciplines of aduit education (see Kidd and
Selman, 1978; Mezirow, 1983; Tennant, 199 1 ; Thomas, 199 1 ; Usher and Bryant. 1995).
Humanist psychologists such as MasIow and Rogers focussed on the psychological needs chat
impacted on the adult's motivation and capacity to leam. They drew attention to the
importance learning played in people's lives and how it
is a normal ... psychological activity which does not require external pressure or encouragement to begin and which proceeds out of inner drives fuelled by interpersonal energy rather than out of external pressure fuelled by rewards and punishments (Mackeracher, l996:5).
Within the liberal framework, emphasis is placed on the importance of individual well- being and personal growth. This well-king could be best fostered by removing boundaries in the minds and hearts of people: "They do not so much concentrate on external or societal conditions that produce discornfort, but rather on intemal conditions. Individual growth- capacities ... can be maximally developed when alienating or inhibiting factors within the person are taken away" (Wildemeersch et al., 1998: IO). This means creating optimal conditions for adults to acquire skills: leamer-friendly models in safe and cornfortable environments (Bnindage, 1980). Although it is acknowledged that some degree of tension should exist in leaming, leamers should ultimately be engaged in a positive environment because people lem much better if they have a positive attitude, have chosen what is of interest to thern to leam, and are relaxed and rested (Mackeracher. 1996).
Maslow (1968) developed the 'hierarchy of needs' theory. It is a framework for understanding why adults engage in learning activities, what they hope to get from that participation and/or why they dropped out. Leaming activities should be based upon the needs of the learner, often identified through a personal needs assessment. In this way adult education can more effectively be an "achievement-oriented activity about which the 92
individual has an expectation for success and the positive consequences that flow from that
success" (Tennant, 199 1 :204). From the focus on need corne the concepts of the self-directed
autonomous learner and the learner-centred approach that fast became "core concepts that
have laid the foundations for the identity of adult education as a distinct field of practice and
inquiry" (Tennant, 1991: 194). For liberal educators "the notion of the self that has potential
for growth and development, for self-actualization, results in individualised leaming and
leamer-centred instruction" (Scott, 1998: 102).
Malcolm Knowles ( 1975: 18) defines self-directed leaming as
a process in which individuals take the initiative, with or without the help of others, in diagnosing their leaming needs, fonnulating learning goals, identifying human and material resources for learning, choosing and implementing appropriate leaming strategies and evaluating learning outcomes.
Persona1 autonomy is an essentiai concept behind self-directed learning, that is "characterised as including independence, free choice, will-power and control" (Chovanec. l998:305).
Emphasis is placed on utilizing learner experiences and knowledge and confirming and acknowledging that experience.
Liberal adult education also examines the role and place of the practitioner or facilitator of adult leaming. The basic qualities of the facilitator were seen to be authenticity, acceptance, trust, empathy, and genuineness (Rogers, 1983). The theory also includes the practicd considerations instructors needed to take into account when teaching adults. The facilitator plays the role of the mediator, enabling as much freedom of choice as possible within a variety of learning strategies to accommodate the unique personalities in any one learning group (Scott et al.. 1998). Consequently, technical considerations such as lesson design, instructionai techniques, and training aids to achieve this end become key- The Critical Challenge
We ... have tended to forger the social aim of adult education, or to srtbordinate it to opportunities for individual self-improvement .... The corporate age of addt education confronts us. Alain Locke. 1948
A critical pracfice for contemporary times must re-integrate the ieurning und teaching of practical skills and knowledge that people need for daiiy iiving with the stimulation of questions and public debate about the future of socieiy and the possible designs of individual and social Ive. T. Jansen. 1992
Although most adult educators subscribe to many of the principles outlined above. some
important critiques have emerged. Criticai and feminist adult educators have argued that adult
learning has to be viewed through a socid lens or based in what Jurgen Habermas called 'the
Iife-world', and have as its goal, individual but particularly social transformation through
collective action. It has to go beyond reading the 'word' to reading the 'world' (Freire. 1970;
In 1970, in his ground breaking book, Pedagow of the O~~ressed,Paulo Freire (Ibid.:33)
argued that education should be seen as 'an instrument for critical discovery' in a process of
becoming more fully human. The essential strategy of a critical teaching practice had to be
dialogue, critique, and the study of power. It had to be driven by attempts to understand "how
ideological systems and societai structures hinder or impede the fullest development of hurnankind's collective potential" (WeIton, 1995: 14).
The role of educators, from Freire's perspective, is to create learning settings in which students are able to reflect on their own social, historical, and cultural realities. Through this process of reinterpreting their experiences, students develop the skills of critical citizenship.
Adult education has to take into account structures and practices in its exploration of the politics of domination of workers and learners. It has to explore the beliefs citizens have about themselves, their workplaces and communities. Critical adult education hato take-up social, cultural, historicai, economic, and political considerations as it radically questions the status quo, corporate capitalism and threats to social democracy ... [and emphasise] collective action and reflection in learning processes and community building. It has to assert the necessity for dialogue, communication, conflict and change (Grace, 1998: 1 17).
Liberal adult education, according to cntical and feminist critiques, detractes frorn
iearning theory by insufficiently attending to relations of power. Freire ( 1970:34) argues that
in order for real change to take place, people must understand relations of power and
"perceive the reality of oppression not as a closed worid from which there is no exit, but as a
limiting situation that they cm transform." This is not a simple task because "the oppressor's consciousness tends to transfonn everything surrounding it into an object of its domination; the earth, property, production, the creations of men [sic], men themselves, time - everything
is reduced to the status of objects at its disposal" (IbidA4). Moreover, education institutions and systems have a tendency to reproduce social inequities. As Freire (Ibid.) notes.
"education was a sociai action that could either empower or domesticate people." The existing democratic order is not necessarily intnnsically good, as Iiberal education suggests, but rather often seems to "emphasise the contradictions produced by the economic order, the oppositions between social classes and the necessity to re-distribute wealth, opportunities, knowledge, and labour" (Wildemeersch, 1998: 1 1).
The idea of tailoring adult education programmes and activities around 'needs' has been viewed as a somewhat distorted view of individual freedom. Critical theorists point out that in these lean, mean times the needs-meeting ideology reduces access and provision of adult education to a technical and/or administrative problem (Welton, 1995). This professionalization of needs and needs-meeting undermines substantive philosophical, mord, and political issues (Welton, 1987). Feminist educators argue that "autonomy has to be coupled with interdependence and interconnectedness" because ironically, "independent autonomous behaviour is highly dependent on socially mediated noms" (Caffarella,
1993:26). Welton concun that decontextualised and abstract concepts of self fails to see people as social individuals and forgets that it is not possible to understand the socially constnicted self apart from class, race, and gender structures (Candy, 199 1 ). The psychologism in self-directed learning becomes a rather incoherent ideology that contains van ous con tradictory impulses (Welton, 1 995). Cri tical educaton proposed instead an
"emancipatory practice of adult education informed by social theories of action rather than by psychological leaming strategies" (Collins, 199 1 :32) because "radical change in social. moral, aesthetic and political affairs is often the outcome of a process of self-directed learning in opposition to the educationd message imposed from without" (lbid.:32).
Critical adult and feminist educators reject the implicit "learn to cope; be happy; don't question" message of liberal education (Ibid.: 103). They question whether traditional criteria found in the liberal tradition for effective adult learning environments such as safety. comfort, or affirmation of leamer experience are always valid. Leaming to shift paradigms can be painful - as painful as confronting the existence of sexism and other oppressions
(hooks, 1994; Hart, 1992). As Freire too (1970:33) opined, fundamental social change based upon the liberation of the oppressed "is thus a childbinh, and a painful one."
Critical and feminist educators soon began to lament the ever-growing number of educators who tumed towards educating for economic growth (for examples, see Foley,
1995; Hart, 1992; Collins, 199 1 ; WeIton, 1997). Feminist Mechthild Hart argues that imposed roles as skill-trainers, providers of information, glorifiers of the consumption ethic, 96 teaching people to be successfuI within our commodified society, "offering their services in the production of a docile labour force" was weakening the more progressive ideas and actions of the field (Hart, 1992: 12). Michael Collins has used Jurgen Habermas's idea of communicative opportunities, the freedom by men and women to share and argue their beliefs and struggle to attain an understanding of the forces shaping their society to challenge the influence of professionalism and marketplace rationaiity within the field of adult education. He argues that we need to question the "professionalization and ideology of state- of-the-art techniques that adult education was expected to incorporate in order to empower a class of experts" (Collins, 1991). Collins (199 1) and Hart (1992) push for a radical analysis of these professionalizing tendencies and the motives that accompany them and a continuation of the development of practices that assist adults to be transfomative agents of change with control over the decisions that affect their daily Iives under the understanding that, as Usher, Bryant, and Johnston state, "our social practices ... both create us as selves and enabie us to be creative, indeed leming [is not just] something located 'inside' [but] is itself a social practice" ( 1997:99).
Hart (199253) also argues that in spite of the reflection, participation, and persona1 empowerment language of Iiberal education, there is an apparent hierarchical and inequitable undertone in its proposals of learning and education:
the idea of learning for social and individual empowerment has to a large extent shrunk to learning for positions of power. This is reflected in a corresponding notion of work, and of 'good work', which essentially becomes equivalent to professional and managerial work, set in sharp contrast to 'jobs.' Liberal education or liberal learning is proposed to serve as a preparation for 'good work' rather than jobs.
Critical educators also stress the importance of the outcome of learning. Since learning cornes aboui pnmanly through social interaction and political, social, cultural, and economic 97 forces and not just from within the individual, then what adults Ieam as well as what adult edlication is about are both critical. They argue that since "human beings are social beings, al1 characteristics of Iearning can be said to have some social consequences" (Thomas, 199 1:4).
This rneans that education is not a neutral process (Freire, 1970 & 1987). Instead, as Freire argues, it either fiinctions as an instrument that is used to facilitate the integration of people into the logic of the present system or it becomes a practice of freedom and helping people to deal critically and creatively with reality and the transformation of the world (Ibid.).
Critical and feminist adult educators also critique ideas of the disengaged educator or practitioner merely guiding the self-directed process of learning. They allege that the facilitator or educator should not simply "stand outside people's life-situation and proclaim the truth," but should become a part of the process, engage in the process (Welton. i 995: 18).
For as Freire ( 1985) has argued, educators need to recognize that both are siïnultaneously teachers and leamers and everyone has knowledge and experience that they bring to the
Iearning experience. Adult learning has to be seen as a process of CO-learningand co- engagement. For if the neutrality of education is an impossibility then the "educator is nota neutral agent, but nor should he [sic] be a manipulator" (Freire and Macedo. 1987:39).
At the core of critical adult education is the notion of helping people to challenge and overcome al1 foms of oppression in order to become more fully human. Based on the work of Paulo Freire, we come to see that oppression is a dehumanising force for both the oppressed and the oppressor. Adult education must therefore not integrate people.
into the structure of oppression but ... transform the structure so they can become 'beings for themselves' .... They may discover through existential experience that their present way of life is irreconcilable with their vocation to become hlly human (Freire, 1970:6 1-2). People can become more human through rationalization, reason, communication, and their abilities tc create history, reflect, explain, and ultimately take control. Rational knowledge can best be redized through the existential experience of critical dialogue, a "dialogue and communicative action oriented to reaching a consensus in an uncoerced and free exchange
(study circles, tutorials)" (Welton, 1995:!36). Critical dialogue is considered to be a deeply political action or the expressive forrn of critique. For the loss of people's dialogue chances, the eiimination of their ability to corne together and critically analyse their situations and
1ives, "is the most fundamental mode of ideoIogica1 dominance in advrtnced capitalisrn"
(Ibid.: 153).
Popular Education: Creative and Collective Approaches to Action
They ... discover that culture is just as mirch a ciay doll made &y artists who are their peers as it is the work of a great sculptor ... that crrlture is the poetry of lettered poets and also the pue- of their own popular sangs - that cirlture is ail human creation. Paulo Freire, 1970:38
Popular education as a term developed originally in France in the late nineteenth century.
It was a form of education created for the working classes emerging from the transformations retated to the rise of capitalism (CIover, 1995). But the emergence of the popular education movement today dates back to the 1960s. It is most often associated with the participatory literacy practices of Paulo Freire in Latin America and is a major stream of adult education.
Paulo Freire's theories informed critical adult education, feminist education, and popular education. While popular education carries within it many of the ideas espoused in critical adult education, the main difference between critical theory and popular education lies in the methodology. Popular education is also cri tically focussed like critical adul t and feminist 99
education, however, it is more practice-based activity, which means that it includes rnany
more creative processes or practices of theatre, art. photography, storytelling. and poetry.
Below is a discussion of some of the fundamentals of popular education that shows its
relationship to criticai adult education but also its uniqueness.
Popular education combines liberal and critical learning under the concept of
'concientizacion' - a theory of self, a coming to critical consciousness called
'conscientizaci6n' - that is a constant movement between the action and the reflection and a
"social process that transcends an individualistic concem for knowing" (Scott et al.,
1998:185).
Freire distinguishes between what he calls the 'banking' concept of education, the ktof
depositing, in which the students are the depositories and the teacher is the depositor" and
'conscientizaci6n' (Freire, I970:58). He argues that education that aims at liberation consists
in the actuation of people's critical faculties in relation to their own situations in the world.
Conscientizaci6n is achieved through a process of dialogue between learners and the educator
in which the learners are led to reflect both on their objective circumstances and on their own
understanding of their circumstances. But in order to reach this point, Freire argues,
education must begin with a solution to the teacher-student contradiction. Students would
often say " 'You are the one who knows, we don't know anything.' They often insist that
there is no difference between them and the animals; when they do admit a difference, it
favors the animals. 'They are freer than we are' " (Ibid.50). In popular education,
practitioners and learners work together as CO-leamersin a process of understanding structures of domination or power for the purposes of transforming these relations of power
(ArnoId and Burke, 1983; Barndt, 1990). 100
Popular education today is a practice-based theory that anempts to change people's attitudes and behaviours, and provide them with the capacity to assess and address their own needs and concerns in order to becorne effective participants in the stniggle for change
(Arnold and Burke, 1983). It is a highly participatory group-learning process that begins with the concrete experiences of the learner and uses these experiences to develop a critical awareness about their situation and what they can do to improve it.
Freire also emphasises the importance of what he caIled 'existentiai situations' to the leming process. He suggests that pictorial representations such as slides. photos, and drawings are toois that provide people with familiar situations and thereby have "the potential to stimulate critical discussion" (Freire, 19705 1). Freire also highlights the importance of using people's stories based upon their own experiences. These stories, coded, vivid descriptions of people's lives, "could eventually serve as guideposts to liberating praxis"
(McLaren, 1994:72). Popular educators rely on the use of art, photography, and storytelling to stimulate creative and critical learning. They have also added other forrns of critical and creative Iearning such as popular theatre and the composing of poetry and music.
The Feminist Advance
... what we have learned is our most precious asset; the rich diversie of our experiences, understanding and ideologies combined with a growing recognition that we cannot propose a social/politicaUeconornicprogramme for women alone, but that we need to develop one for society, from women 'sperspectives. Third World Women's Forum, Kenya, 1985:2
Feminist adult education, that has grown out of the women's movement(s), is grounded in an anaIysis of oppression from the perspective of women. Women, although they too view education and leaming as critical tools for social change, demonstrate how the universalizing 101 tendencies and "political assumptions generated by theories of education such as critical pedagogy" tends to be male-dominated and gender insensitive (Luke and Gore, 1992:S).
Grounded in rationalist, masculinist ideology, in other words, developed from the standroint of men, they are far from 'Iiberatory practices' for women (Luke and Gore, 1992:ix), for underlying these critical pedagogies is a belief in the rules of reason as the key to realizing the truths necessary for liberation and a "gendered division between male public and femaie private, cuIture and nature, reason and emotion, and mind and body" (Ibid.:34).
Based on feminist theory, feminist adult educators have developed a practice of Iearning and teaching that challenges traditional male-centred forms of education both inside and outside the classroom (see for example, Weiler, 1988; Viezzer, 1986; Rosero, 1993).
Feminist theory is premised upon a recognition of gender - a phenomenon that helps to shape our society. Many feminists believe that women are located unequally within society which means that their work, knowledge, and skills are often devalued and expIoited (Luke and
Gore, 1992).
Feminist adult education "is basically an education that works as a mobilizing axis for social change and consciousness-building around gender oppression" (Gina Vargas quoted in
Rosero, 1993:80). Kathleen Weiler argues that the categories of 'oppression' and
'humanisation' that Freire employs, in fact, falsely universalize the perspectives and aspirations of men. Freire views 'the oppressed' as a single, homogenous group. Oppression, however, takes different forms depending on a group's or individual's social location with respect to a variety of axes of power. Weiler (1992) writes that what feminist educators argue for is a more situated theory of oppression and subjectivity, one that pnvileges reflection and analysis of women's lives and the Iives of others who have been marginalized, prioritizing 102 the analysis of these experiences around issues such as oppression, discrimination, violence in society, child-rearing and ciue, relationships, and elements of working outside the home.
The process or practice of education must give voice to women's needs and concerns, that have been systematicaily ignored, and draw upon their knowIedge to transform their lives (for example, see Hart, 1992; Ba, 1993; Luke and Gore, 1992).
Feminist adult educators, while appreciating Habermas's ideas of the life-world and communicative action, have found that they fail to adequately address gendered differences in experiences. While Habermas (1989) has argued that his theories are universal in application, rnany feminist challenge that claim. For instance, Carmen Luke (1992) argues that without taking an essentiaiist position, one can still see that on the whole men's and women's experiences in the world have been very different. Men have historically shown a wider spread tendency towards violence and destruction not matched by women. The reason for this difference, suggests Luke, is linked with "women's reproductive consciousness and potential, their connectedness to the production of life" (Ibid:43). Different standpoints, life-styles. social pressures, and concepts of the world that women have need to be reflected in the adult education process.
Feminist adult education calls for the learner to look within, to examine their own culture and society and how social structures have shaped their individual attitudes, behaviour, values, and beliefs. Leamers examine their own experiences, explore how they compare to others' experiences in the larger context of al1 other forms of oppression such as racism, class, and sexual orientation. Feminist education asks the learner to confront their lives critically and either step out of their circle of experience or more deeply analyse it, Learner experience is often challenged, rather than simply affirrned. Openly using tems such as patriarchy and sexism is often disturbing because it narnes the problem. But it also provokes
discussion and more deepiy challenges learning. And, as mentioned previously, tme social
learning must have cn element of discornfort as a provocation for discussion and later
confimation (Hart,1992).
In feminist adult education,
the relationship between teaching and learning requires not only a discourse of practice (what one does) but also the social visions they support as they teach. Because of a cornmitment to end social arrangements that lead women to be less than, put down and put upon, [it] invot ves a personal politicai practice (Scott, 1998: 103).
Ferninist adult educators also Iend more weight to emotional and spiritual factors than do
many non-feminist approaches. Adult education and critical pedagogy seldom recognize as
legitimate onIy the abstract, cerebral analysis that has traditiondly been the rnainstay. indeed
the weapon, of white men (hooks, 1994: 191). The idea of "embodied learning," or the
wisdom of the body, is missing from the discourse:
trained in the philosophicai context of Western metaphysical dualism, many of us have accepted the notion that there is a split between the body and the mind. Believing this, individuals enter [a learning situation] to teach as though only the mind is present, and not the body. To cal1 attention to the body is to betray the legacy of repression and denial that has been handed down to us by our professorial elders, who have been usually white and male.
But the mindhody split is another faise dualism and one of the "central tenets of feminist critical education has been the insistence on not engaging in this spiit" (bid.: 193). It is crucial to the learning experience that we enter the realms of critical thought and knowledge without becoming disembodied spirits (Rich in hooks, 1994). Embodied learning is about passion, about feelings inside that are real and can contribute to the process of learning. Jane
Thompson (198354) argues that "Growth through anger, focussed on precision, can be a powerful source of energy, serving progress and change. Anger expressed and translated into 104 actions in the service of women's visions and women's futures can be a liberating and strengthening act of clarification." However, "'even when students are desperately yeaming to be 'touched' by knowledge, professors still feu the challenge, allow their worries about losing control to ovemde their desires to teach. There is not much passionate teaching and learning taking place in higher education today" (hooks, 1994: 199).
However admirable the focus on social justice and transformation and raising the qudity of life of individuals and communities in the field of adult education. it does not respond to environmental challenges. And as feminist sociologist Marprit Eichler (1997) asks so provocatively, "What help will social justice be to us as we lie gasping for a clean breath of air on our devastated earth?"
The Anthropocentric Bias in Adult Education
As the above sections demonstrate. adult education has an inherent flexibility. an ability to adapt, to take on new energy and to broaden its scope and purpose. But much of the field, particularly the key theoreticians who have most profoundly affected the field, have failed to recognize either the complexity of human/Earth relations, the ways in which humans depend not just physically on the rest of nature, but also emotionally, psychologically, culturally, and spititually (Griffin, 1988), or even the ecological crisis that unfoIds around us on a daily basis. instead, even the most influential and progressive educational discourses exhibit an anthropocentric bias based upon a
shared cultural myth which ignores the culturehabitat crisis .... The central aspect of this myth ... is that the world must be viewed from the perspective of humans; that is, it is to valued, understood, and utilised in terrns of human needs. This can be called the myth of the anthropocentric universe (Bowers. 199 1: 103). 105
Below 1 explore the anthropocentric bias in the work of Paulo Freire, Moses Coady,
Jurgen Habermas, and even to a certain degree in Mechthild Hart, although her work does
provide mcch hope. These particular adult educators have been chosen because they are key
critical and/or feminist theorists who have deeply influenced the field.
History has been brutal to nature .... Once this anthropocentrism settles into rhe outlook of people ... the animals stop tulking in rnyth. Sean Kane. 1998:34
'Anthropocentrism' ,according to Bell and Russell ( L996:S),
is the beiief in the primacy of the human enterprise and hence in the inherent superiority of humans over all other species and thereby the right to dominance. Like sexism, racism, classism and heterosexism, anthropocentrism orders relationships according to a hierarchical values system based on difference.
Anthropocentric thought also contains the fundamental premise that humans have intrinsic value (value in and of itself) and function with self-determination and separateness from the world. The term itself implies "a shift from the authority of the plants and animals ... to the authority of man [sic]" (Kane, 1998:34). Nature has value soIely in its instrumental value or usefulness to humans as a resource. Anthropocentrism steak nature's voice and domesticates its consciousness. It cuts the cord between earth and sky and reduces whole sets of complex inter-sustaining ecological relationships to individudity and competition (Abram,
The anthropocentric worldview still very much dominates the field of education today It is "a bias so deeply ingrained and so consistently acted upon in Western societies that, for the most part, it passes entirely unnoticed, or, when acknowledged, is simply regarded as
'naturai' (Russell and Bell, 1996: 173). Freire and Humanization
In 1972, Alben Fauré et al. of UNESCO asked, is this
not the time to cal1 for something quite different in education systems? Learning to live, learning to leam, so as to be able to absorb new knowledge al1 through life, learning to think freely and critically; learning to love the world and make it more human ( l97î:î).
But is not this making of the world more human part of the problem?
Probably more than any other educatorltheoretician, Paulo Freire has had the most profound impact upon the field of adult education, particulariy critical and feminist education, finding currency among union educators, feminist educators, comrnunity activists,
Iiteracy workers, and so on, on al1 continents. Many of his very rich ideu were bnefly summarized previously in this chapter. Here 1 will isolate other pertinent aspects for discussion, in particular, Freire's iiiquiry into humanism - what it means to be human and what stands in the way of the humanization process. It must be understood that Freire refers to 'humanism' in two ways. The first notion of humanism is based upon fair treatment and respect for al1 people. This aspect of humanism is not being questioned. The second idea of humanism found in Freire contains an anthropocentric bias that inadvertently pits humans against the rest of nature.
In the 1960s and 1970s, at a time when many people around the world were beginning to vociferously question modemism, the Enlightenment. human relations with the rest of nature, and to entertain ideas around human misuse of the rest of nature, intrinsic value, and inter- connectedness, Paulo Freire was producing a number of highly influential and thought- provoking books on the role of adult education and leming. In dl of his wrïrings Freire focussed on the concept of dehumanization and the vocation of people to become more fully For Freire, to becorne fully human is
to engage in relationships with others and with the world. It is to experience that world as an objective reality, independent of oneself, capable of king known. Animals, submerged within reality, cannot relate to it; they are creatures of mere contacts. But man's [sic] separateness from and openness to the world distinguishes him as a king of relationships. Men, unlike mimals. are not only in the world, but wirh the world (Freire, 1973:3).
Dehumanization, Freire argues, is a distortion of king more fulIy human; it is a result of oppression, of dominance, and power-over. The oppressed cmonly gain liberation from this
'dehumanized' state through praxis - critical reflection and action upon the world in order to transform it. This is a process of people separating themselves 'from the world' in order to overcome the situations and things that limit and oppress them (Ibid.:89). And one of the things from which they need to separate, and which oppresses and limits them, is the rest of nature.
Humans who identify themselves with the rest of nature, such as peasants and Native peoples, do so because they are oppressed and because they have not fully realised cuiture. the opposite of nature (Freire, 1970). They would appear to be limited because they passiveiy accept this world as given rather than actively trying to change it by surmounting "the limits
imposed by the 'here' and the 'now' " (Freire, 1989:89).
What is required, according to Freire, is an educative process that will enable people "to arrive at the distinction between nature and culture and to comprehend their status as cultural agents possessing the ability to make history and rise above nature - to see the distinction between culture and nature" (Freire, 1989: 1 13). This view inadvertently supports both the rnodemist labelling of those closer to the rest of nature as 'primitive' or incomplete beings and the destructive nature/culture dualism highlighted particularly in ecofeminism. Freire supports sociology's 'hurnan exemptionalisrn paradigrn' that argues that "humans have a cultural heritage in addition to (and distinct from) their genetic inheritance, that makes them quite unlike dl other animal species, thus denying the interdependence of humans in the global ecosystem" (Eichler, 1996: 1 1). However, only in recognising human's misuse of the rest of nature can we awaken an ability to act to transform that reality and perhaps gain different kinds of insights into Our own misuses and de-humanisation. By not recognizing it as such we will continue "our domination of the Earth" (Evemden, 199296).
As well, in his writings Freire goes to great lengths to outline the fundamental difference between humans and animais. He States,
One may well remember - tnte as it seems - that, of the uncompleted beings, man [sic] is the only one to treat not only his actions but his very self as the object of his reflection; this capacity distinguishes hirn from the animds, which are unable to separate themselves from their activity and thus are unable to reflect upon it .... For animals, 'here' is only a habitat with which they enter into contact ... (Freire, 1985237- 88).
To Freire, what is most interesting and important about humans is not their similarities or inter-connectedness, as is suggested in deep ecology and ecofeminism, but their differences.
It is also interesting that Freire would think 'trite' what so many others find very cornplex and troubling.
For example, ecological thinker John Livingston disputes the daim that only humans act consciously on the world. In his book Rogue Primate Livingston argues that
the problem of self-awareness (or rather, the probtem of our unrepentant daim ... that beings who are not human do not have it) confuses a number of issues pertaining to the human treatment of animals. It appears consistently in defence of vivisection. for example. 'Sentience' is much used as a synonym of self-awareness, or sometimes, consciousness. Non-human animals are not sentient (consciously self-aware); therefore, it is ethicdly permissible to do as we please with them. Such reasoning is mystifying (1 994: 102).
He further explores the redm of animal consciousness and awareness through the concept of dialogue, a solely human quality according to Freire and Habermas as well. As Livingston 109
watched a flock of shorebirds move through the air as if they were a single organism he asks
that we "just consider [emphasis in original] the possibiiity that this phenornenon is not
mechanically based at dl. Perhaps this an aspect of being that is neither physical nor
chernical, but rather one arising from what we cd1 'consciousness' " (Ibid.: 106). This
dialogue comes from what Livingston describes as a 'community consciousness' as well as a
'biospheric consciousness' that goes beyond the simplistic idea of lanpage as the only form of communication (Sheridan et al., 1998).
Environmentai adult educator Noel Keough ( 1996: 15) asks "Cm humans communicate with, even enter into a diaiogue with the rest of nature?" Kane (1998: 14) responds that in fact
"for 100,000 years or more early humanity negotiated a dialogue with nature." It still goes on today and %y al1 accounts [this] dialogue was - and still is - an affectionate counterpoint to the earth's voices, with no ambition to direct them or force them to give up their merining"
(Ibid.: 14). John Mohawk ( 1996: 10) notes
There was a time among Indians [sic] when the anirnals were perceived as people who live under the forest canopy and who run about on four legs .... We Indians also thought of ourselves as mimals. That's why we called ourselves turtles and woives and bear and deer .... The animais provide us with good humour. We could learn from them how to live here. in ancient Ireland, "where a Stone-age sensibility lies beneath an agriculturalist frame of mind like volcanic rock beneath peat, one encounters al1 the intelligent energies of animism - that is, of a nature seen as having mentality" (Kane, 1998:35).
Although Freire challenges the hegemony of the scientific way of knowing and recognizes that there are many other ways of knowing, the only knowers are people. But nature's way of knowing musc also be seen as a form of consciousness. We must also begin to realize that we can dialogue with, and learn from the rest of nature as much as from other 110
humans. Swimrne and Beny (1992:263) argue that human self-consciousness does not have
to set us apart from the rest of nature and other species that seek individuation dong their
own paths. We are complex forms of life that seek communion with other humans and other
forms of life. And "While everything exists for everything else we can only surrnise the
dirninishment of the human mind and imagination if we did not have such magnificence [as
the rest of nature]."
Finally, Freire ( 1970 & 1987) puts forward valuable ideas on the use of culture as a
critical expression of resistance, learning, and dialogue. In particular, interactive storytelling
and reflective talking cm bring out hidden feelings, passion, and knowledge. Storytelling has
been used as a tool for consciousness-raising and mobilization in the women's movernent in
particular, but also by organizations of indigenous people struggling against the effects of
colonization and by other oppressed groups (Chan, 1996).
The struggle and resistance inherent in conservation or preservation of wi lderness spaces
is the material achievement of the cultural presence of the past in mythopoeic: cultures and of
the present in the environmental movement (Bowers, 1997). An intact ecosystem is
a cultural legacy within the very landscape where natural and cultural protocois reside, reveai, and maintain thernselves. Story and landscape preserve one another, making wilderness a cultural accomplishment rather than an a-cultural entity (Sheridan, 1998: 120).
EtiologicalIy rooted stories come frorn an understanding of place "and secure us against the characteristic cultural placelessness of modernity" (Ibid.: 1 19).
Our hurnan connectedness to the rest of nature should supersede allegiances prescribed by partisan human self interest. Human liberation cannot happen without an 'ecological
Iiberation' that can only come from an ecological consciousness that compels people to 11 1 choose life-affirming ways rather than life-destructive ways based on the exploitation of the rest of nature that will uttirnately destroy us.
Moses Coadv and Nature's Destinv
The Nova Scotia-based Antigonish movement, a 1920s adult education movement, is notably recognized as a significant Canadian contribution to the theory and practice of critical social change-oriented adult education. Its primary purpose was to reform the lives of rural farmers and fishers through the creation of cooperative and credit union organisations (Lotz and Welton, 1987). One of the leaders of this movement was Moses Coady, described as a giant of a man whose "stock in trade was ideas, simple but explosive ideas" (Laidlaw.
1971:I 1).
References to the rest of nature are strewn throughout some of the speeches Coady made during his lifetime. Many times he argued against the abuse of the rest of nature and recognized that "the health of human beings [depended] on the health of plants and animals"
(Laidlaw, 1971: 148). For example, in an address to the Home Economics Association of
Nova Scotia in 1948 (Laidlaw, 197 1 : 148- l49), Coady focussed on working with nature. and in particular, putting humus back into the soil in order "to preserve the organic life of the soil." Also in a speech to the United Nations Conference on Conservation and Utilization of
Resources in 1949, Coady noted that:
The story of man's [sic] misuse of and failure to conserve his natural heritage should also guide us in arriving at a scientific procedure for the future. Pst performance should be temQing to us al1 .... If we get clearly in mind the reasons why man [sic] abused, rather than used, the naturai resources of the earth, we have the answer we are looking for (Laidiaw, 197 1:44). 112
However groundbreaking and important these ideas werehre, they have often been prefaced or couched in an overall anthropocentric framework. For example. in the opening of the above mentioned speech in 1949 Coady argued that, "it is in the very nature of things that the earth and the fullness thereof, is for man [sic]. Natural resources fulfil their purpose when they rninister to human life on this earth for that is their manifest destiny, so to speak (speech printed in Laidlaw, 197 1 :44).
Jurgen Habermas and the Lifeworld
Jurgen Habermas also has inspired many adult educators around the world with his social learning theory. in his early works he reflected on 'nature' and the ecological crisis, however, the only idea that seems to have been taken up by prominent adult education theoreticians was the idea of the 'life-world', a world made up solely of "social systems ... that are symbo1ically structure&' (Habermas, 1976:4).
Disagreeing somewhat with the ideas of Karl Marx vis-à-vis labour and nature in his
1968 publication titled KnowIedrre and Human Interests, Habermas frames his ideas around humadnature relationships somewhat differently. Importantly, he argues that nature has the property of 'being-in-itself'. that it has its own value and place, and that "man [sic] is not only a natural being, but a human natural being - that is a being that exists for itself'
(Habermas, l968:28).
For Habermas the problem is that nature comes "to bear, as man [sic] mediates, regulates and controls his ... exchange with nature ..., the character of produced objectivity" (Ibid.:27).
Moreover, "[at] the human level nature separates out into the subjective nature of man [sic] and the objective nature of his environment" (Ibid.:27). At best, this separation in mind sets up the subjective/objective dichotomy that is so destructive. At worst, the human species
reduces nature to an unessential element that is "not ... present adequately to the human king
either objectively or subjectively" (Ibid.:28).
In 1976 in his publication titled Le~itimationCrisis, Habermas, albeit briefly. discusses
the importance of the ecoiogical crisis. He analyses hurnan impact in terms of capitalism and
population growth:
The establishment rnechanisrns of growth are forcing an increase in both population and production on a worldwide scale. The economic needs ... and increasing productive exploitation of nature are faced with two important material limitations: on the one hand, the supply of finite resources - the area of cultivable and inhabitable land, fresh water, foodstuffs, and non-regenerating raw materials ... on the other, the capacities of irrepiaceable ecoiogical systems to absorb pollutants such as radioactive by-products, carbon dioxide, or waste heat (Habermas, 1976:43),
In spite of these insights that could be built upon. Habermas's idea of the 'life-world'. a world made-up sotely of 'social systems', is where adult education theorists focussed, rnissing a valuable opportunity to broaden the debate. For exarnple, drawing on Habermas.
Schutz (197530) describes the life-world as the
world of everyday life: The total sphere of experiences of an individual which is circumscribed by the objects, persons. and events encountered in the pursuit of the pragmatic objectives of living. It is a world in which a person is 'wide-awake' and which asserts itseIf as the paramount reality of his life.
But for Schultz this life-world does not include ~hewhole worid that has life. For Michael
Welton too, the 'life-world' became "the realm of hurnan communication; the collective project of human self-consciousness" (Welton, 1995). These notions of 'life-world' do not include the rest of nature, except in a parochial sense of human dependency on the environment that is extrinsic and instrumental. They do not begin from Habermas's framework that acknowledged humans as physical, natural beings immersed in an environment being destroyed by economic neeagreed. 114
In terms of social learning theory, adult educator Griff Foley focuses on Habermas's idea of a human way of understanding the world: a "knowledge that will help people to exercise technoIogical control of nature" ( 1995: 17). While Michael Welton, inserting a quote by
Habermas, goes one step further and suggests that "pedagogy should help humünkind to learn how to circumvent the constraints of nature ... [and] to exercise technical control over natural processes" (Welton, 1995:55).
One cannot help but wonder why it was only the ideas of a somewhat narrow view of the
'life-worId' and the idea of control over the rest of nature that were absorbed by and peppered throughout adult education discourse.
Mech thi Id Hart and Ecological Pers~ectiveson Work
Another example of an anthropocentric bias can be found in the writings of Mechthild
Hart. Her book Working and Educating- for Life: Feminist and International Pers~ectivesin
Adult Education (1992) contains a section titled Ncrtrire vs. Socie~.To Hart's credit. she focuses on the hubris of the human race (and the field of adult education) to assume that relations of dominance and control are "enacted only if the participants are human"
(Ibid.: 1 17). She also wholeheartedly engages in the nature/culture debate that has so separated humans from the Earth as well as the links that have been made between wornen and nature. However, she falls short when she States that
the thought of viewing nature as a being endowed with a subjectivity of her own, and hence as possessing an integrity which human beings should not violate. is certainly intriguing. At present, however, 1 am rnainly concerned about the way the dominance- relationship to nature translates into a dominance-relationship between human beings (Ibid.: 1 19). 115
An opportunity is missed to include a discussion of intrinsic value and/or its bconsciousness', but rather simply focuses on environmental problems manifest in the lives of human beings.
However, later in the book Hart actudly does reflect on the ways in which "an egalitarian, interactive relationship between human beings and nature accords the latter its own integrity and inviolability, this setting limits to human use and interference" (Ibid.: 180). Lnspired by the ideas of Vandana Shiva around women's subsistence farming, ecological knowledge and stniggles, Hart weaves these into discussions around re-conceptualising work. She begins by notins that with its "overall orientation towards use and life, and with its preserving rather than destructive attitude, subsistence labour cm serve as a mode1 for a truiy human vision of work and life" (Ibid.: 177). This way of living and work, this 'ecological knowledge' can be used to construct a vision of work and life that is both life-enhancing and progressive ... and serve as important themes for an education for Iife" (Ibid.: 177). Next Hart argues that work must assume "the character of conscious interaction and of a partnership with the natural forces and conditions of human existence, drawing out their inherent potential, but also accepting and respecting their limits" (Ibid.: 179). Hart believes that if "work remains (or becomes) direct and sensual interaction with nature, it [will provide] opportunity for self- expression and enjoyrnent" (Ibid.: 180).
Discussion
These final ideas by such a prominent adult education theoretician as Mechthild Hart reveal that there is the potential for change, that the field is of necessity unable to ignore the environmental problems of the world. But there is still a long way to go and by way of example, 1 conclude this section with a final example of the continuation of the 116 anthropocentric bias. 1 must preface my point by noting that 1 was asked to submit, for the first time ever in the history of Canadian adult education literature, a chapter on environmental adult education to the most contemporary Canadian reader in adult education titled "Leming for Life" published in 1998. In another chapter titled "An Overview of
Transformation Theory," Sue Scott ( 1998: 1 80) writes:
Any adequate theory of society must take into account that action is based on the achievement of shared meaning and understanding. This is what distinguishes hurnans from animals.
What is problematic here is that a 'transforrnative theory' that should challenge al1 hierarchies - al1 forms of abuse, misuse, and marginalisation - instead sets up a hierarchy of its own, a totally unhelpful and unnecessary hierarchy between humans and animals that relegates animais to the margins of change. Chapter Five Research Questions, Methodology, and Methods
Introduction
The particular value of ... research in education is that it will enable educators to develop [a) sound knowledge base ... that will ensure educafion a rnaturity und sense of progression. Cohen and Manion. l98OAO
This study utilizes a historico-contemporary case study of the International Council for
Adult Education (ICAE)and, in particular, its Learning for Environmental Action
Programme (LEAP). Through an in depth analysis of 42 of 6 1 ICAE and LEM documents published between 1972 and 1997, this study uncovers some of the essential elements of a framework for environmental adult education.
This chapter discusses the choice of the case study site selection' and outlines the research methodology, the primary research question, and the anaiytical questions that guided the document analysis. It also describes the various methods used in the study and provides a tabIe of the titles and dates of al1 61 documents. It also identifies the region where the document was developed, the impetus behind the document creation where applicable and the name(s) of the author responsible for the publication, again where applicable. 1 conclude this chapter with a bnef discussion of my role as the author or CO-authorof, or contributor to,
14 of the 42 documents.
- 1. An examination of the historical context of ICAE and LEAP is found in Chapter Six.
117 Case Study Site Selection
The site selected to explore the research question "What are some of the essential components of a learning framework for environmental adult education as formulated in relevant documents?", is the International Council for Adult Education (ICAE) and, in particular, its globai Learning for Environmental Action Programme (LEAP), The data for this study was obtained through an examination of 42 of 61 ICAE and LEAP documents produced over 25 years, from 1972 to 1997, that focus on the process of learning and teaching within an ecological context. These publications include books, journal and conference proceedings articles, chapters, discussion and working papers, a draft world charter and its final articulation. and an international treaty.
ICAE/LEAP was chosen as the site to explore the research question based on several factors. First, LEAP is the only existing global environmental education programme that focüses specifically on adults. Second, ICAELEAP members are active in atrempting to articulate, through work at community, national, regional and global levels, within and outside academia, and through the publication of different types of materials, some of the essential components of a framework for environmental adult education. Finally. by examining LEAP from my position as International Coordinator since 1995,I have the opportunity to refIect upon my own work and to understand what 1 have leamed and how my own and others' ideas have changed or grown over the years.
Methodology
This study utilizes a historico-contemporary case study approach. In its broadest application "a case study refers to research that focuses on a single case, in contrast with 119 studies that seek generalizations through comparative analysis" (Reinharz. 1992: 164). A case study cm be an "intensive, holistic description and analysis of ... a programme, an institute ...
[or] a process" (Memarn, 1988:2). It can "include quantitative and qualitative data" (bid.:2).
It is a tool used by feminist and other researchers to "document history and generate theory"
(Reinhan, 1992: 174).
Case studies in education "focus on questions, issues, and concerns broadiy related to teaching and learning" (Merriam, 1988:27). These questions. issues, and concems include technique, strategy, and context. They work to uncover ideas about the educative process or method used, the content of learning, the materials used, the role of the educator and leamer, and the extemal impacts or the social context of knowledge creation, education, and learning
(Merriam, 1988; Foley, 1995).
Historical case studies in education often focus -'on a specific organisation or programme and trace the development over a period of time" (Merriam, 198825). Aspects of case studies
"are viewed in the context of the whole case ... [and] uncover essentiai features of a case"
(bid.:25). The histoncal case-study strategy is fitting for those investigations concemed with
"complex and changing phenomena ... [and] holistic and meaningful characteristics" (Yin,
1989: 14). Applying one's knowledge to the present process of education means knowing the past context, the assumptions behind it, and perhaps the event's impact on the larger field of education.
The aim of a historical case study in education is not to find 'the truth' but rather to illuminate ideas and concepts that emerge at different times and within different contexts
(Merriam, 1988). This method is helpful when the researcher wishes to "illuminate a holistic and ... rich account of an educational programme" (Ibid.: 19). 120
The illuminative case report is particularly apt for initial research on certain kinds of educationd innovation and pnctice and more than one writer in education has suggested that illumination should be the priority for those who do research in this area (Rockhill, 1976;
Parlett and Hamilton, 1977). The primary focus "of illumination research is with description and interpretation rather than with measurement and prediction" (Rockhill, 1976:7). One task of the researcher is to isolate significant features and attempt to cornprehend some of the reiationships between beliefs, events, and practices (Parlett and Hamiiton. 1977).
ICAEILEAP is a single case - an international programme engaged, among other things, in re-shaping and re-conceptualizing the process of learning and teaching in aduit education based on the demands of world-wide contemporary ecological problems. One feature of the illuminative case report is that description and interpretation are both essential. 1 therefore, begin this historico-contemporary case study with a description of the ICAE and LEAP as a way to generate a better understanding of how particular events have informed the changes that emerge from the data in terrns of the field of adult education. In an illuminate case study, the data are not interpreted by a priori theory or hypothesis but arise from refiections on the data itself.
1 have qualified this historical case smdy with the term 'contemporary' for two reasons.'
First, the penod of study is only 25 years, from 1972 to 1997. The ICAE began functioning in
1972 although it was not officially inaugurated until 1973. LEAP, its newest global programme, came into king in the late 1980s and was inaugurated in 1990 at the World
Assembly of Adult Education held in Bangkok, Thailand. From that time forward, LEAP became responsible for creating anaor encouraging the production of materials on
2. My thanks to David Selby for suggesting this idea. 121 environmental adult education on behaif of the ICAE. Second, none of the primary source materials 1 have used for this study have been archived. This means that the documents are still readily available, still disseminated around the world, and still used as a basis for adult education work and the production of new materials.
Primarv Source Material Analvsis
Document content anaiysis is "a technique in social research that dates from the early years of this century and since then the method has gone through a number of phases" (Cohen and Manion, 198055). Many case studies in education involve an in-depth examination of
'primary source materials' and content analysis (Merriam, 1988:24). Primary source materials are those that "are original to the problem under study" (Cohen and Manion, 1980:50).
Documents considered as primary sources include such things as "manuscripts. charters. laws, archives of official minutes or records, memoirs, official publications, newspapers. magazines ... newsletters, log books, and research reports" (Ibid.50). A11 of these materials, whether intentionai or not, are capable of transmitting accounts of an event, the development of ideas and so on. At times texts 'reflect' conditions and at others they " 'medirite' experiences" (Reinharz, 1992: 145).
Document content analysis is described as a "multipurpose research method developed specificaIly for investigating a problem in which the content of communication serves as a basis for inference" (Ibid35). Often the content of primary source materials can be an
"indirect surrogate for values, expectations, and ideas that might otherwise be difficult to see and assess" (Eisner, 199 1 :185). In content analysis it is important to identify bases of analysis that reflect the nature of the document being andysed and the purpose of the research. Categories can be deterrnined before, during, and as a result of the inspection of the
documents.
The data for this study came from an examination of 42 documents produced over a
period of 25 years, from 1972 to 1997, by ICAE and LEM. These publications focus on
environmentai issues andor the process of learning and teaching within an ecological
context. They include newsletters, books, journal and conference proceedings articles.
chapters, discussion and working papers, a draft world charter and its final articulation. and
an international treaty.
Analvtical Process
In the case of this study, 1 began with a number of questions 1 felt would pull out the most
details from the documents in terms of the process of learning and teaching within an
ecological context. However, 1 soon discovered through the analysis process that various
other ideas and concepts kept emerging from the authors. For example, when 1 created the
question around 'place' or setting of the learning and teaching, 1 thought only in tems of
physical location. However, as various authors discussed the idea of 'place'. 1 noticed a
variety of interpretations. Similarly, my idea of 'ecological knowledge and identity' was
broadened by authors' varying views. As this happened, as the different and challenging perspectives began to emerge, 1 read the documents a second time, seeing them through these expanded ideas. This allowed me to indude ideas that 1 had at first overlooked. Research Ouestions
Primant Ouestion
Merriam ( 19%) notes that the case study as a research-design strategy emerges from the research question. The primary research question that guided this study was: What are some of the essential components of a learning framework for environmental adult education as formulated in the relevant documents? Since, as critical and feminist adult educators argue, we are social beings and the world impacts upon the process of learning and teaching, 1 wüs also interested in the specific contexts within which some of the essential elements of a framework had emerged and the events and activities such as United Nations conferences that had served as catalysts.
Analvtical Orrestions
The documents used for this study put forward new ecological perceptions of the process of learning and teaching based on the authors' own experiences and thoughts from working within the milieu of environmental adult and/or popular education.' The questions that guided the analytical process of extracting these ides from the 42 documents include:
1. What are the most important contexts within which environmental adult education mut work? How are context and content interwoven?
2. What constitutes ecological knowledge and identity and what is their relevance'?
3. What human/Earth relations need to be nurtured andor re-developed?
4. What are the most appropriate methods or praxes?
5. What is the importance of 'place' or setting?
3. Most Latin American authors/educators prefer to use the term 'popular' which literally translates into 'people'. 6. What roles does nature play in the leaming and teaching process?
7. What materials or resources are required? How should they be devefoped?
8. What new knowledge and understanding do educators require? What roles do they need to play?
9. What are some of the values authors believe should guide the leaming and teaching process?
Research Method
Pre-Content Analvsis Process: Document Selection
1 began the research process by collecting al1 the documents4 that penain to
environmental issues and/or environmental adult or popular education from the International
Resource Centre of the ICAE in Toronto. This Centre is the central clearing house for
information on adult education world-wide. 1 then coliected al1 other documents through an
actual visit or by post from approximately 10 of the 109 ICAE member organisation offices.
in essence, those responsible for the coordination of regional environmental adult education
programmes such as the Centre for Environmental Concerns in the Philippines or who had
programmes or activities in environmental adult education such as the National Institute for
Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) in England.
Al1 42 documents were written by a member of ICAE, LEAP, or by someone who
responded to a 'cal1 for papers' sent out by the Editor of Convergence, ICAE's refereed journal. Al1 of those who responded to a cal1 for papers have become either members or
'Friends' bfICAE/LEAP.
4. AIthough 1 may not have located al1 the documents, 1 feel 1 managed to recover the vast majority.
5. 'Friends' is a non-voting category or relationship within the ICAE. Friends receive newsletters. joumals, and other pieces of information disseminated by ICAE. Euoch Divisions
Once al1 the documents had been collected, 1 separateci them into five epochs for analysis.
These epochs were chosen because they mark distinctly different periods in the history of
ICAE and LEAP in terms of environmental adult education. The epochs are as folIows:
First Mention of the Environment: 1972-1981
The Silent Years, 1982- 1986
The Creation of LEAP, 1987-1990
The Rio Years, 199 1 - 1992
The fntenin Years, 1993- 1994
Furrher Development of the Global Network, 1995- !997
A detailed description and analysis of these periods the documents produced in each is
provided in Chapter Six.
Table One
Once the 61 documents had been divided into the five epochs mentioned above ( 1982-
1986 is not incfuded because it was The Silent Years), I created Table 1. found on pages i 27
to 133. The first column of Table 1. designates the year in which the publication appeared.
The second contains the title of the document and, where applicable, the publication in which
it is contained. The third column identifies the activity or event that motivated the publication of the document. Although sorne of the documents were produced simply as an ongoing activity of ICAEUAP, it becarne clear through this exercise and my own knowledge of past events that many others were the result of sorne major international or regional events. The fourth column identifies the ICAE member organization, institution andor the region that 126
produced the document. This helped me to see the regional ebbs and flows and identify the
most active regions at particular times. The final column provides the author's name(s) and
her or his country of origin. This provided me with a stock-taking of the most active countries
and, in particular, the most active people. During this process 1 discovered 1 had produced,
CO-produced,or contributed to 14 of the 42 documents.
AIthough the Table contains 61 documents, only 42 (designated with an asterisk) were
chosen for an in-depth analysis. The first reason for not choosing some of the documents was
that some are simpiy re-articulations or re-prints of other documents, that means the content
is analogous. One example of this comes from two publications by the Latin Amencan
Council for Adult Education (CEAAL) in 1993: "Ambientalismo y educacion" and
"Educacion Popular Ambientd en America Latina." The latter is a shortened version of the
former. The second reason for why a document was not chosen is because it did not enhance
the conceptuai/theoretical debate but was rnerely informative. For example, the prirnary
purpose of the international newsletter Pachamama is to share information about conferences,
workshops, regional activities, training and academic opportunities, resource materiais, and so on. Similady, the newsletter Leaves is a vehicle to share paraltel information in the Asia
South Pacific Region.
The documents in Table 1. include books, journal and conference proceedings articles, chapters (already published and soon to be published), newsletters, papers, discussion and working papers, a World Charter and an NGO Treaty. These documents depict 25 years of collective writing - an intellectual progression towards the development of a framework for environmental adult education. They contain new ideas, issues, questions, and beliefs that reshape the process of adult learning and teaching to deal with environmental problems. .. ------. Publication . Motivating Activity OfficelRegional i Author and Country Producer
* "The Stockholm Conference" in * United Nations Conference on the ICAE Secretariat, Roby Kidd, Canada Çonveraencg, Vol. V(3) Human Environment, Stockholm, Toronto Sweden
"The Environment: a Global issue" United Nations Conference on the ICAE Secretariat, Kurt Swinton, Canada in Convergence, Vol. Vl(2) Human Environment, Stockholm, Toronto Sweden
'"The Belgrade Charter: Global UNESCO-UNDP lnternational ICA€ Secretariat, i Roby Kidd, Canada
, framework for environmental Workshop on Environmental Toronto education" in Converaence, Vol. Education, October, Belgrade, Vlll(4) Y ugoslavia * "The need for environmental UNESCO-UNDP lnternational ICA€ Secretarlat, Lars Emmelin, Germany education for adults" in Workshop on Environmental Toronto ,(=onvaraencg, Vol. IX(1) Education, October, Belgrade, Y ugoslavia "The Significance of Habitat '76 to i United Nations Conference on ICAE Secretariat, James Draper, Canada
. ' Adult Education" in Converaencg, [ Human Settlements (Habitat '76), Toronto Vol. IX(4) Vancouver, British Columbia
' "Community Participation in the ICA€ Secretariat, John P. Cummings, Stephen C, Development of Environmental i Toronto Frantz and Bonnie 3. Cain, United Health Education Materialsain i States =aence Vol. X1V No. 2 'tEducalion AALAE Environmental Victor Ibikunle-Johnson and
'- '- Education Programme Edward Rugumayo, Kenya . . ! :
I * , 3, :: First Special Edition of j i ICA€ Meeting at York University ICA€ Secretarlat, Peter Sutton, England, Victor , ' : Çonveraence on Environmental ! j in 1988 on "Learning for Toronto Ibikunle-Johnson, Kenya; :-, :-, Vol. XXll(4) j / Environmental Action" Matthias Finger, Switzerland; j i Calvin Howell, Barbados; ; Akpovire B. Oduaran, Nigeria; i Anil Chaundhary, lndia ...... ,...... <...... i.i...... ii ...... (...... "Learning For Environmental j Fourth World Assembty of Adult LEAP Action" in Literacv, Popular i Education, Bangkok, Thailand -ion and Democracv, Building Movement (Conference Report) .---- . Manual de Educ-Accion Ambiental Fourlh World Assembly of Adull CEAAL, Environmental Moema Viezzer, Brazil and Omar Education, Bangkok, Thailand Adult Education Ovaltes, Venezuela Prograrn
Information Report on LEAP in Fourth World Assembly of Adult ICA€ Secretariat Gonverqencg Vol. XXIV(3) Education, Bangkok, Thailand
"World Environmental Adult United Nations Conference on LEAP LEAP Members Education Charter" (first draft) Environment and Development (UNCED), June, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Pachamama No. 1 (first edition of United Nations Conference on LEAP the global newsletter) Environment and Development (UNCED), June, Rio de Janeiro, 8razil
Pachamama No. 2 United Nations Conference on LEAP Environment and Development (UNCEO), June, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Learning for Environmenta( Special Earth Day lssue and ASPBAE Action. Vision of Ecological establishment of the ASPBAE Action, Vision of Ecological Environmental Education Sustainabilitv Newsletter Programme (EEP) (LEAVES)
"Informe de la Jornada Special Earth Day Issue and LE, lnternacional de Educacion establishment of the ASPBAE Ambiental" Report of International Environmental Education Journev for Environmenlal Programme and Network Education "Environmental Education for United Nations Conferenca on LEAP LEAP and the NGO Forum Sustainable Societies and Global Environment and Development Rasponsibilily" Treaty (UNCED), June, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Adult Environment Education: A ICAEILEAP Meeting "From Words LEAPlEcologic & Anne Camozzi, Canada; Owor Workbook to Move from Words to to Action," Los Bancos, Phillipines Associates Peter Minor, Uganda; Graciele Action Evia, and Eduardo Gudynas, Uruguay; Darlene Clover, Canada; Case Studies for India; Sri Lanka and Bolivia (no authors); Gordon Ng, Hong Kong
I%L@marna, Nos. 1&2 ICAE Secretarial m,No. 1 New LEAP Coordination, NAAPAE LEAP
Pachamama, No. 2
Third Special Edition of Noel Keough, Linda Grandinetti Converaence, Vol. XXVlll(4) and Emman Carmona, CanadaIPhilippines; Farrukh Tahir, Pakistan; Joyce Stalker, New Zealand; Francisco Vio Grossi, Chile; Darlene Clover, Canada; Walter Leal Filho and Monica Villa, BrazillEngland; Juma Nyirenda, Bostwana
Renewinq Renew: A Restoration ASPABEICentre for Jose Roberto Guevara, Ecoloqv Workshop Manual Environmental Philippines Concerns (CEC)
"ln Their Spare Time: Women and Women's Studies Conference, LEAPINAAPAE Darlene Clover, Canada Environmental Action" Oklahoma, United States
"Living Downstream" report International Conference on LEAP Women Beijing, China
"Gender Transformative Learning Darlene Clover, Canada and Environmental Action" in Çender in Education Vol 7(4) Special Issue of the ASPBAE 20th Annivsrsary of the Belgrade er Ino.5S) on Environmental Charter Education for Sustainable Development "Learning for Environmental LEAP Darlene Clover, Canada Action: Building lnternational Consensus" in Adult Education Throuah World Cotlaboration
La Perspectiva Arnbiental de la CEAAL educacidn entre personas adultas
"Push and Pull: Motivation and ASPBAE Robbie Guevara and Linnea Participation" in Community Tarichuling, Philippines Quarterly, No. 39 "Critical Environmental Adult CASAE Conference, Montreal, NAAPAE Darlene Clover, Canada Education Theory and Practice" in Quebec Conference Proceedings Pachamama, Nos. 1&2 and 38i4 LEAP
"Evolving an Asian-South Pacific ASPBAE General Assembly, ASPAEJLEAP Framework for Adult and Darwin, Australia Community Environmental Education"
"Breaking the Green Silence: Modernity, Postmodernity: An LEAPINAAPAE Critical Environmental Adult International Comparative Education" in Conference Education Conference, Sydney, Proceedinas Australia
"Towards Sustainable Thessaloniki lnternational LEAPJNAAPAE Oarl ene Clov'er, Can Communities: Environmental Adult Conference of Environment and Education," in Conference Society: Education and Public Proceedinas Awareness for Sustainability, Thessaloniki, Greece "Environment Adult and Popular International Conference on LEAPINAAPAE Education" Popular Education, University of Technology of Sydney, Australia, June
"Environmental Adult Education" 39th International Conference on ASPBAE in ,Conference Report Education and the Environment Kuching, Malaysia
Developing International Twentielh Anniversary of The Parthenon Darlene Clover, Canada Environmental Adult Education: Belgrade Meeting Publishing Group The Challenge, Theory and Practice" in A Sourcebook for €-enta! Education . . pachamama, Nos. 1&2 and 3&4 : LEAP
"Working Conceptual Paper on UNESCO Fiflh International LEAPIINFORSE Environmental Adult and Popular Conference on Adult Education Education" (CONFINTEA V)
' "Adult Learning in the Context of UNESCO Fifth International LEAPIINFORSE UIEIGermariy; Rene Karrotki, Environment, Health and Conference on Adult Education Denmark; Walter Leal Filho, Population" in CONÇlNTEA V (CONFINTEA V) Germany; Darlene Clover, Background Papers Canada; Adoum N'Gaba-Waye, Senegal
* Case Studies in Environmental, UNESCO Fifth International LEAPtINFORSE LEAPIINFORSE Adult. and Popular Education, Conference on Adutt Education LEAPIINFORSE (CONFINTEA V) " "Understanding HumanlEarth UNESCO Fifth International Peter Lang Publishers Darlene Clover, Canada Relationships Through Story Conference on Adult Education Telling and Memory" in tifelong (CONFINTEA V) Learning and Environmental Education ' "Thread, Web, and Tapestry" UNESCO Fifth International LEAP Shirley Follen and Darlene fie~orton CONFINTEA V Conferenco on Adult Education Clover, Canada (CONFINTEA V) l "Growing Jobs for Living Through Conference of the Canadian LEAPINAAPAE Shirley Follen and Darlene Environmental Adult Education" in Association for Studies of Adult Clover, Canada Conference Proceedings Education, St. John's, ' "HumanlEarth Relations: Crossing Borders, Breaking LEAPINAAPAE Darlene Clover, Canada Challenges for Critical Adult Boundaries, Conference, England Learning" in Conference Proceedings
" "Community Revitalisation Crossing Borders, Breaking Shirley Follen and Darlene E. through Critical Environmental Boundaries, Conforence, Clover, Canada Adult Education" in Conference SCUTREA, England Proceedinas
' "Faciliiating Environmental Adult : Contribution to a Zed Books Adult ASPBAE Jose Roberto Guevara, Education in the Philippines: Education Series Philippines Transformation into Action" "Women and Agency in Contribution to a Zed Books Adult ALECSO Salwa Tabiedi, Sudan Environment Adult Education for Education Series Socio-Ecological Change" "Environmental Adult Education: Contribution to a Zed Books Adult NAAPAE Sandra Tan, Canada Addressing Environmental Education Series Racism"
"Commuiiity Learning and Contribution to a Zed Books Adult African Environmental Mary N. Karaja, Coslata W. Environmental Protection: A Case Education Series Education Programme Kiragu, Rosa Muraguri and Janet Study of the Taitaills Forest in W. Mutiso, Kenya Kenya" "The Greening of Education" in UNESCO Fifth International LEAPINAAPAE UNESCO Sources, No. 92, June Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA V)
"The Future Begins Today: Nature Budd L. Hall and Oarlone Clover, as Teacher in Environmental Adult Canada Popular Education" Content Analvsis Process
The first analytical task was to identify the questions I could use to guide my reading of
the various documents, that were outlined previously in this chapter, and extract some of the
essential elements in order to begin the process of creating a learning framework for
environmental adult education.
From the 42 documents emerged authors' contextualized meanings and perceptions.
From these ideas I created a broad framework that includes: Content and Context: Values;
Strategies; and Tools and Praxis. Under each of these broad categories C grouped the essential
elements as identified in the pubIications. These are presented in Figure 3. found in Chapter
Nine on page 289.
The broad category Content/Context includes a number of elernents. The first is
HumadEarth Relations. This element includes interwoven concepts of ecological knowledge, and ecologicai and cultural identity. Others are economic development. consumerism. and
inequity, that are perceived by the authors to be overarching fundamental issues that have to be addressed by environmentai adult education. Dealing with feu and feelings of powerlessness are also identified as a 'context' in which environmental adult educators must work.
Under Values, among other things, 1 note authors' views on the non-neutrality of education, and how they perceive what they cal1 feminist values as well as the intri~sicvalue of the rest of nature. Under Strategies 1 include the ideas of increased provision, participatory approaches, and collective action. Within an ecological context, a participatory learning process that reaches out to as many people as possible and focuses strongly on collective mobilization and action is often stressed as critical. I also include ecological adult literacy 135 under the Strategies category. The need for ecological literacy, particularly for women, and adult literacy classes to be used as a space in which to explore environmentai issues is highlighted in various regions. Many authors also highlight the importance of a feminist perspective6 in environmental adult education as an effective means to broaden understandings in areas such as power, oppression, inequity, home and connectedness.
Building partnerships and alliances is also included under strategies: This encompasses building new alliances amongst groups, governments, the media and industry as well as with the rest of nature. in terms of longer-term educational strategies that can be used in communities, authors identified participatory research and study circles as two of the most effective. Other strategies such as empowennent, fun and celebration, and making the educational process challenging and controversial are identified as critical elements to working within the complexity of environmental problems. Al1 of these categories have major implications for the rofe of the environmental adult educator. Among others, two important roles identified were the environmentai adult educator as activist and CO-learner and the educator's need to reflect.
Tools and Praxis elements emerged as 1 began to see the authors as they saw themselves, as practitioners rather than theoreticians. The galaxy of environmental adult education is a push and pull between local and global, political and spiritual,7 cognitive, and sensual, action and reflection through which they found their way. Praxis, practice in action, more than any
6. AIthough there are many ideas from 'feminist values' contained in 'feminist perspectives,' the authors seem to view these two differently in tenns of 'feelings and emotions' for the former and a more 'political focus' for the latter. 1 personally see these as interwoven but feel 1 have to make the distinction. I discuss this in Chapter Seven.
7. 1 use this terrn to mean an animating or vital principle which gives life - the intellectual, feeling and sentient part of a living organism. 136 other elernent responds to the question 'How?': How do we re-leam (not just learn) a new relationship among ourseives as humans and between ourselves and the rest of nature? The essential elements include diversity in practice, going beyond the written word, and using dramdrole playing, addrawing, storytelling, and success stories. The idea of outdoor sensory learning, of tearning through the body and the emotions in order to augment cognitive leaming is aiso raised within al1 the regions as fundamental to any process of environmental adult education.
Once I identified the essential ideas, 1 created Table 2. that is contained in the final chapter on page 288 in order to visually highlight the maturation or progress of the work of
LEM. Table 2. reflects how often in each epoch an author or publication addresses a specific question as a way to identify the key areas that require further theorizing.
Locatinc Mvself as the Researcher and a Primarv Author
1 have held the position of International Coordinator of LEAP since 1995.1 have also been involved with the ICAE in other capacities, such as assistant to the Worker's Education
Programme, Programme Officer to the Secretary-GeneraI and Editor of two major newsletters, the ILSS News (iiteracy) and ICAE News since 1985. This antecedent involvement provided me with a knowledge of many of the materials available for this study and the context from which rnany of them had emerged, that 1discuss in the next chapter.
One of the objectives 1 added when 1 became the International Coordinator of LEAP in
1995 was strengthening the foundations of environmental adult education and its practice. As an emerging stream within the larger fieid of adult education, I felt the new ideas around theory and practice that 1 encountered in my travels around the world needed to be articulated 137 on paper so it could be more broadly disseminated. This meant 1 took on the primary responsibility to produce another special issue of Convergence to present at academic conferences and produce papers for conference proceedings (something that had not previousiy been undertaken by LEAP), to encourage others to produce and publish more articles, and to attempt to disseminate these materials more broadly. In shon. 1 took it upon myself to do a great deal of writing in the area that is why 14 of the 42 articles included in this study are my own or were done in collaboration.
In order to be able to write more on environmental adult education, 1 realized that I needed to engage more with adults particularly in community settings, and to have more substantial discussions with environmental adult educators around the world about their experiences and understandings of the work.
In 1997 1 decided to undertake this major study of LEAP as part of my doctoral work. 1 was not just interested in the activities in which LEAP had engaged but was very curious to engage in an intellectud stock-taking of the development of the theory and practice of environmental adult education. 1 hoped that engaging in this process would be one way of making a contribution to ICAE, LEAP, and the field of environmental adult education.
Valuing Subiectivity
This study uses a qualitative approach that includes me as the primary data collection instrument and my personal involvement and interest in the field of environmental adult education; I must therefore recognise that bias has had an impact on the findings of the study.
Some of the observations 1 make about LEAP are based on fact. For example, the treaty on Environmentai Education for Global Res~onsibilitvand Sustainable Societies was 138
produced as a result of and during the 1992 Earth Summit process. Others. however. are
subjective and emerge from my 14 years of involvement with the ICAE. This means that in
some ways it is my story, my understanding of the ICAE and LEAP.
Since the researcher is the pnmary instrument for both data collection and analysis in the
case-study approach to research, the issue of subjectively must be acknowledged. 1 have tried
to remain aware of where and how my subjectivity impinges on the research process and have attempted to control and compensate for any inappropriate bias.
Most qualitative researchers claim that not only are there strategies that can compensate for researcher subjectivity, but that retaining bias has advantages (Memam, 1998). According to feminist researchers, subjectivity makes a valuable contribution because "the woman doing the study learns about herself as well as about ... [what] she is studying" (Reinharz.
1992: 127). Chapter Six Historical Contexts: The International Council for Adult Education (ICAE) and its Learning For Environmental Action Programme (LEAP)
Introduction
We are concerned with the impact of events and happenings und circumstances - activiries that are rarely considered in ... education - rcpon the learning of people. Bennett, Kidd, and Kulich, 19758
History includes elements such as events, people, institutions, and organizations. It is important because it provides a critical vantage point from which to view and understand the present. The history of the International Council for Adult Education (ICAE) and the
Learning for Environmental Action Programme (LEAP)has been shaped by ideas from diverse social movements, a rapidly changing world, vari~usmajor international events, particularty those of the United Nations, and direct working experience with adults from dl walks of life.
This chapter examines some of the events out of which the 42 ICAE and LEAP documents chosen for this study emerged. These include a number of United Nations (UN) and other inter-governmental activities which, al though some had a variety of broader objectives, attempted to re-define environmental education and re-shape policy. Although not unproblematic, these conferences and events were important catalysts in the area of environmental adult education. This chapter, like others before it, does not pretend to be an exhaustive analysis of all that has taken place over 25 years but rather highlights some key events which shaped the trajectory of LEM'S attempts to articulate the theory and practice of environmental adult education. Woven through the chapter are my own musings on events and their impacts and/or outcornes as seen from my position as either a participant andor 1 40
observer. 1 conclude this chapter with a bnef analysis of some the major changes as reporied
in the documents that have taken place over the years. This sets the stage for Chapters Seven
and Eight that identify and examine some of the essential elements emerging from the data
that can work towards the construction of a learning framework for environmentai adult education.
International Council for Adult Education
The International Council for Adult Education (ICAE) is an international non- governmental organization (INGO). Since 1973, the ICAE has been a cruciai global space for the developrnent of the field of aduIt education worldwide. It has been a place of encounter for literacy practitioners; feminist, development, popular and union educators: university and college professors; students; social movement activists; and teachers and teacher trainers from around the world.
The INGO world, as are many others, is a world of acronyms. Below 1 again provide a list, in alphabetical order, of those associated with the ICAE and used throughout this study-
AALAE African Association for Literacy and Adult Education
ALECSO Arab League, Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization
ASPBAE Asian South Pacific Bureau of Adult Education
CARCAE Carïbbean Regional Council of Adult Education
CASAE Canadian Association for the Studies of Adult Education
CEAAL Consejo internacional de la educacion de adultos de arnerica latina
(Latin American Council for Adul t Education) CEC Centre for Environmental Concerns
EAAE European Association of Adult Education
GE0 Gender and Education Programme
ICAE International Council for Aduit Education
LSS International Literacy Support Service Programme
INFORSE International Forum for Sustainable Enern
INGO International Non-governmental Organization
LEAP Leaming for Environmental Action Programme
NAICE National Institute of Adult Continuing Education
NAAPAE North Arnerican Association for Popular and Adult Education
NGO Non-governmental Organization
REPEC Red de educacion popular y ecologia (popular environmental and
ecological education network)
P&HR Peace and Human Rights Programme sus Structural Adjustment Policies
SCUTREA Standing Conference on University Teaching and Research in Adult
Education
UIE UNESCO Institute for Education
UN United Nations
UNCED United Nations Conference on Environment and Development
UNEP United Nations Environment Programme
UNESCO United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization The Eariv Years
[Because] of new comrnitments to f$elong learning special support for adult eciucation was needed; and UNESCO ofFcers working within the Adult Educution Division were in favour of the idea. Budd Hall. forthcoming 2000
The "post World War II wave of international organizing in adult education was stimulated by the birth of UNESCO (Hall et al., forthcoming 2000). This inter-govenmental body "placed importance on the role of adult education in the building of a new world with respect for human rights and as a means of strengthening the possibilities of permanent peace" (Ibid.:2000).
The first UNESCO International Conference of Adult Education took place in Elsinor.
Denmark in 1949 and "brought together about 200 delegates from 45 countries" (Ibid.). The second was organized 1 1 years later in Montreal, Canada around the theme Adufr Eclrrcntion in a Changing World. The goal of this conference was to strategize ways to include Iifelong learning into future government education poiicy activities (Selman, 199 1 ).
A third conference on adult education, popularly known as the Tokyo Conference, took place in 1972. The focus of this conference was on economic development and the potential contribution adult education could make to this global effort (Lowe. 1982). Although the majority of representatives at the Montreal and Denmark conferences had been adult educators, Tokyo included politicians and administrators responsible for the determination and execution of adult education policy. Their presence attested to the greater public weight being accorded to the field due to the ever wider spreading "idea that [a] nation's economic performance [is] somehow linked to education and training [and therefore] a need for a more highly qualified and educated manpower [sic]" (Galbraith. 1973: 156). A strong representation by a powerful contingent of Southern adult educators who vigorousl y voiced their views, needs, and concerns was a new, important but previously missing addition to the
meeting and the field of adult education (Lowe, 1982).
As Budd Hall (forthcoming 2000) notes, the idea of creating a global umbrella adult
education organization that could represent the diverse needs around the world began
in a hotel room in the Tokyo Prince Hotel in Iapan on the evening of the 27h of July in 1972 .... [Canadian and OISE Professor J. Roby] Kidd shared his thoughts on the possi biIities of an international association [and] there was support from the regions represented.
On February 14, 1973 the ICAE was founded in Toronto with the support and endorsement of
19 national aduit education associations around the world (Ibid.).
Goals, Objectives. Structures. and Programmes
[ICAE is] a CO-operativeenterprise in development - a means of sharing ideas, resources, and experience in the development of adult education and particrt larly a rvay of utilizing adult education more effective& in man? of the developing corintries. Budd HaiI, forthcoming 2000
The ICAE is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) based in Toronto.
Its primary goal is to represent the worldwide adult education movement working at the
grass-roots, national, regional, and internationai levels and linking professors, teachers, students, literacy and adult education practitioners, NGO and INGO representatives, community activists and educators, and trade union. deveiopment, feminist. and popuiar educators.
According to the Constitution, the ICAE aims
to promote the education of adults in al1 its variety of forms and dimensions, and in reiationship to the need for healthy growth and development of individuals, communities and societies, as a place of encounter, as a means of enhancing international understanding and world peace, as a means of achieving economic, cultural and social development, as a means of advancing knowledge, skills and competencies of individuals throughout the world, and as a means of achieving fulier participation by such individuals and groups in the determination of their economic, social and cultural development; by encouraging, supporting and strengthening the activities of member organizations; by stimulating the establishment, where such do not exit, of national organizations for the further promotion, development and coordination of education for adults; by cooperating with intergovernmentd and international non-governmental organizations wholly or partly concemed with the education of adults; by encouraging ail relevant national organizations to become active and supportive members of their respective and relevant regional organizations having a major concern for the education of adults.
This mandate is carried out through publications. research, seminars, workshops,
programmes, South to South adult educator exchanges, local, regional and internationd
meetings.
As of January 1999, the ICAE umbrella includes 109 autonomous national, regional, and
sectoral associations, govemed by an Executive Committee drawn from the seven designated
regions of the world: AsidSouth Pacific, Africa, Arab Region, Caribbean* Europe, Latin
America, and North America. The regional organizations listed below in alphabetical order play a key role in carrying out the work of the ICAE:
AALAE African Association for Literacy and Adult Education
ALESCO &ab Literacy, Education, Scientific and Culture Organization
ASPBAE Asian South Pacif'ic Bureau of Adult Education
CARCAE Caribbean Regional Council of Adult Education
CEAAL Consejo de la educacion de adultos de america latina (Latin Amencan Council for Adult Education)
EAAE European Association of Adult Education
NAAPAE North American Association for Popular and Adult Education The four priority programmes of ICAE as they were identified by the Programme
Advisory Cornmittee (PAC) in 1990 include:
Gender and Education Programme (GEO)
Peace and Human Rights Education Programme (PBrHR)
international Literacy Service Programme (ILS)
Learning for Environmental Action Programme (LEAP)
Additional specialized networks and projects include Participatory Research. Workers
Education, Popular Theatre, Older Adults Education, Primary Heaith Care, Criminal Justice,
Aduits with Special Learning Needs, History, and Participatory Training.
The ICAE has consuitative status with UNESCO and Category A Status with the
Economic and Social Commission of the United Nations (ECOSOC) which entitles its members to forrnally participate in ali United Nations activities.
Figure 2. on page 146 outlines the ICAE structure and indicates the regional headquarten of the prionty programmes and LEM'S position in the overall structure.
ICAE Networking Publications
One networking tool of the ICAE is the international newsletter ICAE News. This publication carries information about events, regional activities, and resources in the field of adult education. In addition, three of the four prionty programmes have or have had their own newsletters and like ICAE News their aim is/was to share information worldwide. The newsletters incIude(d): FIGURE TWO
General Assembl y (ICAE Membership)
Executive Cornmittee (goveming body on behalf of the membership)
Bureau of Officers (a smailer more compact governing body)
Toronto Secretariat and the Canadian-Based Advisory Group (AG)
AALAE ASPBAE ALECSO CARCAE CEAAL EAAE NAAPAE
1 GE0/// P&HR LEAP
I Regional programmes Pachamama (Mother Earth) - Leming for Environmental Action Programme International Literacv Year Newsletter - Literacy Programme (no longer published) Voices RisineNoces Oue Se Levantan - Gender and Education Programme (GEO)
Convergence
ICAE's primary international forum for communication is Convergence, a quarterly refereed journal, that began in 1972 as a publication of the Ontario Institute for Studies in
Education (OISE) but was then assigned in 1973 to the ICAE Secretariat in Toronto. The first
Editor was J. Roby Kidd, the founder of ICAE.
Articles in Convergence cover contemporary debates, historical aspects. founding theories, emerging theories and methodologies, and research rnethods and projects in the field of adult education. Through balanced regional representation this journal is an "important place where the colfective construction of the rneaning of adult education ... [is] made visible" (Hall, forthcoming 2000). The audience of Convergence is primarily the ICAE membership which consists of university departments, colleges, adult education institutions, literacy organizations, trade unions, non-govemmental and development organizations, inter- governmental or United Nations (UN) agencies, and individuals.
First Mention of the Environment in ICAE: 19724981
The Stockholm-Belgrade-Tbilisi(1 972-1 977) phase is neither the beginning nor the end of environmental education or of a concem for the environment. But surely this is a crucial catalytic phase in both these areas. D. Lnhiry, 1988:24
In 1965 at the Keele Conference on Education held in England, William Yapp "put together [the] words 'environment' and 'education' to make the compound noun we use
[today]" (Wheeler, 1982: 149). in reference to ernerging understandings of accelerating 148
environmentd deteriontion, Yapp emphasised the importance of teachers "CO-operatingin
new syllabuses, techniques and research which would equip them for new approaches to
biological teaching and environmental education" (Ibid.: 149). As pressure for change and
action intensified, the global community was obliged to respond. And respond it did.
The first major contemporary global inter-govemrnental conference to focus on growing
environmental problems was the United Nations Conference on Hurnan Environment which
took piace in Stockholm, Sweden in L 972. Although by no means its prirnary mandate, this
conference highlighted the importance of education in bringing about socio-environmental change and UNESCO was to spearhead this critical area. 'Recommendation '96' states that
UNESCO and member states shouId "... establish an international programme in environmental education, interdisciplinary in approach, in school and out of school, encompassing al1 levels of education and directed towards the general public" (UNESCO.
IW2: 145).
The Stockholm Conference was significant not only because it recognised the value of environmentd education, but because "it raised for the first time the scale of the environment debate from local to global and established the need for a world perspective to be attached to major environmental and development issues" (Tilbury, 1995:4). It was also important because it created the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and placed it in
Nairobi, Kenya as a way to provide more support to that region so affected by colonization
(and neo-colonization), structural adjustment policies imposed by the World Bank, war, and environmental degradation.
The next key UN event focussed on environmental education took place in October 1975 in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. This International Environmental Education Workshop 1 49 unanimously adopted at its conclusion The Belgrade Charter: A Global Framework for
Environmental Education, a document that outtined the gravity of the environmental situation, established goals, objectives, target audiences and guiding principles of environmental education, both forma1 and non-formai ((UNESCO 1976). The Charter was important because it "recognized the political edge which undermines environmental education" (Tilbury, I9!X:6) by suggesting environmental education should be an ethical, economic, and political-implications process that creates "new patterns of behaviour in individuais, groups, and society as a whole towards the environment" (UNESCO, 19753).
The final conference to take place during this period was the first rninisterial-level inter- govemmental (UNESCO/UNEP) Conference on Environmental Education, that took place in
Tbilisi, Georgia (former USSR) in October 1977. The purpose of this conference was to promote and intensify thinking, research, and innovation in environmental problems and education. The Tbilisi Declaration also put forward various principles and guideiines for environmentai education both inside and outside the forma1 school system (Camozzi, 1994).
UN Conference Reflections in Convergence
In spite of this flurry of activity very little of it is reflected in the ICAE. Between 1972 and 198 1 only five articles appeared in Conver~encethat togerher or separately attempted to elucidate the growing relevance of environmental problems to the field andor link environmental issues directly to the education of adults. Al1 but one of the articles. the one to appear in 198 1 that focussed more on human heaith, was a result of the major conferences mentioned above. 1 50
The first article appeared in Convergence and was titled "The Stockholm Conference."
As the name implies, the impetus was the United Nations Conference on the Human
Environment which took place in Stockholm the same year. The article coalesces the closing
starement made by Canadian Maurice F. Strong, Conference Secretary Genenl. and includes
excerpts from the official Declaration of Princiules. in the Preface, Convergence editor J.
Roby Kidd of Canada stresses the importance of the environmentai theme to the field of adult
education. But he also acknowIedges that only a few adult educators attended the conference.
The Stockholm Declaration, arising from the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, will be of immense importance to al1 adult educationists. It is therefore unfortunate that the Third International Conference on Adult Education came so soon after the U.N. Conference, in that very few adult educationists were able to be at Stockholm (5).
Drawing on the Declaration, the article highlights the emerging message worldwide that
"hurnans are a dimension of the environment," as part of the rest of nature and not something
separate from it (Ibid.5).
The second article. titled "The Environment: a global issue." appeared in Convergence in
1973 after it had moved to the office of the ICAE Secretariat at George Brown Colle,ue. As a
follow-up to the Stockholm Conference, and because he had an interest in starting an
environmental education programme within the ICAE, Kurt R. Swinton of Austria
interviewed Maurice Strong. Although there were no questions in particular about adult education, the article raises the point that environmental problems are global and political in
nature and therefore their resolution will require multi-level political action. The article also
makes the important point that over-population is not responsible for the serious 151 environmental degradation of the land, sea, and air but rather the unequal and abusive use of
resources, pnmariIy by industrialized countries is at its root.
In 1976 Convergence camied an article by Lus Emmelin of Germany titled 'The need for environmental education for adults" that had ken adapted from a paper he delivered at the
UNESCO/UNDP International Workshop on Environmental Education, in Belgrade.
Yugoslavia in October 1975. Emmelin discusses the media as key players in the field of environmentd education in terms of informal learning and argues for the integration of media literacy into adult education and the environment.
The article ako responds to the question: 1s there in fact a need for formal programmes of education as a means of reaching the adult population? Emmelin argues that although "[itj is a recognized pedagogic principle that participation in concrete action directed towards a given goal enhances learning greatly," this form of adult education alone fails to "cater to the needs of citizens aware of the problems and in search of more knowledge" (Emmelin. l976:N). The author laments that although pedagogical institutions such as col leges and universities should be taking a lead role in this endeavour, there is still a relative lack of institutional structures which promote, provide, and/or support environmental education programmes for adults.
The author raises two other points which reflect the major goals that would later be set for the Leming for Environmental Action Programme (LEM). The first is that all environmentai education programmes would need to incorporate adult education methodologies and principles if they are to be relevant to adults. The second is that
"environmental knowledge and skills training [shouid be incorporated] into adult education [spaces] such as distance learning, occupational health and the work environment in order to make connections with trade unions and industry" (Ibid.).
The second article influenced by the Belgrade Conference is "The Belgrade Charter: global framework for environmental education." Published in Convergence in 1975, it highlighted ideas from the officiai Charter:
The goal of environmental education is to develop a world population that is aware of, and concemed about, the environment and its associated problems, and which has the knowledge, skills, attitudes, motivations and cornmitment to work individuaily and collectively toward solutions to current problems, and the prevention of new ones (58)-
Environmental education needs to be viewed as a continuous lifelong process both in-school and out-of school. This provides. as author J. Roby Kidd suggests. clear implications
for the central role and responsibility of adult educators on a broad front for spurring on cooperative action, for collecting and evduating whatever materials exist on environmental education for adults, and for organizing and developing concrete programmes. A principle audience of environmental education ... [must bel the non- forrnal learning sector of al1 segments of the population (Ibid.: 16).
In 1976 James Draper, a Canadian professor of adult education at OISE. contributed an article to Convergence titled "The Significance of Habitat '76 to Adult Education." Habitat
'76, formally the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements, took place in
Vancouver, British Columbia in 1976 and was an out-growth of The Stockhc!m Conference,
Linking this conference to adult education and the process of econornic deveiopment worldwide Draper writes that: the process of social change as a leading edge of development is inevitably linked with the processes of education and Iearning; education is a vital component in development. Such education must be functional, relevant, and meaningful"
(Draper, 1976:73). He stresses the importance of understanding and including the realities of 153
adult leamers by using methods which serve the needs and interests of the adult leamer rather
than the needs of the practitioner or institution (Ibid.:73).
It was not until 198 1 that another article appeared in Convergence and it cannot be iinked
to any UN event directly as the others cmThe title is "Community Participation in the
Development of Environmental Health Education Materials" and was written by John P.
Cummings, Stephen C. Frmtz, and Bonnie J. Cain of the United States. This article
introduces the idea of collectively created photonovelas ~otonovelnsin Spanish - the idea
came from Latin America). These are like comic books but use photos of real people and
settings rather than drawings as a way of teaching and engaging people within their own
communities around health issues.
There are three interesting aspects about this early period of the ICAE. The first. as
mentioned previously, was that with the exception of the final article in 198 1 al1 others were
produced as a result of a major conference. Second, al1 the conferences were concerned
almost excIusiveIy with the human environment and this is reflected in the conceptual
framing of many of the articles. For example, James Draper argues that "self-development is
linked with man [sic] altering and controlling his environment and that facilitating this process [should bel one of the pnmary purposes collectively faced by adult educators" (Ibid.).
It would not be until the early 1990s that a substantial shift in thinking about human/Earth relations would occur.
The third interesting although perhaps not surprising point is that al1 the writers/authors corne from the 'Western world' (i.e., Austria, Canada, Gerrnany, and the United States) and al1 but one, Bonnie Cain, were men. This Westem monopoly would soon change for in 1979
AALAE, stimulated by the creation of the Nairobi-based United Nations Environmental 1 54
Programme (UNEP), would create the first regional programme in environmental adult
education and, in 1987, publish the first ever book to substantially contribute to the process
of developing a framework of environmental adult education. A feminist perspective, that
would corne first from the South, would not appear in print until 1989.
The Silent Years: 1982-1986
l refer to these as the 'silent years in terms of the environment because no substantial
documents were produced by ICAE or its member organizations between 1982 and 1986.
This was not because activities were not on-going under the ICAE umbreila but rather had
more to do with the fact that no major UN or other inter-governmental events took place
during this penod which ICAE members deemed as important. In addition, the three major
ICAE programmes during this period, P&HR, the Women's Education (as it was formerly
called during this period), and Participatory Research, did not place an emphasis on
environmental issues.
The Creation of the Learning for Environmental Action Programme (LEAP), 1987-
ICAE ... has allowed for a substantial amount of conceptual and practical rvork to he done linkirzg environmental action and adult fearning. Budd Hall, forthcoming 2000
In 1987 a number of activities took place. The first was the second joint UNESCOA-JNEP conference on environmental education - Tbilisi Plus Ten - took place in Moscow. USSR.
The major document of this conference defined environmental education as
a permanent process in which individuals and the community gain awareness of their environment and acquire knowledge, values, skills, experiences, and also the determination which will enable them to act -- individually and collectively - to solve present and future environmental prob1ems (UNESCO, 1987: 1).
The second was the publication of Our Common Future or 'The Bruntland Report' as it is popularly known. This report coined the tenn 'sustainable development', that as it was integrated into the vocabulary of economists, environmentalists, and even educators "rose to the prominence of a mantra - or a shibboleth" (Daly, 19%: 1). Our Common Future defined sustainable development as the ability to meet the needs of the present generation without sacrificing the ability of the future to meet its needs. Herman Daly (I996:2) suggests that while
not vacuous by any means, [the] definition [and purpose] were sufficiently vague to allow for a broad consensus. Probably that was a good political strategy at the time - a consensus on a vague concept was better than a disagreement over a sharply defined one.
But very quickly people began to redise the true meaning behind the concept of sustainable developrnent. It was a concept that continued to view the environment solely as a resource or cornmodifiable good to enhance the growth-oriented capitalist systern (Shiva. 1992). It in no way offered a new life-centred approach to fundamental change but held to the economic- growth course and never truly chalienged international development paradigms or capitalism.
Therefore, although 'The Bruntland Report' emphasises the importance of education, one begins to understand that it would be an education for 'sustainable development'.
Within the ICAE, AALAE's Environmental Adult Education Programme, with the assistance of UNEP, published the first ever manual connecting environmental education and adult education - Environmental Education Throu~hAdult Education: A Manual for Adult
Educators, Instructors. Teachers and Social Extension Workers. The authors were Victor
Ibikunle-Johnson and Edward Rugumayo of Kenya. in the words of Victor Ibikunle-Johnson the book was developed to meet the "urgent need for knowledge and information on relevant environmental problems and issues to be systematically incorporated into adult education programmes and activities" (Convergence, XXI1(3):87). The aim of the book was to appeal to
both professionals and practitioners in adult education, to teachers and instructors and field extension workers, [and to bel a resource rnaterial which may be used in training programmes (both formal and non-formai) from environmental education of a wide range of target groups, but more especially for the practical training of those who will be involved with people at the community or grass-roots level (p-xx).
These major publications and events of 1987 coupled with AALAE's regional work and, in particular, the persistence of Victor ibikunle-Johnson encouraged CEAAL to deveIop its own regional programme.
During CEAALTsGeneral Assembly of Adult Education held in 1987 in Guanajuato,
Mexico, nine years after the creation of an African Environmental Adult Education
Programme, the regional "Programa de educacih popular y ecologia" (Popular and
Ecological Education Programme) was bon. A goal of the programme was to begin a collective process of developing the theory and praxis of environmental popular education, to work with AALAE to prompt the ICAE to create a global umbrella organization which could stimulate the other regions to foilow suit, and to play a major role in the upcorning UN 1992
Earth Surnmit and its policy-making spaces.
In November 1988 the ICAE disseminated a questionnaire to al1 its national and regional member associations to identify educators who had an interest in creating a global programme. The organizations which responded were AALAE, Samnernda. the Norwegian
Association of Adult Education, and the Faculty of Environmental Studies (ES)at York
University which aiso offered to host the meeting (Clover, 1995). 157
The idea for an environmental adult education programme began simpty as a way to share
information globally about environmental issues facing communities around the world.
However, after much deliberation, it was decided that the road to a more healthy planet was
more than information sharing, it was the need to act. Those involved in the process
unanimously agreed that the ICAE should establish an action-oriented global programme
titled the 'Learning for Environmental Action Programme' (LEAP) in order to link ongoing
Iearning about the relationship between nature and society with an activist concept (Ibid.).
First SpeciaI Issue of Convergence
Another contribution to the process of developing LEAP was an ICAE membership cal1
for papers to produce the first special issue of Convergence (XXII(4)) on environmental adult
and popular education. The response to the cal1 for papers showed that within the
membership, there was definitely a nascent interest in the environment as an issue for adult education as al1 the contributors were members of the ICAE.
The various articles to appear were diverse in content and regional representation. The authors included Peter Sutton of England, Victor ibikunle-Johnson of Kenya, Matthias Finger of Switzerland, John Hurst of the United States, Calvin Howell of Barbados. Akpovire B.
Oduaran of Nigeria, Ani1 Chaundhary of India and dian marino of Canada, and Besta of
Indonesia. The contents ranged from a report on the Fourth Biennial Congress on the Fate and Hope of the Earth by John Hurst to the frndings of a research project on aduIt learner perspectives of the environment by Matthais Finger that used the methodology of 'life histories'. As 1 draw extensively on this publication in the next few chapters, I will only state here that perhaps the most provocative and important issue raised in this edition came from 158
Peter Sutton of the UNESCO Institue in Harnburg, Germany. Sutton asks the question:
"What cm adult educators teach to assist in the preservation of the environment without ignoring the justifiable desire of the rnajority of the human race to become wealthier and healthier?" (Sutton, 1989:3). For a field, adult education and the ICAE, this question is of prime importance and this is perhaps why development and consumption were named in the data as two rnost important contexts within which environmental adult educations must function.
During this penod, the ICAE had no international programme and therefore its links to en vironmental organizations and educators outside the ICAE who were engaging in the practice of environmental adult education or public education were tenuous.
ICAE: World Assemblv
In January 1990, dunng ICAE's Fourth World Assembly of Adult Education in Bangkok,
Thailand a second meeting was held to determine the future directions of LEAP. The main discussion revolved around conceptualizing the global programme in tems of expectations, objectives, and possible actions. Participants recognised that in order to develop a grassroots or popuiar environmental education process, much research and analysis would need to be done, information would need to be disseminated, and communities and target groups would need to be identified and mobilized.
The potential target groups identified were the media, trade unions, women's groups, farrners, and NGOs. The objectives for LEM were defined as:
creating global environmental solidarity;
exchanging reliable information; linking and strengthening already existing networks;
including environmental adult learning into the official agenda of the ICAE and
UNESCO;
using environmental adult education as a means to motivate action.
Some of the activities identified were:
collecting and disseminating information on contemporary environmental issues,
exampies of successfùl activities, and political actions in the fom of case studies;
beginning the process of incorporating an environmental analysis into the
rnethodologies of adult education;
engaging in lobbying and advocacy at local, national and international levels.
LEAP was endorsed by the ICAE membership at the World Assembly in Bangkok in
1990. That same year the Programme Advisory Cornmittee (PAC) recommended that LEAP become one of the priority programmes of the ICAE. Moema Viezzer, Regional Coordinator of Environmental PopuIar Education Programme of CEAAL, was designated as the tirst
International Coordinator of LEAP since it was she who had been responsible for instigating talks for a global programme before and during the World Assembly. Viezzer held that position until 1993 (Clover, 1995). The idea for LEAP's structure was that it would function as a team with an overall International Coordinator in collaboration with representatives from each of the regions. This group would corne together once a year (if possible) to shüre their work and ideas, review past activities, and develop füture plans for LEAP policy and networking activities. 160
The Road to Rio'
[LmPl rvill play an important role in strengthening the popular rnovernerzts invalved in environmental issues placing special emphasis on the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Developrnent (UNCED).'
A third international conference, and the one which gave the biggest push to LEAP. was
the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) that was he Id in Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil in June 1992. Although UNCED had a multitude of purposes and activities,
there was strong emphasis on education as a means to influence personal. social, and global
behaviour and perrneate al1 aspects of life. In Agenda 2 1, the official government document,
Ckrprer 36, Educarion, Priblic Awareness and Training, outlines a framework for education
that incorporates environmental and development concems. It argues that
education, including forrnal education, public awareness and training should be recognized as a process by which human beings and societies cm reach their fui lest potential .... Both forrnal and non-forma1 education are indispensable to changing people's attitudes so that they have the capacity to assess and address their sustainable development concems. It is also cnticai for achieving environmental and ethical awareness, values and attitudes, skills and behaviour consistent with sustainable development and for effective public participation in decision making ( 1992:36.3).
Running parallel to UNCED was the Global Forum. a space in which non-governmental organizations, nervous and rightly so, that officia1 consensus documents would be too
'watered down' to be usefil, created their own set of treaties under the umbrella, The Earth
Charter. This Charter is composed of 29 treaties. The one penaining to education is titled
"Environmental Education for Sustainable Societies and Global Responsibility." This Treaty emphasizes the right of everyone to receive an education, and the central role it plays in shaping values and social action. It calls for an education that stimulates solidarity, equality,
-
1. A phrase used by the international media for the Earth Summit process
2. From the funding proposa1 developed for LEAP in 199 1. 16 1 respect for human nghts, and dialogue and cooperation among individuals and institutions in order to create new lifestyles that are based on meeting everyone's basic needs regardless of ethnic, gender, age, religion, class, physical, or mental differences. It also chalIenges existing development paradigms and their supporting structures. The Leaming for Environmental
Action Programme (LEAP) was the dnving force behind this treaty.
ICAE on the Road to Rio
In 199 1 a collaborative report by the International Union for Conservation Network
(WCN), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).and the World Wide Fund
(WWF) was published. This document moved away from 'sustainable development' and put forward the ideas of sustainability and sustainable living. Sustainable living, the report argues, is a new pattern of living on the Earth that al1 individuals, communities. nations and the world should adopt. Adopting this "new pattern requires a significant change in attitudes and practices of many people" and this can corne through education (IUCNNNEPlWWF,
199 1 :6).The air of 199 1 was also saturated with anticipation and activities surrounding the pending United Nations Conference on Environment and Development.
During this year, the second major document on environmental adult and popular education appeared. tt was titled Manual de Educ-Accidn Ambiental and was edited by
Moema Viezzer of Brazil and Omar Ovalles of Venezuela and a member of CEAAL. This document was produced a a tool for lobbying and advocacy activities around UNCED and fundraising. But it also demonstrated, through a nurnber of case studies from Brazil, 162
Venezuela, Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Nicaragua. and Panama, the diversity of cornmunity environmental ieaming activities taking place throughout the region.'
Another of the manud's important contributions was the inclusion of a feminist adult education perspective and linkages, influenced by ecofeminism. between the oppression of nature and the oppression of women.
Later in 1991, at the ICAE Executive Committee meeting in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Moema Viezzer articulated the focus of the programme:
LEAP will offer a holistic approach that links environmental concems to other social issues. The Programme will operate in five languages - English, Spanish, French. Portuguese and Arabic - in al1 seven regions where the ICAE works.'l
She discussed the recent announcement to host the United Nations Conference on
Environment and Devetopment (UNCED), or the Earth Summit as it would popularly become known, in June 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Viezzer aIso outlined what she and other LEAP team members felt the role of ICAE, but more importantly LEAP. should be in this major event. It was also at this time that, because of my ability to speak Spanish' and my location in the Toronto Secretariat, 1 was asked to assist Moema Viezzer with the running of
LEAP and the activities for the Earth Summit. 1 must point out here that when I was asked to assist Moema, 1 knew almost nothing about environmental adutt education. 1 truly became a learner in this field, switching my major at the University of Toronto from English Literature to Environmental Studies as a way of trying to understand the field in which I found myself.
3. Latin Americans almost always use the term popular education while ail other regions use the term aduit education. The word poprdar in Spanish means 'people'.
4. From the Proposa1 of the Learning For Environmental Action Programme (p.2).
5. As a Brazilian, Moema's first language is Portuguese. However, having lived in exile in BoIivia and other Latin American countries because of political activities in Brazil, she is almost as fluent in Spanish as she is in her native tongue. 163
It must also be mentioned here, because it so profoundly affected the Afncan region, that during this period Victor Ibikunle-Johnson, the Coordinator of the AALAE Environrnental
Adult Education Programme, succumbed to malaria and died. LEAP lost an important support and, although the AALAE programme continued for a short period with Seko Fiere of Kenya participating in UNCED, without Victor bikunle-Johnson's creativity, knowledge, and inspiration the programme stalled. It was not until 1995 when 1 became the International
Coordinator of LEM that another representative was identified and appointed to resurne the work.
Also during this period the Asian South Pacific Bureau of Adult Education (ASPBAE) created its own Environmental Education Programme (EEP). By the mid- 1990s EEP had become a key player regionally and within the international arena.
In 199 1 LEAP produced and disseminated the first edition of its international newsletter titled Pachamama and 1 became the first editor. The main purpose of this document was to provide the ICAE membership with information on the activities of the global programme including regionai initiatives particularly in reference to UNCED.
UNCED provided an excellent opportunity for LEAP and the other regional members to organize, lobby, and develop new publications on environmental adult and populw education.
In terms of organising and lobbying, LEAP's first task was to obtain an invitation to participate in the final Preparatory Conference (PrepComm N) which was held at the United
Nations headquarters in New York, and the second was to approach the NGO Global Forum
Secretariat in Switzerland with a proposai to sponsor and organise a five-day International
Journey for Environmental Education. 1 64
Pre~CornrnIV
The final PrepComm of any United Nations event is crucial for NGOs because rnost often this is where active debates on the final wording of official documents takes place. In Mach
1992 in New York, Moema Viezzer, Marta Benavides (El SalvadorKEAAL). and I worked with approximately 35 other environmental educators from around the world, most of whom were not adult educators as would continue to the be the case, to forrn a globally representative NGO Working Group on Education to review "Chapter 36" of Agenda 3 1 titled Education. Public Awareness and Training. Although labelled an 'action plan' the UN document was weak, passive, and generally unresponsive to contemporary global environmental education needs. The Working Group recommended many changes but a few of the most important were to:
strengthen equity for women in education;
acknowledge the primary responsibility of Western countries in environmental
degradation worldwide and support education initiatives around patterns of production
and consumption;
increase attention on the important role adult education can play alongside compulsory
education in tackling environmental problems;
support people-centred and action-oriented research approaches;
broaden the concept of sustainable development to include justice and equity. 165 With this more dynamic document the NGO Working Group on Education lobbied govemments such as Canada, Sweden: Nonvay, Britain.' The Netherlands, Germany,
Denmark, and Japan who supported adult education work at the international level. Some of these govemment delegations then promoted different aspects of the NGO recommendations in formal negotiations during the final UN voting process. However, due primarily to pressure from the United States that did not see education as particularly important. very few of the recommended changes were actuall y incorporated into the final version of Asenda 2 1 .
The PrepComm provided the opportunity for LEAP to connect with other social activists and voluntary organizations such as women's groups, church and other religious groups. indigenous peoples, and environmentaiists to share its nascent views of environmental adult education (Clover, 1995).
The World Environmental Adult and Po~ularEducation Charter
In 199 1 in preparation for The Earth Summit, LEAP created a draft document titled the
World Environmental Aduit and Po~ularEducation Charter. The purpose of this document was "to generate reflection throughout the world at the popular level around environmental adult education" (1991: 1). The Charter was disseminated to the ICAE membership as well as approximately 4,000 other education institutions and organizations, around the world with the assistance of the World University Services Committee (WUSC) in Switzeriand. Those who received The Charter were asked to
6. I personally spoke with the representative of the Swedish government in the cafeteria in the UN building's basement.
7. The govemment of Britain actuaily approached the NGO Working Group asking for suggestions and modifications to 'Chapter 36'. take it as it cornes; discuss it within your organization; critique it; strengthen it; modify it and circulate it to organizations and communities with whom you are in contact. Attempt to obtain contributions, systematize it and use it to raise the consciousness of the entire population (Ibid.: 1).
The document was also taken to the PrepComm for input by the Working Group. All
suggestions and remarks received were incorporated into the text and it was taken to Rio.
The International Journev for Environmental Education
Rio de Janeiro is a ci0 of physical and social contrast, with a population of nine million, in a spectacular setting ofmountains and beaches. Overlooking it all is the Christ the Redeemer statue on Mount Corcovado. Broad boulevards and walXwavs separate white sand beaches from densely stacked bzddings, and trafic is incessant and aggressive .... Social and environmental problerns. poor housing, lack of heu lth cure, economic inequalities, rising inflation, massive foreign debt have al1 contributed to make Rio the ideal seîîing for the conference; the issues discussed at the Summit are visible in Rio. Edmund Gleazer, 1992: 1
From June 1-4, 1992, under a tent in Fiamenco Park in the heart of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,
LEAP hosted the International Journey for Environmental Educution. The terrn 'journey'
was chosen to describe this voyage into the relatively unknown world of environmental education. The event was divided into two parts.
The first was a series of panel presentations with audience participation. The various panels were organized around the theme of 'learning' in keeping with one of the central ideas of LEAP which is that we are al1 learners on this complex and multifaceted path to sustainability. The panel titles were 'Learning Anew', 'Learning from Yesterday and for
Tomorrow', and 'Learning for Life'. The second part consisted of workshops and meetings to produce a final text of the World Environmental Adult and Popular Education Charter so that 1 67 it could become one of twenty-nine citizen's treaties in The Earth Charter' developed under the auspices of the Global NGO Forum (Clover, 1995). A decision was taken by LEAP members not to put ICAE Executive Cornmittee Members on the panels with the exception of Liliian Holt, an aboriginal woman from Australia, and Paulo Friere. Instead, it was decided to identify men and particularly wornen with expertise either in education or on environmental problems worldwide. Three of the key women speakers chosen were Vandana
Shiva of India, Fat Mische of the United States, and Chief Bisi Ogunleye frorn Nigeria.
En vironmental Education for Sustainable Societies and Global Res~onsibilitv
We signatories, people from ail parts of the globe, are devoted to protecting ive on errrth and recogrzize the central role of education in shaping va lues and socicrl action. We commit ourselves to a process of education transformation aimed at involving ourselves, our communities and nations in creating e y uitable and sustainable societies. In so doing we seek to bring new ltope to orir small, troubled, but srill beauriful planet. Treatv, 1992: 1
The World Environmental Adult and Popular Education Charter emerged frorn the
International Journey as the Environmental Education for Sustainable Societies and Global
ResDonçibilitv and was formally adopted into The Earth Charter.
Conflicring Interests. Difirent Perspectives: Losses and Gains
The Environmental Education for Sustainable Societies and Global Resuonsibilit~Treaty contains crucial ideas and pnnciples for environmental education. Its plan of action includes the development of partnerships between NGOs, social movements, and UN agencies. it is available in English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Hindi and other languages and is still used
8. The coliection of NGO Treaties. 168
in adult education programmes and activities. Although the Treaty is an excellent and
important document, its creation was not unproblematic.
The first problem was an expression of anger by ICAE members worldwide who had
engaged in the process during 1991 but who were unable to attend the Rio meeting. They
argued that it was unfair that major changes would be made to the document by the privileged
few, most of whom were not adult educators. who were able to be present in Rio.
Second and stemming from the first, the Treaty is a consensus document and was
therefore shaped to appease competing and conflicting interests and views. As was predicted
by the ICAE membership, there were some major losses for the field of adult education. The
first and most obvious loss was the strong focus on adult and popular education. The words
'adult' and 'popular' are now missing from the document although sorne of their principles
and ideas such as the non-neutrality of education, the importance of reaching out to the adult
leamer, and education as a tool for social transformation remain. The second was the dynamic radicd/political orientation of The Charter which had been endorsed by the ICAE membership prior to UNCED. In the Treaty, demands for things such as the end of the arrns race and the cancellation of the external debt disappeared.
The third loss was the more spintual or sensual relationship with the Earth that had been such a strong and important part of The Charter. The vision of 'sacredness' and the idea of
'intrinsic value' of the Earth so beautifully outlined in The Charter is missing in The Treaty.
These visions had demonstrated a major change in thinking by LEAP members in spite of the fact that they too had been schooled within the anthropocentric/humanist frarnework of adult education. 169 But there were also some gains. In spite of the pressure from US organizations to eliminate the term 'environmental education' because of its perceived historical identification with the limited notion of the teaching of natural sciences, the term remained. This is because educators from the South argued that rather than abandoning the term altogether, a new broader vision should be articulated. They argued that adult, feminist, md popular education had always been about peace, equality, justice, and social change and their integration into ideas of environmental education would change the framework substantiall y. In fact. what was not being taken into account by eliminating the word 'environment' was the critical impact the rest of nature had on human social, political, cultural, and economic spheres.
Also important to the Treaty process was the voice of women. Wornen educators argued for the replacement of the government sanctioned 'sustainable development', a solely economic-centred concept, with the term 'sustainable societies', with a more life-centred concept. Through much struggle it was finally agreed that this more holistic and harmonious concept wouid be adopted.
Other 1 992 Publications
Immediately following Rio LEAP put out another cal1 for papers and produced a second special edition of Converoence. XXV(2) on environmental adult and popuhr education. This tirne the contributors were more varied. Some authors were regional members of LEM such as Moema Viezzer (who was also guest editor), Kent Mikkelson of Denmark (EAAE). iMarta
Benavides of El Salvador (CEAAL), Ibrahim El Agib from Tunisia (ALECSO). One other was Patricia Mische of the United States who had been on the panel presenters at the
International Journey. The other three contributors, Ewa Usang of Nigeria, Andy Alm of the 170
United States and Mike Nickerson of Canada had simply responded to the call. An interest in
the area of environmental adult education from outside ICAE/LEAP had been discovered.
Another important publication of 1992 was Moema Viezzer's paper titled "A Feminist
Approach to Environmentd Education." This paper was produced for and presented at ECO-
ED (Ecological Education), a major international UNCED follow-up conference held in
Toronto in October 1992 which focussed solely on education and training. This was the first
document ever on feminist environmental adult education to be produced under the auspices
of the ICAE. No other such publication would emerge until 1995.
A second edition of Pachamama was produced in 1992. This newsletter was now a tool to
share information about events and ideas signifiant to the development of LEAP and environmental adult and popuIar education worldwide. Membership and interest began to build. AIso in 1992, to coincide with Earth Day (April 7), ASPBAE's Environmental
Education Programme (EEP) pubiished the first edition of its regional newsletter LEAVES.
Geographic and Coordination Change: 1993-1994
Under the leadership of Moema Viezzer, LEAP had a vibrant political and feminist focus.
When she stepped down in 1993 the coordination of the programme became the responsibility of the Toronto Secretariat until 1995 when the Nonh American Alliance for
Popular and Adult Education (NAAPAE) took over the role of lead agency.
The years 1993 and 1994 were very much an interim period for LEAP. No one in the
Toronto Secretariat had knowtedge or experience in environmental adult education. political lobbying, or advocacy vis-a-vis the environment or the running of a global programme. In 171 order to cornpensate for this, the regional coordinators were mobilized and ri Nova Scotia- based consulting group, 'Ecologic', was hired.
When Moema Viezzer stepped down as the coordinator of LEAP she also stepped down as the regional coordinator for Latin America. The new Coordinator for that resion became
Joaquin Esteva of Mexico.
Also dunng 1993, for the first time, the European regional organization. throush the
National Institute for Adult and Continuing Education (NIACE) of EngIand. published two documents that contributed to the development of the theory and practice of environmentai adul t education.
Events and Publications
Meetine of Experts
In 1993 Peter Basel, originally of Hungary but who was contracted to work at the ICAE in Toronto for a period of two years as a Programme Officer, redized that without Moema
Viezzer and unless something was done, LEAP would cease to exist. For although LEAP had organized the international Journey at Rio, it had little history and still little support within the ICAE. 1 think it is important to point out here that there is still very little support within the ICAE for environmental aduIt education or LEM. 1 believe this to be a result of the long history of adult education and with better defined areas such as literacy, peace, and human rights, but also, as highlighted in Chapter Four, because the anthropocentric/humanist bias in the field does not enable adult educators to see the environment as relevant. in fact, at an adult education event in Tuscon, Arizona in Febmary 1999,I was asked why adult educators woufd focus on the environment when there were so many 'important' issues. 172
Peter Base1 also understood the Treaty to be an important document which needed to be shared and used by adult educators around the world. The means he chose to move EAP forward was to bring together a number of regional representatives with experïence in the area of environmental adult education (ICAE NEWS, 1993).
The Meeting of Experts took place in Curacao in 1993. The purposes of the meeting were to identify what the priority activities should be for LEAP in the coming years. to identify ways to disseminate the Treaty, and to encourage educators to use its content in adult learning activities (ICAE 1993). The document which emerged from this meeting was the Reuort of the Meeting of Exxrts (ICAE 1993). It is primarily a report of what transpired during the meeting, however, there were two discussion papers attached to this document. written by
Mark Burch of Canada and Noel Duhaylundgsod of the Philippines, that contain ideas on the theory and practice of environmental adult education. Burch draws attention to the fact that little attention has been given to developing environmental adult education and highlights how important that task is to creating a more healthy and sustainable future. Noel
Duhaylundgsod of the Philippines argues that environmental adult education has to be a liberatory project, not 'scientified or projectified' but rather geared towards the liberation of people from the "clutches of oppressive and exploitative systems" ( 1993:2-3). it must also liberate people "from being anthr~~ocentric."~
9. Anthropocentrism is based on a Judeo-Christian tradition of self-centredness which is "expressed as [humans] being the stewards of God's creation and having dominion over the earth" (ICAE, 1993:3). Otlzer 1993 Publications
For the upcoming Congreso Iberoamericano de Educacion Ambiental which took place in
November 1993 in Guadalajara, Mexico, Joaquin Esteva, the new regional coordinator of
CEAAL's environmental popular education programme, produced an important document titled "Amientalismo y educacion. Hacia una educacion popular ambiental de Amenca
Latina." A variation of this document also appeared under the title "Educacion Popular
Ambiental en America Latina."
Although the European Association of Aduh Education has never officially had a regional environmental adult education programme, in 1993 one of its member organizations. the
National Institute for Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) in the United Kingdom, produced two documents which greatly contributed to the developrnent of a framework for environmental adult education Learning for the Future, a special issue on aduIt learning and the environment, in the magazine, Adults Learning, Vo1.4(8), and A Policv Discussion Paixr.
From Words to Action
In December 1994 Peter Basel organized a second international meeting: a training workshop titled 'From Words to Action'. Noel Duhaylundgsod, on behalf of the Centre for
Environmental Concems in the Philippines, had agreed at the Curacao meeting to host this workshop at the Institute of Forestry Conservation, University of the Philippines. Los Banos
Campus. The primary goal of the workshop was to provide opportunities for networking on an international Ievel and to create 'trained trainers'. Participants came from Antigua,
Bonaire, Canada, Ethiopia, Fiji, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Kenya Lesotho,
Philippines, South Africa, Sweden, and Uganda. Although 1 had left the ICAE following the 1 74
Rio meeting to pursue Ml-time studies, 1 was invited to take part in this meeting because 1 had been working on a major study of environmental adult education through the
Transformative Learning Centre in the Adult Education Department at OISEKJT.
A brief suwey of the backgrounds of the participants showed just how low a priority environmenta1 adult education had within the international adult education movement. The regional organizations had had great diffrcdty finding people within their own constituencies with the knowledge and interest who could participate. Many of the participants came from govemment ministries, the private tourism sector, or NGOs. Although al1 of the participants worked with environmental issues, they did not work through a lens of education other than the development and dissemination of information-sharing materials. What they lacked in knowledge of the field of education, they made up for in interest to leam and fully participate in the discussions.
The primary workshop facilitator chosen by the ICAE was Canadian Anne Camozzi who runs a non-political environmentai corporation, Ecologic. The secondary facilitator was
Hieno Apeil of the Gerrnan Adult Education Association in Bonn. This choice of two
Northern facilitators caused some problems. Some participants suggested that by doing so, it appeared once again that the North had the expertise and could teach the South. This problem was remedied through the insistence by participants that the workshop be re-designed to become more participatory and flexible. For the duration of the workshop. vanous participants acted as facilitators in order to maximise existing expertise and draw out the knowledge and ideas from the South. However, throughout the workshop there remained an overall atmosphere which was highly intolerant of political discussions. viewing them as irrelevant in a workshop that was to move people from words to action, even though many 175 argued that action had to be political and collective and not just individual and behaviourd. A key strength of the workshop was that it provided the opportunity for networking on an international level which resulted in both a personal and organizational cornmitment to build
LEAP.
In preparation for this workshop Anne Carnozzi of Ecologic prepared the publication,
Adult Environmental Education: A Workbook to Move from Words to Action. The first part of the workbook discusses some principles of liberal adult education. The second focuses on developing materials for aduIt environmentd leming as well as worksheets and activities.
There is also a coIlection of case studies included in the workbook, many of which contribute to building the theory and practice of environmental adult education. These case studies were provided by Anne Camozzi of Canada, Owor Peter Minor of Uganda. Graciela Evia and
Eduardo Gudynas of Uruguay, Darlene Clover from Canada, and Gordon Ng from Hong
Kong. There were also three other case studies from India, Sri Lanka, and Bolivia which were not attn buted to individual authors but to organizations.
Pachamama continued to be published during this period.
New Directions and Coordination: 1995-1997
LEAP views environmental adult education as a response to oppression, such cis humans over nature, men over women, rich over poor, whites over people of colour, and others. LEAP works to increase peoples ' understanding of the personal, economic, political, social, cultural, technological and environmentalforces whiclz foster or impede social change. The programme will strive ta help people to re-aBnn the emotional, physical, sensual and cultural role the rest of nature plays in their lives and augment actions which increase people's participation in working in partnerships with the world around them. Environmental adult education is n lifelong learning process. not a goal in it~e&'~
10. From an information brochure, p. 1. 176
While 1 was participating in the 1994 training workshop in the Philippines, the ICAE
Executive Cornmittee agreed to place the coordination of LEAP in the North American
Alliance for Popular and Adult Education (NAAPAE). The telephone cal1 1 received at 8:30 a.m. on the final morning for the workshop was to inform me of this decision and that, as the
NAAPAE Environmental Adult and Popular Education Programme (EAPEP)Coordinator, 1 had been designated as International Coordinator, 1 agreed to do so.
Upon my retum from the Philippines, two NAAPAE members, Budd Hall (Co-
Coordinator of EAPEP) and Maria-Elina Dufau- Kramartz (Secretary-General). and I reviewed the programme as it had been developing over the past two years and put forward several suggestions for changes. Of importance to this study was the idea that more theoretical work needed to be done. After discussions with NAAPAE members and some regiond ccçordinators, it was decided that LEAP should work to strengthen the theoretical foundation of environmental adult education and make stronger linkages with universities.
This meant more time needed to be spent refiecting, researching, writing, and making presentations at a academic and other types of conferences around the world. It was hoped that this work would make a stronger impact on the field of adult education and, possibly one day, influence university curriculum.
1995- 1996 Publications
In 1995, as International Coordinator 1 was asked to write a chapter on LEAP's progress.
This chapter, "Learning for Environmentd Action: Building International Consensus." was the first ever to appear in a textbook on adult education. Another major task that 1 undertook was to produce the third special edition of Convergence on environmental adult and popular 177
education. Four of the contributors - Joyce Stalker of New Zealand, Francisco Vio Grossi of
Chile, Juma Nyirenda of Bostwana, and Makkies David Lengwati of South Africa - and 1
were members of ICAE andor LEAP. The other authors, Noel Keough and Linda Grandinetti
of Canada and Emman Carmona of the Philippines, Farrukh Tahir of Pakistan, Walter Leal
Filho and Monica Villa of BraziYEngland, Rosemary Taylor of Canada, and Lawrence Jansen of the United States responded to the cal1 for papers but are now 'Friends of LEAP'." In addition, Walter Leal Filho becarne the Chair of the LEAP/INFORSE environmental adult education workshop at the UNESCO CONFINTEA V conference in 1997 which is discussed in detail below.
Also during this period, José Robeno Guevara of the Philippines pub1 ished Renewin e:
Renew: A Restoration Ecologv Workshor, Manual (1995). In 1996 he was instrumental in the production of an important regional 'mini-treaty' at the ASPBAE General Assembly in
Darwin titled Evolving an Asian-South Pacific Framework for Adult and Communitv
Environmental Education. Also in 1996 ASPBAE produced and published the article "Push and Pull: Motivation and Participation" in the refereed Communitv Ouarterlv Journal.
in 1995 I was invited by the University of Bradford in England to write a chapter on environmental adult education for an environmentai education textbook titled A Sourcebook on Environmental Education. The chapter was titled "Developing International
Environmental Adult Education: The Challenge, Theory and Practice" and presented information about LEAP's work and some of the nascent elements of environmentai adult education which were ernerging worldwide.
1 1. This is a non-voting category but entitles the subscriber to receive al1 LEAP publications. CONFINTEA V
Dut-ing 1996 and into 1997, LEAP expended much energy in preparing for the upcoming
UNESCO/UNESCO Institute for Education (UIE) Fifth international Conference on Adult
Education (CONFINTEA V) that took place in Hamburg, Germany in July 1997. This was an
extremely important conference for LEAP because, for the first time in the history of these
UNESCO adult education conferences, a space had been created to integrate environmental
issues into the conference agenda and the two official policy documents: The Declaration and
the Agenda for the Future.
LEAP, in collaboration with the International Forum for Sustainable Energy
(INFORSE),lZwas chosen by the UNESCO Institute for Education (UIE) in Hamburg to play
the role of lead agency on the environmentai theme. In order to do so, I spent one month as a
Specialist-in-Residence at the UIE office in Hamburg working with INFORSE. This was a
major challenge for me as INFORSE saw itself not as an 'adult education' organization but as a sustainable or alternative energy organization that used 'adult education'. It took much time and patience to get them to understand that what this conference had to offer was policy support to their non-formal education activities worldwide. In spite of the difficulties. LEAP and INFORSE were able to effectively engage in a number of activities.
One of these activities was to take part in the Preparatory Committee meetings that took place in the various regions of the world but, in particular, the final Prep-Comm that took place in Elsinor, Denmark, the site of the first ever global meeting for adult education.
Although LEAP and INFORSE members re-wrote sections of both the Declaration and the
12. Denmark-based INFORSE was chosen for their work in non-formal environmental education and also because UIE in Hamburg, Germany was attempting to attract major funding from that country. Asenda for the Future, when the documents returned to the WSCOoffice in Paris al1 of the
changes to the environment section had been eliminated,
This meant that a crucial activity during CONFINTEA V for LEAP members was to once
again make the changes and then lobby governments in an attempt to override UNESCO and
have the changes actually made. In particular in the Declaration, LEAP managed to highlight
the negative role of international development paradigms:
Environmental Sustainability: An adult education towards environmental sustainability should be a lifelong learning process which recognizes that ecological problems exist within a socio-economic, political and cultural context. A sustainable future cannot be achieved without addressing the relationship between environment problems and current development paradigms. Environmental adult education can play an important role in sensitizing and mobilizing communities and decision- makers towards sustained environmental action (Pachamama, 1997:3).
In the Agenda for the Future, although some gains were made and LEAP's suggested changes
were supported by many govemments and actually tabled by the govemment of Hungary," at
the final session many of the changes were ultimately not included. In particular. the focus on
strengthening and using womenTsenvironmental knowledge and skills as educators was lost.
The overail losses were a result of the inability of the adult education representatives at
UNESCO to grasp the idea of environmental concerns as broader than human health and
population. 1 also feel it was because we lacked a broad coherent frarnework upon which we
could rely. Losing the focus on women happened when, in the final lobbying stages, 1 was
told by the three men 1 was working with that we coufd only ask for a few changes and they
argued that the one on women was not the most important. Although 1 disagreed, alone I was
unable to persuade them.
13. After speaking with Peter Basel of Hungary, who had kept LEAP going during 1993 and 1994, he approached his Minister and asked if he would consent to meet with me about Our proposed changes to the documents. 1 80
Another activity for the LEAP/INFORSE team was to organise a full-day workshop during CONFINTEA V titled "Environmental Aduit Education: From Awareness to Action."
Its purpose was to help adult educators and govemment officiais to better understand the relevance of environmental issues to the field of adult education. The workshop included plenary addresses, case study presentations, and an important session on the re-working of language of the officiai document to reflect more 'whoie' Iife-centred concepts.
Although we had excellent representation at Our workshop by inter-povernmental bodies such as the Federation of Agricultural Organizations (FAO), UNEP, the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP), and a variety of ministries of education from around the world, no one from the ICAE leadership attended the event. It azain can be attributed to the
Iow priority given to LEAP.
CONFINTEA V Publications
In preparation for CONFINTEA V, a number of major publications emerged. The first adult education and the environment publication was a chapter titled "Four Perspectives on
Environmental Education for Adults: Adult Learning in the Context of Environment. Health and Population" that was published in the book titled Background Pa~ersfor CONFINTEA V published by UNESCO, UIE, and the German Adult Education Association.
The second was a "Working Conceptuai Paper on Environmental Adult and Popular
Education." The development of this document followed much the same process as the 1992
Treaty. Through the LEAP and INFORSE networks, a draft was posted around the world to educators, practitioners, environmental NGOs and so on for their comments, changes and additions. However, unlike the Treaty, the document was adopted in its form as a 'working' 181
conceptuai piece; a dynamic, non-static document that people were encouraged to re-work
and adapt to their own situations and needs.
The third publication was a booklet of "Case Studies in Environmental Adult and Popular
Education." The purpose of this publication was to demonstrate to the adult education
movement, government officiais, and others with policy influence the variety, diversity. and
abundance of environmentai adult education activities triking place throughout the world. It
stated, "The case studies provide exceltent examples of how environmental issues are being
incorporated into adult education practice and how adult education theories and methods are being used in the environmental movement around the globe" (2).
Another publication to appear as a result of CONFINTEA V was a chapter -
"Understanding Humaaarth Relationships Through Storytelling and Memory" - in the book Lifelong Learninp: and Environmenta1 Education (1997) that attempted to demonstrate global environmental adult education activities and thought. A final publication for
CONFINTEA V was an article titled 'The Greening of Education" that appeared in
UNESCO's Sources magazine.
UNESCO's Environment and Societv Conference. 1997
The last major conference to be discussed was UNESCO's Environment and Society:
Education and Public Awareness held in Thessaloniki, Greece in December 1997. The official Declaration of Thessaloniki, like many before it. rei terates the importance of education and also public awareness as "pillars of sustainability together with legislation. economy and technology" (Scoullos, 1997:3). However, it also notes that "insufficient progress has been made." Five years after the Earth Summit no government in the world has 182 made any major change in policy design "in any number of crucial sectors or rapid and radicai change of behaviours and Iifestyles, including changing consumption and production patterns" (Guevara in Pachamama, 1997). Lester Brown ( 1997:4) observes that "one reason for this failure is that dthough govemments have professed concern with environmental deterioration, few have been willing to rnake the basic changes needed to reverse it."
Perhaps a second reason, that 1discovered as 1 took part in the Thessaloniki conference
(that atternpted to make absolutely no connection between itself and CONFTNTEA V although they had both been organized by UNESCO) is that what education there is for adults is referred to 'public education' by the UNESCO environmental education division. The concept of 'public education' is mired in an 'information sharing framework', that maintains by giving an 'ignorant' public more and more information, change will happen. However through my keynote address, "Towards Sustainable Communities: Environmentai Adult
Education" (published in the Conference Proceedings) and Owor Peter Minor's two workshops on ecological literacy and creativity in adult learning. we were able to put forward the ideas that people know already and that it is wrong to assume that profound change will occur simply by providing people with more information about environmental issues. What is required, we argued, is an understanding of the importance of engaging adults in a learning process (not just teiling them), allocating funds for this work, and actually changing policy.
Academic Publications
This is an area which needs much more attention for if the work of LEAP members is to substantially influence the academy, more articles, chapters, and books will need to be written. 183
From 1972 to 1997 there were only six publications. These appeared in either Conference
Proceedings or refereed joumals. Two of the publications. "In Their Spare Time: Women and
Environmental Action"" (Conference Proceedings) and "Gender, Transfomative Learning
and Environmental Action" (Gender and Education. z(4)).focussed on the important role that
women play as environmental adult educators in communities. Other articles focussed on the
theory of environmental adult education and on the work of LEM.
A Future Publication
As another means to make a major contribution to the field of environmental adult education, LEAP is producing a book which will be a contribution to the British Zed Books series on adult education. The book is titled Awakenine Sleepv Kncwledoe: Global
Perspectives of Environmental Adult Education and will be pubiished in 2000.
Before the end of 1997, four chapters had been written. Sandra Tan, originally from
Malaysia, is author of a chapter titled "Environmental Adult Education: Addressing
Environmental Racism." Two other chapters are "Facilitating Environmental Adult
Education in the Philippines: Transformation in Action" by José Roberto Guevara and
"Women and Agency in Environmental Adult Education for Socio-Ecological Change." This latter chapter, written by Salwa Tabiedi of the Sudan, is important not only because it focuses on women, but also because it is only the second LEAP publication to come from the Arabic- speaking region, the first being an artide by Ibrahim El Agib in Convergence, 1992, The final chapter for this future publication is "Community Learning and Environmental
14. The idea for this title emerged from a conversation in 1994 with Vanaja Ramprasad of lndia who suggested with exasperation that "it is as if the men think the women will Save India in their spare time." 184
Protection: A Case Study of the Taitaills Forest in Kenya," written by Mary N. Karanja,
Coslata W. Kiragu, Rosa Muraguri, and Janet W. Mutiso of Kenya. Rosa Muraguri is the Co-
African representative to LEAP dong with Owor Peter Minor of Uganda.
Discussion
Regional Changes
in the early years, the African region had the most interest in environmental issues and their impact on the field of adult education. AALAE spearheaded the changes in the ICAE by creating its own programme, insisting on the need for a global coordinating programme. and by producing the first book on environmental adult education. A major catalyst for AALAE was the creation of UNEP and its subsequent headquartering in Nairobi. In particular, UNEP chose to hire an adult educator, Victor Iibunkle-Johnson to head its environmental education division.
Africa's initiative as well as the idea to host UNCED in Latin Arnerica stimulated
CEAAL to create its own programme. Due to a combination of interest and pressure from
CEAAL, the location of UNCED, as well as the escalating illness (malaria) of Victor
Iibwkle-Johnson, CEAAL becarne the first regional home of the LEM. In the early 1990s. the Asia/South Pacific region became more active and is today the most active region, with
José Roberto Guevara as Regional Coordinator, followed by North America.
The Role of the UN
This brief historical trajectory highlights the importance of the United Nations on the work of ICAE and LEM. In fact, my own experience in the ICAE for the past 14 years tells me that without the major global events, the adult education movement today woufd not have
environmental issues woven into its fabric, however 'basted' that still may be.
The UN and particularly UNESCO, have developed various government sanctioned
documents such as decfarations and agendas for the future that provide a lobbying tool for
INGOs, NGOs, and grassroots organizations to encourage governments, particularIy those
who signed, to make the policy changes a reality. UN documents have also highlighted
the need for planetary conservation through the promotion of greater environmentai awareness among the general public. In addition, their contents and conclusions provide the foundation for the design and developrnent of an environmental education curriculum (Tilbury, 1995: 14).
But, of course, they are not without their probtems. In particular, the idea of 'sustainable
development', coined in The Brunttand Report which was carried out under the auspices of
the UN, has, as noted above, become a mantra and gives govemments a way out of having to
engage in difficult debates around development and capitalism or substantially change
course.
Nevertheless, international conferences are attended by many knowledgeabie and committed people who will continue to press governments towards these substantial changes.
Sometimes it works, most often it does not. However, the opportunity to come together in
large numbers rnakes these conferences important spaces of contestation, debate, networking and cooperation. in the words of José Roberto Guevara of the Philippines:
As adult educators, we often hear questions around ... global conferences and the documents produced: "What good are these conferences?" and "When will these words become action?" While these are valid questions, our experiences have shown that the words that [make]their way into global documents come not just from debate but from action, from the experiences of our members at the community level. It also took a whole lot of action during these conferences to get [our] words into the lists of proposed amendments and the finally ratified documents (Pachamama, 1 997:6).
Many would argue, however, that much more needs to be done. Chapter Seven The Content, Context and Values of Environmental Adult Education
Introduction
Regaining a sennousappreciation for nature as a spiritual presence might a fso help us deepen our ethical and moral sensitivities. Thomas Moore, l998:32
To be successful we mus? understand the world better in which we live and the forces which are detennining our situation and qualis, of life as persons. nations and counrries Marta Benavides. l992:38
One of the main sources of information in qualitative research is the collection of rich, thick data that is analysed through categories or questions from which findings finally emerge. Data in this case study corne from 42 documents from around the world such as articles, books, booklets, chapters, discussion papers, and journals produced by ICAELEAP between 1972 and 1997. In 1993, the British National Institute for Adult and Continuing
Education argued that "Environmental adult education around the world is not yet as comprehensively developed as it should be ... but there is a important body of experience that can help inform its future development" (1993: 10).
This chapter begins the examination of that important body of experience. It identifies some of the essentiai elements of a learning framework for environmentai adult education in the 42 under the two broad categories of 'content and context' and 'values'. CoIlectivel y, the documents yield a broader and more innovative ecological perspective for the field of adult education. From the diverse contexts and locations, the authors plant the seeds necessary to begin the development of a learning frarnework for environmental adult education. Some of the new perspectives include nature's intrinsic value, human/Earth relations, econornic 1 87
developrnent and its impact on the environment, consumerism, fear, powerlessness and green
fatigue, and eco-feminist perspectives and values.
1 have also introduced a major change in terms of Ianguage. Although the authors
promote the concept of inter-connectedness, they continue to use words that keep hurnans separate from the natural worfd (as this phrase does). Although I did not tarnper with exact quotes, 1 have begun to use the phrase 'the rest of nature'. As environmental adult educators, we still have much to lem in terms of the power of language that 1 will discuss in the next and final chapters of this thesis.
Context and Content
The argument over what we may and may not teach in order to reconcile socioeconornic development with environmental protection and rehabilitution (irr short, quality of life), and to accommodate scientific exploration and rtncertainty leads to the need to idenrifi the broader context in rviiich Ive teach. Peter Sutton, 1989:8
Understanding HumanEarth Relations
Lfe is a chah! We are One! Sibanye! the ant, the tree, theflower and the bird Lve is chain! We are one! Sibanye! Thefish, the duckling, the river and wind LiJe is a chain! It is a chain, for we are one! Sibanye! Sindiwe Magona, 1998
It has often been noted that in pre-capitalist societies human beings lived much closer to the rest of nature and perceived themselves as participating in that sphere in ways that appear to have become almost cornpletely alien to many people around the world. in fact, human separation from the rest of nature is believed to be the root of many of Our emotional, psychological, and socio-ecological problems (Nozick, 1992). In out frenzy to control and 188
dominate, many seem to have forgotten "that we too are Nature. By splitting ourselves off
from [the rest ofl Nature. we have alienated ourselves from Our deepest roots, our supponing
structures" (Ibid.:70). This sense of 'apartness is a major challenge for environmental adult
educators and has raised some interesting debates among the environmental adult educators
around awareness raising, existing ecologicai knowledge, and contemporary change that
chaIIenge ways of knowing and being. Discussions within this broad category of human/Earth
relations have woven essential elements of experience, skills, and practical knowing through
direct contact with historical agency and spiritual and inner ways of knowing and being.
In the first few years examined in this study, many authors, including myself, argued that
a key role of environmental adult education was to 'raise people's awareness' about environmental problems: problems about which they were totally ignorant or did not fully
understand. And perhaps in some places and with some people, this may have been true to a certain extent. But as the years progressed two very different ideas of knowledge and knowing emerged from the data to overtake the 'awareness raising' idea.
First, authors began to suggest that most people in both urban and rural settings were quite aware and knowledgeable about their environment and its growing problems. It was this knowledge and experience that needed to be induced, nurtured. transformed, and mobilized into action. Francisco Vio Grossi of Chile (Convergence, 1995:30)perhaps States it best:
"Environmental adult education must work with people's knowledge of the environment and heIp them where necessary to again feel a part of nature."
But it was also recognized that people's knowledge of their environment was in danger of being rendered invalid by contemporary global economic and development processes.
Second, various authors argued that within most people there existed an often buried but not 189 entireiy forgotten bond, experience and connection with the rest of nature: People were not totdly disconnected from their environments. they were physically, cultura1ly. and emotionally attached (Clover, 1995a; Guevara, 1995; Taylor. 1995). What is required are opportunities to explore this, or re-leam where necessary.
Ecolonical Knowledee
he spoke of meanings beyond Western rationali~ of agriculture and the supernatural we know how to read the iconography of natrtre when the news hasn 't arrived yet
.S.. ecological understanding is not rooted in the intellect but in the desire tu understand the process of life
Peter Cole, 1998: 106, 1O8
Wisdom about nature, that wisdom heard and toid in animared pattern, that prrttern rendered in such a way as to preserve a place whole and sacred ... these are the concepts with which tu begin. Sean Kane. 1998:50
Knowing is an ongoing creative and dynamic act that is fundamental to the process of living. According to José Roberto Guevara of the Philippines, there are many "different forms of knowledge when we talk about our environment - from daily experiences and age- old knowledge and traditions and wisdom passed from generation to generation." Through
"interactions with nature, we realised that there is a big difference between a person with a concept of a forest and one with the experience of a forest" (Guevara, 199575).
The ecological intelligence and awareness of sorne indigenous peoples around the rhythms of the rest of nature is a knowledge "based on an intimate understanding that unless they lived in accordance with law, they will not survive" (LEAP/INFORSE, 1997:3). Because of their ecological identity and knowledge, because they do not "see the environment as a 190 separate issue from their demands for self-determination and indigenous peoples' rights," it is a fundamentai bais of their struggles (Ibid.: 1997).
Around the world the depth and breadth of people's wisdom and relationship to the land was acquired slowly through cultural maturation and makes a substantial contribution to an understanding of sustainability. According to Owor Peter Minor in Uganda, the most effective way to build a sustainable community is to tap "into traditional ecological knowledge [that has ken] built over decades through a cumulative process among generations. This has enabled communities to be dynarnic and functional" (ICAE/Ecologic,
19945). Many women around the world, have practised their own pursuits in caring. nurturing and survival, using a knowledge base developed over generations that is constantly tested by their experience. They are now a repository of indigenous knowledge about sustainable resource management:
For centuries [women in Africa have been involved] in traditional medicine use, health care, seed collection, the maintenance of biodiversity, farrning, forestry and water management and the processing and preservation of food. Their daily Iived experiences have given them privileged access to expertise integral to the survival of the planet (LEAP/INFORSE, 1997:3).
In the Sudan, "both urban and rural women make the primary contact with the basic components of the environment ... and play a significant part in the management and pIanning of the environment as well as in preserving natural resources" (Tabiedi. forthcoming
2000). José Roberto Guevara (forthcoming 2000) wrote that "one insight I have gained in working and learning together with women about the environment has been that they did not have to look beyond their homes to become aware of environmental probiems."
Visiting various communities on a popular theatre tour of the Philippines, Keough et al.
(Convereence, 1995:9) developed "a renewed understanding of the depth, breadth and 191 wisdom of peoples knowledge" that they use to "rehabilitate the surrounding cropland through traditiond forms of terracing, orgmic agriculture, intercropping and the reintroduction of indigenous species" (Xbid.:9). Fisherfolk also use their knowledge and understanding of the sea to explore issues such as community-based costal resource management (LEAPKNFORSE, 1997a). In india, an application of traditional knowledge to contemporary times demonstrates the destmctiveness of "technology packages introduced by the Green Revolution" that in turn leads to demands for "land reform and more sustainable agriculturai practices" (ibid.:30). In Uganda ecological knowledge is used to bridge conflicting interests: "The local Bakonjo people work as guides and researchers üround indigenous ecological knowledge. These activities have reduced conflicts between nature conservation, park authorities and adjacent villages" (LEAP/INFORSE, 1997:4).
People's ecologicai knowledge - this lived process of knowing - has extraordinary ramifications for the individual in tenns of what is important and how the Earth is manifest in their values, sense of self, and place. The process of environmental adult education cannot abstract knowledge from the knower, nor the content from the Iived process of knowing.
Since a lack of knowledge is not the main problem. environmental adult educators will need, among other things, to find ways "ta understand better humanEarth relations and what makes people love or hate, or embrace the rest of nature" (Clover, 1997b: 12.) Environmental adult education must acknowledge and tap into this rich store of contemporary and traditional wisdom. It must be nurtured and given legitimacy in the adult lectrning process. As Kamla
Bhasin of hdia notes, we need to "recognise people's dignity, their wisdorn. and their time- tested knowledge systems [and its] staying power" (Convergence, 1992:34). Environmental adult education is a process that examines the relationship between ecologica1 knowledge and cultural identities and patterns, 'de-hierarchises' these forms of knowledge, and explores ways to translate this leming through living into action for change.
The capability of people to combine past knowledge, disseminate it more broadIy, and em body i t in their everyday lives is an integral part of the creation of new knowledge.
EcoIogical knowledge is both old and new knowledge. For many it is still a daily part of life, for others. it has been eroded and even changed.
I don 't romanticize nature and I don 't entertain any illusions about the hardships thut aboriginal people must have endured. But I wonder iftrrie wellness might lie somewhere between the rigours of a hrtnting and gathering lifes~leand breathing cunned air in the glass-walled cells of our high-rise urban prisons. Mark Burch. 1993:4
Beneath the CIO& of civilization lies the hurnan who knows the necessity of a rich natural environment. However, it appears that the world today is engaged in a process of denying recognition of the ecological knowledge of most of the world's people. The agressive application of outside knowledge, such as that from the West on Native peoples, can destroy or change the conditions that permit indigenous knowledge to emerge and flourish. This marginaiisation and destruction of traditional environmental knowledge and many of the associated culture-specific values and behaviour patterns are of primary concern to the field of environmental adult education.
But change too is inevitable. The world is not a static place of rnediocrity and. therefore, as NIACE authors (1993:220) from the United Kingdom argue, we never "know everything at any one point in time." To be most useful, a pedagogical practice must be fomulated in the 193 context of its histoncal location that recognizes that the rest of nature and "societies' awareness and understanding of the natural world too changes and evolves."
One example of the destruction and marginalisation of people's knowledge can be found in the separation of small land-holders from the knowledge of their rights and the lettered experts who have the ability to produce and legitimate scientific knowledge and the people who must Iive and deai with the findings (Clover, 1995). This creates a polarization
between scientific knowledge and knowledge which recognises ancien t and di fferent forrns/types of knowledge ... the so called age of enlightenment haforced al1 other learning and knowledge into darkness, rendering invisible other ways of knowing such as native or traditional knowledge, peoples' spirituality, and especiaily women's knowledge (Ibid.:224).
Meresiana Teresia of Indonesia discusses wisdom and myth in rems of ecological knowIedge and change. She teils the story of villapers who have for many centuries fished for crabs. Although things are changing dramatically as a result of pollution, devefopment. and commercial fishing for profit, people continue to believe "the sea has always provided from the days of Our forefathers [sic] and will always provide" (ASPBAE, 1995:27).Ibrahim El
Agib of Tunisia also found that many people cling to "the myth that natural resources do not di minish" (Conver~ence,I992:76).
These forms of traditional knowledge have not adequately adapted to contemporary developrnent and production patterns and therefore what once may have been tme is now false. This means, as the Amencan author Pat Mische notes, we cannot simply "Iook back to a bygone age for solutions [because] we are in a radicaily new situation .... A new pedagogy of responsibiIity must be cornmensurate to the needs of our times" (Convergence, 1992: 10).
Moreover, "we are not suggesting going to some romantic past. We are suggesting a creative 194 mix of tradition and modem that ensures respect for nature, justice, equity" (Conver,=ence,
199235).
Environmentai adult education must confront these myths and challenge them by helping people to understand that certain types of politics and development initiatives will ultimately destroy their livelihoods and cultural base. Environmental adult education must work with the fact that valuable and legitimate ecological knowledge is often rendered invalid due to a not unproblernatic but nevertheless changing world. It must recognise the importance of ecological knowledge but not privilege this expenence at the expense of developing a critical dialogue that integrates the meanings produced in the nature of changed experience.
Ecological Cultural Identitv
the Pueblo man speaks of the world rve bring with us he prefers to speak of 'spiritual ecology ' rather than religion he speaks of the relation with one another thrclugh ecology of ha ving an ecolog ically specific identity for wirhour spirir corn does not flourish Peter Cole. 1998: 104
AI1 living beings experience the world in their own way and engage with that world in a creative and dynamic relationship. Ecological identity refers to the feelings, relationships and identifications people (and animals) deveIop with landscape - the rest of nature. This includes not only a person's experiences with the Earth but also their perception of it and the role it plays in their lives. The place where we live, the patterns and changes in the landscape, and how humans live on the land and with other species are al1 part of human identification (Orr,
1992; Abram, 1996; Thornashow, 1995).
The gtobally developed Workine Conce~tualPa~er (LEAPANFORSE, I997:2) refers to indigenous peoples who "speak of a powerful and sacred relationship to the land ... and feel 195
themselves part of the earth and not owners of it-" José Roberto Guevara (fonhcoming 2000)
observed in his work that "for the indigenous peoples of the Philippines, the idea that there
are non-living things is beyond their imagination. Water is alive. Rocks are dive. The sun is
alive." And this vision, he goes on to say, is "also shared by the farrners and fisherfolk we
talked with who argued that the soi1 and sea are dive because they support al1 forms of
biological Iife." Like Guevara, a case study by the Environmental Education Association in
India (LEAP/Ecoiogic, 1994:25) also noted that this identity exists in other societies. in india
the forest plays not simply a physicd role but also an important emotional and spiritual role
in the lives of women. The processes of nature "are themselves spiritual processes and people
1ive within these rhythms and forces of the enveloping landscape" (bid.:25).
Embedded in identity distinctions arnong peoples of the world, such as politics, economics, sociai structures, is cultural identity. Interaction and interdependence between
human culture and the rest of nature has evolved over thousands of years. The culture- specific perception and interpretation patterns, socio-cultural forrns of organization. and site- related management that aise from the human/Earth relation constitute in their totali ty the cultural identity of some groups. Various authors discuss the land as culture and culture as embedded in the land as well as the ways in which dance and song are grounded in the rnysteries and ordinariness of the everyday and the complex symbiotic relationship between nature and culture. For example, a case study from Sn Lanka suggested that "a clean and beautifui environment is believed to be both right and a cultural artifact" (LEAP/Ecologic,
1994:27).In Newfoundland the fishing industry and in particular the sea "is the basis of much
P cultural folklore" and people's identity (Follen and Clover, l997:2). Kerrie Strathy
(Converoence, 1995:42) suggests that for women, the forests meet "cultural needs." while in 196
Uganda, Owor Peter Minor noted that "cultural diversity is intertwined with traditional ecological knowledge" (ICAE/Ecologic, 1994:4).
Culture is a bais "for our relation to the rest of nature and the root of Our interest to preserve its value not only as a source of material existence. but also of spiritual life"
(Londofio Zapata, 1997:66). Much human creativity has been inspired by. with, through, and about the rest of nature. Some of the world's art has been inspired by the rest of nature: songs and music Iink Iives to the sea, the mountains, and so on (CIover. 1997~).Francisco Vio
Grossi of Chile observed that in fact, nature's culture "is so much a part of Our culture"
(Convergence, 1995:42). Disconnecting culture from nature means "disconnecting from a sensitivity to things of a different quality and imagination" (Convergence, 1995:45).
Environmental adult and popular education, according to Moema Viezzer from Brazil
( 1 992:3), who draws from "The Declaration" produced at the First Con ference on Women,
Procreation and Environment held in Rio in 199 1, shouId explore old and new forms of identity as a means to once again highlight "the essence of the sacred, the last possible relationship with the mystery which has always expanded the boundaries of hurnanity through the pathways of the uncommon, the imaginary, and desire."
René Karottki of Denmark (UIE, 1997) outlines the important role culture and tradition play in people's understanding of, and relationship to, their environment. He advocates in tegrating these into the learning and teaching process:
there is an increasing tendency to see adult education as a way of enabling people to develop awareness of themselves as part of a culture, history and society and encouraging them to play an active role in the community and in the society as such (p. 1 15).
Ecological identity is about feelings, attitudes, spirituality, the self, individuality, personhood, collectivity, self-esteern, self-respect, self-direction, reflection, and subjectivity. 197
It is both a cognitive and an embodied way of knowing. If environmental adult education were to focus soiely on questions of need and survival it would fail to recognise the qualitative concerns for peoples who share desires for a rneaningful cultural way of Iife. for culture and nature are not separate but rather are integrai, intimate parts of people's embociied
1 ives.
Nature is a force we must conquer rather thun accept and accommodute oursdves to. R.A. Sydie. 1994
Interaction and borrowing has always taken place within and between cultures. However, a heedless and wilful application of Western culture is destroying existing conditions. One example came from the Philippines: "we saw signs of Our Western culture everywhere. stomping on culture. Families who had farmed and fished sustainably, simpIy and colIectively for generations were forgotten ... rendered second class on their own land"
(Keough et al., Convergence, 19959). Kamala Bhasin (Convergence, l992:28) concurs that more than anything else
U.S. culture has been taking over the world. Coca Cola, hamburgers, Barbie dolls. Superman have become international- For profits the U.S.companies have pushed junk food, junk drinks, junk culture everywhere .... It is not a cultural exchange. but a one-sided cultural dominance.
However, as Follen and Ciover ( 1997:65) note, environmentai adult education must recognize the vaIue of diversity in culture by challenging the process of " 'homogenisation'
[of Western culture] that erodes values, li festyles, diversity, memory and imagination by helping them to celebrate their diversity and cultures which are sumptuous and distinct." Vio 198
Grossi from Chile (Convergence, 199528) notes that environmental adult education must be
a process that helps people to de-construct the radical dichotomy of culture and nature.
But overcoming the nature/culture dichotomy within the field of adult education wiil not
be easy. For as noted in Chapter Four, in adult education nature has been defined as 'other'
than culture and culture is what is reached when one slips the oppressive bond of nature
(Freire, 1976). By way of exarnpte 1 told a story (ICAE/Ecologic, 1994:23) of a North
Americm regionai adult education meeting held in Canada. At this meeting an 'indoor'
aboriginal smudging ceremony was defined as a 'cultural even t' while the
aboriginal/environmentalist dmmming, singing and dance activity in the forest on the
following evening was referred to as 'conjuring in the woods.' Given that a growing number
of people live in urban environments, José Roberto Guevara ( 1995 & 1996) and Ha11 and
Cfover (1997) have developed practices that help people to discover the rest of nature as it
exists around them and then develop strategies to build on its existence. This idea is explored
in more detail later in this chapter.
Dealing with the Framework of Economic Develoyrnent
rvho is benefiting from cash crop cultrrres why Cs there no talk of sheli oil and starbucks [sic] where is the collective accountabiliry of commercial enrerprise why should globalizarion mean poor people in Kenya go without rice because of a war in Iraq .... Peter Cole, 1998: 1O3
Con temporary environmen ta1 problems appear to be the product of particular economic practices and ideologies operating at odds with the rhythms of both nature and the majority of the world's people. Today everything in the West is done to maximize the moment. Sustainable development and long term planning are not nearly as important as short-term gain (Giddens, 1990). Economic growth and development
have led to the depletion of resources and environmental pollution. It not only exhausts the suppIy on which profit-motivated exploitation depends; it endangers the very foundation of Iife itself. The survival of indigenous groups and subsistence farmers, most of whom are wornen, is threatened, not guaranteed, by the expansion of the market system (Londofio Zapata, 1 997:67).
Eco-socialist theory "challenges the assumption that a connection exists between the economic growth and the alleviation of poverty, and above al1 that poverty and demographic growth are responsible for the accelerated deterioration of the environment" (Ibid.: (997).
Many views from this study support these statements.
In 1973 in an article in Convergence, Austrian Kurt Swinton argued that the root causes of the serious environmentai degradation of the land, sea, and air could not be attributed to over-population but rather to unequal and abusive use of resources primarily by the indus trialized countries. This is echoed by the African NGOs Thi nk-Tank Consultation
Cornmittee:
The strategy from collective self-reliance lies in Africa's own ... population. Africa is not over populated nor is the issue of population the cause of environmental degradation in Africa. It is the present nature of ownership, control and distribution of African resources where the degradation lies (Conver~ence,199288)-
The Treatv ( 1992: 1) dso observes that "the disequilibrium of the international economic order and notions of development" go hand in hand with environmental deterioration.
Moema Viezzer (1992) calls this global economic growth and its partners of science, technology, and patriarchy whose hands "have seized control of the Earth." These forces of
wanton development of savage capitalistic methods of production and commerciaiization hm brought progressive poisoning of foods by the continued use of toxic agricultural pesticides, and the contamination of oceans due to the exploration of petroleum on the high seas (Convergence, 19924). 200 in bief, they are "transforming the Earth from a paradise to a junk and social inequity depot
... as world leaders use science and technology to engage in wars which have the capacity to completely annihilate life on this planet" (World Charter, 199 1 :2).
Victor Ibunkle-Johnson and Edward Rugumayo of Kenya (1987) observe that through excessive exploration for natural resources many populations have been forced into degradation and poverty. Economic development has brought social and economic impoverishment to entire communities. As rural peasants and farmers are moved andor pushed off fertile lands onto marginal ones, social infrastructures break dom. The ASPBAE
Framework for Adult and Communitv Environmental Education (1995) begins by noting that in the AsidSouth Pacific region, "massive environmental destruction, the mqinalisation of peoples and the erosion of social and cultural values" can be attributed to present development paradigrns and the global economic system (2). Kamla Bhasin of hdia adds
the present notion of development has lead to homogenization, which means ... reducing diversity - instead of different cultures, one culture .... For the market it is better to have standardization. lnstead of thousands of people making small things in every village, big companies take over .... There is less and less creativity. Work becomes mindless. People lose their autonomy. There is increasing alienation, frustration (Convergence, l99S:Sg).
It is aIso important to understand that there is a gendered process to economic development and restmcturing world-wide that has created a phenomenon referred to as 'the ferninisation of poverty' (Convergence,- 1992:8). Decreased expenditures on education, health, and food subsidies means that increased costs have been borne by women. It also means they must work longer hours, take more time to shop for less expensive food, spend more resources and/or time on basic health-care, and face fewer job and educational opportunities. Any discussions of development cannot simply make women's plight visible, but must give them voice. in her speech made to a packed room at the Global Forum (quoted in my article
1995:228), Chief Bisi Ogunleye of Nigeria challenges the field of environmental adult education to include a focus on unsustainable models of development
based on wasteful use of resources and excessive consumerism as well as the staggering impact of environmentai degradation on the women and children of the South. The human tragedy and fundamental economic and environmental error of Structural Adjustment Policies are crucial.
Al1 of these views necessitate the re-shaping and broadening of the content and context within which environmental adult education takes place.
Life-Centred Develo~rnent
There is also another more complex side to the discourse on development, As Peter
Sutton of Germany notes, "we cannot divide the world into parts - one part developed and one part underdeveloped. We cannot say that the high living standard in the industrialised
West cannot be attained by the rest of the world" (Conver~ence, 1989:7). However, he goes
if we educators wish to teach [people] to be aware of environmental concems, what precisely can we tell them? Can we limit ourselves to encouraging a change in attitudes and a questioning of the merits of global development? If we do, we risk being dismissed as unredistic dreamers who would change human nature, while the rest of the world gets on with earning a living. How can we tell [people in less developed countries] to stop this process [of development] and to settle for what they have? (Tbid.:7).
Based on this idea, Kamala Bhasin (Convergence, 1992:3 1) poses the question: "What kind of development would be sustainable?" Models for an ecological and socially viable development will need to be re-created and "people everywhere are searching for solutions" Kenyan authors Ibikunle and Rugumayo (1 987:8) argue that, "people need development." But that development needs to be done "in tems of 'self and comrnunity change rather than economic growth." The African NGOs Think-Tank Consuitation
(Convergence, l992:88) suggests that
Africa must develop to meet the needs of its population by first and foremost creating its own intemal market and protecting it from external and stronger economies. It is important that this market is socially. culturaliy and environmentdly responsible to its people.
Bhasin (Convergence, 1992:32) adds that development needs to be "people-centred and people-oriented ... people have to be subjects and not objects of their own development." She also argues that the prime motivating principies of development must be creativity. potential, and satisfaction. In Asia as well the idea is not to stop development but to change its course through the development of "creative alternatives [based upon] a reconciliation of socio- economic development with environmental protection and rehabilitation of quality of life"
(Duhaylungsog, 1994:4). Owor Peter Minor of Uganda notes that "sustainable communities in mraI areas are created when there are integrated conservation and development activi ties."
For conservation is only of interest "to communities when benefits are direct. indirect or cumulative. Therefore, building a sustainable community fosters enhancement of environmental conservation and management" (ICAE/Ecologic, 19945).
Further to the point, as noted in 1976 by Canadian adult educator James Draper, "the process of social change as a leading edge of development is inevitably linked with the processes of education and learning; education is a vital component in development" (p.73).
Environmental adult education must therefore identify itself with the broader context and understanding of development and contribute to human developrnent as well as ecological sustainability and economic productivity. This broader context, as noted in The Treatv 203
( 1992:2) inciudes "health, peace. human rights, democracy, hunger and poveny. and the
degradation of flora and fauna." These are important areas that have been adverseiy affected
by a pursuit of an economic growth mode1 that does not recognise them. Rather than being
'people-centred' as Bhasin suggests. perhaps we need to think of development. as other
authors suggest, in tenns of life-centred, a more holistic and transformative way of reframing
deveiopment.
However. the economic paradigm of today. although appearing al1 powerful was created
and is merely one small part of what Jurgen Habermas called the 'life-world'. To be most
effective, environmental adult education must work to help people push back the boundaries
of the purely economic by conceptualizing, as Filipino Noel Duhaylungsog ( 1994:4) notes.
"alternative forms of development which are participatory and bio-regionally focussed." And
Kamala Bhasin notes that these alternatives to development must be "in hmony with
nature." For nature "cannot be seen as subordinate to man [sic]. She cannot be seen merely as
a provider of resources and absorber of wastes" (Ibid.:3 1 ).
Challenging Patterns of Consumption and Production
Tuke a look at your footprirrt rny friends your mark upon the earth. Do you have the right, tnerely by birth to be so heavy on the land. Noel Keough et al., 19955
One of the most important issues under debate as we approach the 2 1'' century is consumption, or perhaps better said unequal patterns of consumption and material production. One of the deepest and most pervasive educative processes at work in the 20" century has been learning to consume and therefore environmental adult education will need 204 to chaIlenge this and promote its unleming. Expressions of life values seem to become more and more vulnerable and unstable as consumerism gathers momenturn around the world
(Convergence, 1989).
Ani1 Chandry of India discusses the pervasiveness of consumerism beyond the West. He perceives it as "a competition going on amongst different segments of rniddle classes to acquire the latest electronic gadgets. We are constantly told by advertisements: 'Don't just
envy it, buy it,' or 'Neighbour's envy, owner's pride' ?' (Convergence, 1989:74). A popular theatre activity in the Philippines highlighted the seductive nature of the consumer dream that loudly shouts "Step right up! The more you buy, the more you save! Buy now, pay later! It's
the real thing!" (Keough et al., Convergence,- 1995: 1 1). Consumerkm taunts society with scarcity, appeals to competitiveness, and mimics the tensions of seasonal rarity (Griffiths,
1996).
Kent Mikkelson of Denmark (Convergence, 199272) argues, though, that people in the
West in particular must leam to recognize their responsibility in the obsessive "growth in material production and consumption." For as Kamla Bhasin of India believes the "excessive and wasteful consumption by some deprives the majority of essentials and it also destroys ecology" (Convergence, 1992:3O.
Mechanistic fanning and over-production are fuelled by capitalism and are necessary to sustain the current market economy. Millions of people producing cloth "have been displaced by a few big textile industries. 'The move is from srnail and many, to big and few"
(Convergence, l992:29).
In Canada, consumerism, sociaiization and homogenization (globalization) are important issues in community learning. People are provided with the opportunity to explore the "social 205 and ecological implications of consumerism, and the process of socialisation and gender
irnpiications of advertising. These discussions cannot be devoid of an analysis of the values
represented in this 'new but vacuous spirituality' " (Clover and Follen, LEAP/INFORSE,
1 997a: 1 5).
But the over-consumption and production context in which leaming and teaching needs
to take place is one that understands consumerism as a societal problem not an individual one, a deeply ingrained ideological and structural problem augmented by merciless advertising - that informal learning machine that creates need and orchestrates ignorance.
Over-consumption represents a spiritual crisis: a crisis of values, creativity, and meanings. But a growing understanding of the hollowness of the consumer sociery is emerging around the world. People are seeking alternatives to understanding themseives, their relationships, and their sense of place. One challenge is for environmental adult educators to engage in more research into identifying the best ways to engage people in their own communities in learning activities that acknowledge, critically examine. and act upon the root causes of consumer behaviour and over-production and the powehl, pervasive and seductive processes of marketing. A second challenge is what Canadian Mark Burch cal ls, teaching 'simplicity'. This means providing the opportunity for people to lem to choose to live more simply, in moderation of material wants and with a re-direction of activities towards a "more loving and direct engagement with life." Living simply can be an expression of human freedorn if it is chosen and voluntary. When it is "chosen, it is an expression of self-esteem, self-confidence and a desire to flourïsh spiritually, emotionally and socially"
(Burch, 1993:30). To assist this, the World Charter ( 1991 :3) calls for the development of
"ecologically responsible consumer organisations on a local, national and international level." 206
Chailenging Inequity and Oppression
Economic development and over-consumption create inequities that interact in profound
ways. Ecological degradation and human inequities are often rooted in the same structural
inequalities within societies. Ecological degradation and human injustices cannot be resolved
in a manner that pits one against another but should be dea1t with simultaneously with the
goal of mutual emancipation.
she speaks of environmental racism the ornni-presence of toxic dumpsites on Nature, land Peter Cole. 1998: 105
The politics and practice of environmental racism world-wide are very real. As author
Mikkes David Lengwati from South Africa so poignantly States:
when minerals like gold, diamonds, platinum and coal are extracted but the surrounding communities are among the poorest in the country; when black townships experience the leakage of water pipes and sewers without any hope of the local government attending to repairs; when black township streets jack sheltering trees for shade and ornamental flowers for beautification; and when blacks-only areas are targeted as industrial sites ... and when a town council decides to dump poisonous waste products from manufacturing in a blacks-only township. racism is clear (Convergence, 1995: 103).
Environmental racism is "the exclusion of people of colour from policy-making, the deliberate targeting of these communities for toxic waste disposai and the officia1 sanctioning of life-threatening poisons and pollutants" (Pachamarna, 19953).
Lawrence Jansen from the United States notes that environmentai adult education must
be linked more closely to "related social action movements such as ... indigenous people's rights, cultural sumival ... and economic justice" (Conver ence, 199594). The theory and 207 practice would "benefit particularly from the perspectives of the B lack Environmental
Network in order to broaden the content and context of learning" (Ibid.:20). For "organising against and combatting the dumping of toxic waste is largely the rediscovery of popular, grassroots organising, a crucial additive to the strengthening of environmental adult education theory and practice: (Lengwati, Convergence, 1995: 103). People of colour refer to their environmental struggles as 'environmental justice', described as a movement that seeks to find common ground with low-income and minority communities and with organized workers and al1 others who stand for freedom and equal ity (Tan, forthcoming 2000).
Engaging with this movement "would deepen everyone's understanding of environmental racism and how it rnanifests itself so that communities cm continue to direct action"
(Lengwati, Convergence, 1995: 103).
But to date, as highlighted by NIACE authors (1993:20), an essentid problem is that
"environmental adult education has been supremely unsuccessful at involving the disadvantaged; 'green7 lifestyles are seen as the preserve of the white middle class." This can also be said of the mainstrearn environmental movement, whether it has been done consciously or unconsciously (Tan, forthcoming 2000). Often, the needs and concems of people of colour and aboriginal seem to take a backseat to 'protection' activities. However. one should also be aware of the role the media play in distorting actions and words of aII movements.
Gender Ineauities
Unlike sex (the biological distinction between males and fernales), gender refers to socially learned behaviour and expectations that distinguish between rnasculinity and femininity. V. Spike Peterson and Anne Runyan, 1993 208 Gender is not biologicai but a socially learned and acquired identity. Although women compose one-half of the world's population and perform two-thirds of the world's work and produce at least half of the world's food, they make up the majority of the poor around the world (Peterson and Runyan, 1993). They and their children are often more deeply affected by economic growth policies that exclude their interests and environmental degradation
(Shiva, 1989). Mary Karanja et al. (forthcoming 2000) observe that in Kenya women form about 5 1 % of the population, however, "many traditional customs discriminate against women particularly in the ownership of land [and] they are usudly responsible for the management of the land for their maie counterpart." Saiwa Tabiedi (forthcorning 2000) also notes that in the Sudan gender inequities "manifest in the opportunities of education between the two sexes, favouring boys over girls." This translates into an extrernely high illiteracy rate among women in the Sudan but "in many other developing countries as well." For around the world, little attention has been
paid to education in the non-formal context, especially considering the high rates of iIliteracy and school dropouts among girls and women .... Training should be provided for women to develop their talents and skills and enable them to engage in more efficient and sustainable farming methods (Ibid.).
Yet as both male and fernale authors from the Philippines (Guevara, 19971, Pakistan
(ASPBAE, 1995), Canada ( 1995), Uganda (ICAE/Ecologic, 1994), and Fiji (Convergence,
1995) note, women are not just victims of socio-environmental inequities. They also play extremely vital roles in resource management, farming, animal husbandry. and as the keepers of traditional medicinal knowledge. They are managers, educators, teachers, leamers, and activists.
Moema Viezzer of Brazil (1992: 1) believes it witl be impossible to even begin to solve
"environmentai problems if oppressive historically ascribed gender roles" aïe not challenged 209 and changed. People simply "cannot work together to solve environmental problems" if these
and other inequities persist, as they continue to do today.
To be most effective environmental adult education must "take a new approach to pnder
relations and relations with nature [by beginning] with a critical evaluation of the
deterioration of the wellbeing of both through patriarchal science and technology" (bid.2).
Discussions around new social relations between men and women can be used as a bais for
discussions on "renewed relations between the human species and other species" (Ibid.:2).
For they would both be about respect. caring, equity, and support. in short. working in
partnership with each other and the land.
Class Ineauities
In addition to race and gender, class inequity is also an important area of focus for
environmental adult education. This point was most effectively raised by Filipino José
Roberto Guevara (199528) in terms of working with the urban poor. He states. "they
perceived environmentalists as people who work for cIem environments. and since the urban
poor live on trash and survive by scavenging, environmentalists would therefore look at them as part of the problem." He also notes that having a healthy environment or lifestyle is seen as
the preserve or entitlement of only the middle or wealthier classes. The poor and even those educators who work with the poor cmoften be suspicious of those who include the environment. Guevara writes, ''We were] surprised at the initiai reaction of some urbiin poor leaders and educators to our proposai of developing an urban poor environmental education syllabus [because] they felt that environmental concerns are issues that were 'antil-urban poor" (Ibid.28). For as mentioned previously, the basic image of the mainstream environmental movement is one that protects wilderness areas for the wealthy to enjoy.
Environmental adult education must be a process of working with the puor. of those most affected by environrnental problerns but who also live off some of the bi-products such as waste. It must work to help people to reaiize that everyone regardless of class. race. or gender has "a right to live in a clean and healthy environment" (Ibid.28). In addition. it must work with peoples' knowledge, power, and skills to make this a reality.
On the opposite side, it is the middle class that is most often targeted in terms of consumption through advertising. As Ani1 Chaudbury of India notes, the middle class is targeted and encouraged "to acquire al 1 the latest electronic gadgets" (Convergence,
1989:74). Pat Mische of the United States adds that it is the educated class that is schooled and conditioned in patterns of unquestioning consumption, waste. and ignorance of their integral relationship and dependency on the Earth and each other (Convergence, 19929).
Class cannot be overlooked as an important factor in environrnental adult education.
Race, gender, and class issues are not rivals, but instead are fundamental inequities that are real and must form part of the dialogue around human/Earth relations and future change.
Deaiing with Fear, Powerlessness, and Green Fatigue
Lived experience accommodates our shifting sense of ourselves ... and being acted upon by the wdd,of living with and without cerîainiy of belonging and being estranged. M. Jackson, 1989
As mentioned previously, a lack of knowledge about environrnental problems is no longer the challenge because "for the most part people know, they know more than we
[environmental adult educators] know" (ASPBAE, 19953 1 ). Rather the challenge for 21 1 environmentai adult education is to deal with growing feelings of fear, powerlessness. fatigue and even apathy. The very magnitude of environmental problems, coupied with the potent scientific, political, and economic aura that surrounds them, is frightening and paraiysing in terms of what can actualiy be done.
ibikunle-Johnson (Convergence, 1989) hafound that often feelings of fear arise from feeling overwhelmed and having little or no opportunity to discuss and debate issues and problems. British author Richard Welsh (in Parker and Towner, 19939 10) observes that
many town dwellers feel a sense of non-participation in and a powerless to shape their own environment. Noise, danger, potlution and the stresses of urban life may encourage withdrawal into the virtual reality constructed by the media and entertainment industries.
British authors Jenneth Parker and Enc Towner (Ibid.:208) observe that many people are also suffering from the phenomenon of 'green fatigue'. Green fatigue results from continual messages of doom and gloom about increasing and possibly irreversible problems. that characterize the basic approach to what 1 refer to as 'public education'. This education strategy "which is merely informative" is the one most often used for adults and leads '?O high levels of concem, fear and powerlessness and the overwhelming feeling that the problem has gone too far and nothing can be done" (Ibid.:208).
People also feeI powerless when they have tried at one point to organize and bring about change and have failed. They signed petitions and/or participated in public meetings against some development project but their views were ignored. The question they then ask themselves, as the Filipino author José Roberto Guevara writes, is: "Can 1 really make a difference?" (Guevara, forthcoming 2000). However, it is important to deal openly with environmental problems as they exist in al1 their overwhelming capacity even as much ris they can bring about feu. Negative images should not be confused with avoiding the tmth 212
about environmental problems. David Suzuki, in a speech in Halifax in 1995, likened not telling the tmth about degradation of the planetary life support system to a doctor not telling a patient she hacancer so not to upset her! ' The challenge for environmental adult educators is how to simultaneously promote awareness. enjoyment. and sensitivity to the rest of nature whiie pointing out al1 of the ominous threats to global ecosysterns. IocaI habitats. and human- wetl being. The need to stnke a balance between what Thornashow calls "conveyors of wonder and harbingers of doom" ( 1 996: 142).
I have found in my own work, although, that people also have real fears around the rest of nature. This often stems from portrayals in the media, in movies, and on television of a brutal, violent nature such as wolves that attack defenceless people (Clover. 1997). But it also arises from living in urban areas and maintaining a distance from what is tenned 'wilder' places such as forests. Environmentd adult education can work with people on this by drawing from the teachings of indigenous peoples. Much can be re-learned from people w hose languages contai n no equivalent to the Western concept of wilderness. Moreover, open discussion and engagement with the rest of nature itself can play an important role. An activity called 'night walk' does just this. It begins with group discussion of fears of the rest of nature, the dark and so on in terms of how these fears have arisen and the impact they have on people's lives and actions. After these discussions, participants are taken outside and asked to walk quietly and alone. Listening to what had become for a11 the soothing sounds of the night was a tonic for many (Clover et al., 1998).
I. Taken from a speech on June 17, 1995 during the People's Summit in Halifax, Nova Scotia. 213
Another very real fear that needs to be respected and dealt with is fear of change. Change means facing the unknown, and that can produce much anxiety. Unfortunately, solutions to contemporary environmental problems mean fundamental changes. Technology and recycling cannot do this on their own. It will mean changes in lifestyle for many people on this planet.
Environmental adult education needs to help people to realize that change does not necessarily mean a lower standard of living but rather could very well mean a greater quality of life for themselves and perhaps others on the planet and future generations as well. It also means more collective political action will need to be undertaken.
Environmental adult education is a creative dance between explicitly discussing environmental problems and understanding and dealing with feelings of fear, powerless. and fatigue. For as José Roberto Guevara ( 1995:6 1) observes, "Yes, there are a lot of true-to-life experiences about Our environment that can temfy people into environmental action. But for how long will these people remain scared? Fear can be conquered." It must stress that change is inevitable but that perhaps through collective action, people themselves can plot the course of this change. Often how people react depends on the sense they have of themselves as social agents.
Values
A central challenge before us is ro develop an ethical pedagogy of ecologicnl responsibiliv. The task is immense ,.. [it] meuns leaming to live as consciorrs, participaring members of the larger Earth communiq. Pat Mische, l99Z:g
Pat Mische of the United States (Convereence, 1992: 16- 17) argues that
the Earth and its human creatures have entered a period of CO-evolutionarydynamics in which human consciousness and the activities that flow from it will increasingly affect the next stages of planetary evolution. In other words. the fate of the Earth is increasingly a matter of human choice.
This directs the focus towards "social and ethicai learning." A failure to develop an adequate
value-base within environmental adult education "would be a failure of the greatest
magnitude" (Ibid.: 17).
Non-Neutralitv in Adult Leaming
Al1 education serves specific interests that are shaped by existing values. Robottom
( 1 992: 84) observes that
at any one time, the educational system - whether based on religious dogmas and practices or on rationd thought - has tried to divulge, sustain and perpetuate sets of social values .... if you consider the world today ..- you can clearly identify competing ideologies: those which are attempting to hold on to recognised and aimost undisputed values, and those which have launched a major strategy for conquering the world.
Every person is taught andor learns a world view: sets of ideas, assumptions, beiiefs, and
ethical values that are individual or personal, cultural or shared. These become the lens
through which people view the world, colouring perceptions, thinking and actions. If vaIues
are learned, then positive life-centred values can be nurtured and negative Iife-destructive
ones cmbe unlearned.
TackIing the issue of values in environmental adult education means making a shift from
a beIief in scientific might and materialkm towards inner-directed values that are ecological
and humane (Selby, 1993). Environmental adult education must be concerned with the
exploration of values relevant to an understanding of person-environment relationships. The
question of human's proper relation to the rest of nature is central to ecological values and ethics and provides a challenge to al1 ethical systems (Orr, 1992). 215
At present the most prevalent value orientation of the world, and even of adult education as was noted in Chapter Four, is anthropocentric, meaning that the system of vaiues is human-centred and, by extension, humans have corne to take full priority over al1 other beings. However, as German author Peter Sutton argues, what we require is
an ecological ethic of survival [which] demands a fundamental change in human attitudes towards ourselves and nature - perhaps a Second Copernican Revolution - which applies to ecology the insight that neither Earth nor man [sic] is the centre of the cosmos (Conver~ence,1989: 1 O).
The World Charter (199 1) also calIs for an environmental adutt education that works towards a new global ethic that enables humanity to once again CO-existin hmony with the rest of nature.
British authors Parker and Towner ( 1993208) note that environmental problems today demonstrate a "clear role for moral education, the teaching of good environmental development practices and of natural sciences imbued with humility." Like critical and feminist aduIt education, environmental adult education cannot be value-free or neutral.
Swiss author Matthias Finger writes that neutral learning programmes and institutions
"hardly affect the process of environmental adult transformation, a finding that. incidentally, is confirmed by recent studies by environmental psychologists" (Convermxe, 198929)-
Follen and Clover (1 997) and Keough et al. (Convereence, 1995) advocate a focus on values countering the processes of 'homogenization' and cultural dominance. These forrns of oppression erode values and replace diversity, memory and imagination with, metaphorically speaking, stnp rnalls, superstores, and fast-food outlets of the same make, colour, size, texture and tone. Environmental adult education must encourage a deeper and more critical analysis of basic values that promote growth and materialism. 216
The values environmental adult education prornotes should contribute to hurnan and
social transformation in partnership with the rest of nature. NIACE ( 1993: 19) suggests that
we al1 need to develop new attitudes towards nature and the environment based on values of care and respect .... Attitudes of valuing nature develop partly as a result of the appreciation of the beauty, diversity and interest in life foms and natural systerns.
For as Fijian author Kerrie Strathy (Convergence, l99S:Tî) concludes
"effective environmental management ultimately depends upon the widespread adoption of
an environmental ethic or code of conduct rdecting awareness of and the need for a
sustainable development and biological diversity."
Parker and Towner ( 1 W3:2 16) suggest that raising value questions in educational
discussions is "a good way to build participation and relevance into our courses and usually produces the kind of lively debate that is characteristic of the best kinds of interactive adult education." Although environmental adult education must be a space for "legitimate debate and discussion amongst groups and people that openly espouse and promote particular views on environmental vaiues," its role must be to work towards bringing about a fundamental transformation in the way we wilI live on and with this planet (NLACE, 199320). A process of learning, as Pat Mische of the United States suggests, that teaches us "to live on the Earth with consciousness and intentionality and not just sumender to custorn" (Conver~ence,
1992: 16).
Graciela Evia and Eduardo Gudynas (ICAE/Ecologic, 1994: 1 1) suggest that we need to learn more about and "address values in nature, and how to link these with social justice and the role they can and should play in the learning process."
Environmental adult education must "insist on values iike justice, ethics, morality, 217 beauty and love. Other values we need to promote are reverence for dl life, simple living, living in harmony with nature, respect for diversity" (Benavides, Convergence, 1992:35).
Nature's intrinsic Value
We cannot, as humans, precisely experience the living sensations of another form. We do not know, with full clam, their desires or motivations; we cannot know, or can never be sure that we know, what they know. David Abram, 1996:7
As was demonstrated in Chapter Four and is stated here by NIACE ( 1993: 19), the
"implicit value system [in the field of adult education] does not accord value to nature or to iiving systems in their own right." But in 199 1, the World Charter ( 199 1 :1 ) challenged this inherent value system and attempted to set the stage for a new way of looking at the rest of the world. It States:
Throughout the entire universe there is only one Earth - Exth is life's home and life is our home .... Earth is life's home because it is the only known place which has mnning water, singing birds, the laughter of children, and where men and women dance together and share gifts.
Environmental adult education must assist with developing a vision of the Earth that sees beyond the idea of the rest of nature as purely a 'resource' towards seeing it as "the essence of the sacred, the last possible relationship with the mystery that has always expanded the boundaries of humanity through the pathways of the uncornmon, the imaginary, and desire"
This will require, as stated in the World Charter ( 199 1 :3),
teaching adults to value nature as an integral part of [the learning and teaching] process [by replacing] beliefs that we are owners of nature's elements such as air, waier, land and forests with more care-oriented skills [based on] a new cooperation with Nature. 218
For "everything in nature is valuable; things for economic destruction have only a price tag.
Life's inestimable gifts should not be appraised by a destructive and unsustainable market economy" (Ibid.: 1 ).
In spite of the above, much more reflection needs to be done by environmental adult educators on the idea of intrinsic value if we are to convey that to adult leamers. Deep ecoiogy and ecofeminism, as discussed in Chapter Two, offer interesting and creative ways of understanding this very new and perhaps confusing area.
Feminist Values
Feminist theorists have argued that there is something deep in western cultures that has led to the suppression of the role of perception, caring and empathy ... [b~rr] good moral judgement depends not just on reason, but upon a Izost of sensibiliries and abilities that cannot be traced to reason. Courtenay Ha11 1995:6
Any process of fundamental change, of harmonizing humanity and the rest of nature and of chalienging race, gender, and other inequities wilt require a re-orientation towards caring, nurturing, cooperation, and concern for others. Many authors argue that this return to caring cannot be done at experientiai, politicd, or even theoretical levels without the radical vision and understanding available from feminism and the values associated with that vision.'
Moema Viezzer ( 19W3) argues that environmental adult education needs
"to draw on the principles of ecofeminism. These include politicd action, spintual nurturance, caring, struggle, participation, and new partnerships that include the rest of nature." Linking feminist values and ecology provides a framework for twin concerns of
2. This does not in anyway imply that al1 women think the same way and share the sarne dues, or that the value of caring is most often, and not unprobiematically, associated with wornen and is therefore an important issue in feminist discourse. 2 19 human liberation and the liberation of the rest of nature from oppression and spiralling exploitation. Kerrie Strathy of Fiji (Conver~ence,199573) feels that feminist values of ecology are based upon the idea "that we must live on the interest, not the capital, provided by Our naniral resources if we are to provide a good future for our children." Feminist vaiues in environmental adult cducation urge us to develop an emancipatory practice of li felong
Iearning that invokes life-centredness through seeing relationships differently (Clover. 1995;
Karanja et al., fonhcoming 2000).
Moema Viezzer, drawing on the work of Vandana Shiva and Maria Mies refers to this as
"the feminine principle in Nature." This the essence of caring, nurturance, nourishment. and relatedness mixed with abrupt change, pain, and complexity ( 1992:3). Understanding and valuing this complexness can perhaps help people to move away from the socially constructed idea that there is a natural hierarchy in nature and its very real manifestation within the human social world. The task of an environmental adult education that incorporates 'feminist values' is to move people towards developing "new paradigrns of social relationships that give us a sustainable economy for hurnan beings and for nature
[based on a] a new relationship between men and women" (Viezzer. 1992:3).
NIACE authors (i993:20) note that often, "feminist values include practical elements of environmental care ... and also include consideration of the purposes of this care and how it fits into a wider pattern of concem and respect for the environment.
But one must also walk a balance in terms of the 'caring' ethic. Many feminists have found that caring, for women, has been an expectation that they witl take on 'caring' in the home as well as society has a whole. It has also created an expectation that women will always put others ahead of themselves. Women are taught to care in prescribed ways and 220 often they bear the financial, emotional, physical, and social costs for that caring. However. as Maria Mies (198955) once questioned what will happen to creating more living, loving and caring relationships on this planet when women pursue the type of autonomy and self- centredness so idealised in this culture as self-determination. For this reason, Kamla Bhasin of India argues that we have to weave those values associated most closely with women "into our private and public lives" CConver~ence,l992:35). Chapter Eight The Strategies, Tools and Praxis of Environmental Adult Education
Introduction
We have to practise democracy everywhere, in our family. in Our organizations .... It is this practice which will create groups and people who are strong and uutonomous. Kamla Bhasin. 1992:34
In this chapter 1 continue the process of extracting essentid elements for a learning framework for environmental adult education frorn the documents. This time 1 look at what is arising from the data in terms of strategies, tools, and the praxis for learning. Again. from their diverse locations, the authors highlight essentid elements such as ecological adult literacy, environmental rnaterials, ecological storytelling, and outdoor sensory leming.
Woven throughout the data anaiysis are my own reflections and analyses as an environmental aduIt educator and contributor to this study. As is to be expected, there is much overlap between and among the different categories because everything is connected to everything
S trategies
Strategy is about marrying ideas and capabilities with intuition and daring. John Rdston Saul (from a speech in Sydney, Austraiia), January 1999 lncreased Provision of Leaming O~portunitiesand Participatory Approaches
Environmental Education cannot be taught from the pulpit or podium - it must be experienced; it must be made personal. Deri and Cooper, 199 1 :5 222
Humans make the world by learning and participating in its being. Their ideas and theories are grounded in experiential participation and formai, non-formai, and informai learning activities. For this reason, many authors in this study argue for increased provision of learning for adults and more participatory, engaged, and experîentid approaches to that process. This cal1 is based upon the fundamental belief that every person has an entitlement to learn about the world in which they live. But it is also based on the knowledge that, due to busy Iives and cut-backs to adult education around the world, ensuring that Iearning and education are seen as critical, continuous and lifelong processes for change is not a simple task.
lncreased provision means an increase in the entire spectmm of adult learning as highlighted by NIACE (19935): "employment-related learning within companies and informai learning within voluntary bodies and movements, as well as more formai adult education activities in colleges and universities." Lars Emmelin of Germany (Convergence,
1976:46) also believes there needs to be many more "forma1 programmes of education as a means of reaching the adult population." But he goes on to argue that there is still "a relative
Iück of institutional structures which promote, provide andor support environmental education programmes for adults" (Ibid.:46).
Women and men also learn through participating in demonstrations, workshops. meetings. study circles, research projects, hands-on projects, through the processes of creating alternative associations and organizations, and through attempts to reshape the political discourse within the public sphere. Ibikunle-Johnson and Edward Rugumayo of
Kenya (1987: IO) add that there also need to be more learning activities in the community. in the villages "where people plant, eat, work and celebrate." in his case study. Owor Peter 223 Minor of Uganda (ICAEEcologic, 1994:6) also suggests that adult learning should take place
in the community, around issues important to the cornmunity.
Environmental issues, whether within or outside pedagogical institutions. must do two
things. First, as Famkh Tahir from Pakistan argues, they should "infiltrate the whole
education process; not just schools, but al1 other sectors including higher education. adult and continuing education in Pakistan" (Convergence, 1995: 19). For the development of
"environmental knowledge and skills training [should be incorporated] into adult education
[spaces] such as distance learning, occupational health and the work environment in order to make connections with trade unions and industry" (NIACE, I993:47). Canadian Mark Burch argues that programmes should not be 'too technical', but rather based on people's knowkdge that is lemed from everyday life experiences and actions ( 199328). Second, and to assist with what Burch mentioned, NIACE suggests that dlenvironmental programmes must incorporate adult education methodologies and principles if they are to be relevant to adults ( 1993). But Lars Emmelin cautions that although it is a "recognised pedagogic principle that participation in concrete action directed towards a given goal enhances learning greatly," programmes sornetimes fail to "cater to the needs of citizens aware of the problems and in search of more knowledge" and one needs to be aware of this (1976:45).
Many others promote the need for more participatory and experiential learning for adults for, as noted earlier, education that is merely informative is supremely ineffective in inciting action. Joaquin Estava of Mexico (1993) advocates a more experiential and participatory methodology that starts with people's own ecological knowledge and combines that knowledge to make new knowledge for action. Filipino author José Roberto Guevara
( 1995: 18) wrote that we chose to use a PARTICIPATORY approach to education because we believed that our environment, white currently king treated like a technical subject is sornething we encounter daily ....In short, we wanted a process that was both evocative and experiential, where the experiences of the participants began the entire learning process.
Owor Peter Minor also argues that to be rnost effective the process should be hands-on and experiential. He writes, "learning by doing creates confidence and promotes more active participation. To say in the end, we have done it ourselves builds strong feelings of
O wnership and accornplishment" (ICAE/Ecologic, l994:6). Shirley Rendael and Robb Mason
(ASPBAE, 1995:37) also believe environmentai adult education
should be more interactive and practical; that people Iearn more by doing and can at the same time contribute to the learning of others [for] knowledge-based education is not enough to change behaviour ... even those with conserver attitudes do not necessarily translate into conserving behaviour [unless] encouraged and assisted to change.
According to Rosemary Taylor of Canada (Convergence, 1995), a participatory and experiential approach to environmental adult education engages educators, students. and community members in a process that not only addresses environmental needs but also legitimates the role of the individual to be cntically conscious and an active participant in the shaping of her or his own reality. Kenyan author Victor ibikunle-Johnson argues. "people's environmental awareness, knowledge, attitudes and perceptions" can be better understood through a participatory approach and these "grassroots attributes rnobilised and transformed
... [towards] skills for effective environmental management" (Convergence, 1989: 14).
Participatory approaches are framed in ternis of hands-on approaches that go beyond merely 'critique' towards individual and, more importantly, collective action. The practice of environmentai adult education must uttimately be 'gains and solutions' oriented (ibikunle and
Rugurnayo, 1987). In the reciprocity between thinking and doing, knowledge loses much of 225
its "abstractness, becoming the application to specific places and problems, tangible and
direct" (Orr, 1992: 129).
In tems of action, environmental adult education must also recognize the plethora of
foms of action that exist. Taking action does not always have to be 'doing something' in the
manual or doing sense. An action may be making a decision, revising a particular point of
view, posing a new problem or question or reframing a structure of meaning. Knowledge that
lends itself to use should not be seen as superior to that which is contemplative. Ewa Usang
of Nigeria suggests that an environmental adult education, based on '.the Freirian Strategy or
d ialogic method of problem-solving through critical thinking and refiection in a shared
process of non-directed learning," would provoke in adults the abiIity "to question the
condition of their environment and fÏnd answers to its puzzles. Questions like: Why do we
have poor harvest and worsening soi1 erosion?" (Convereence, 19925 1). When people begin
to question, they begin to change within themselves and cm work towards challenging and
changing external processes that impact on them- Questioning and thinking in new ways are
in themset ves 'actions'.
Within environmental adult education, participation must lead to a change in Our perceptions around the idea of management as well as the use and ownership of the world's resources. It must also lead to a change in gender power relations.
Includin~Feminist Persmctives
A feminist perspective of environmental education oflers a more complete nnulysis of environmental problems and, therefore, a better understanding of those problems and their potenrial solutions. Giovanna Di Chiro, 1987:40 226
One consistent critique of the philosophies and compulsory education theories. outlined in Chapters Two and Three respectiveiy, was their lack of a feminist perspective. For environmental adult education, many authors, both female and male, suggest that a stronger feminist perspective would truly enhance its effectiveness. A feminist perspective in environmental adult education brings a gendered analysis and approach to the process. A focus on gender does not proceed merely frorn a concern with inequalities between men and women, but on the recognition of differences between men and women in relation to household division of labour, access to resources, access to and control over production, and reproduction.
Moema Viezzer (1992:8)sets the stage by noting that
one cannot say that it is more naturd for women to be more interested in the environment than men. But it can perhaps be understood through history that, if in ri social relationship where women have always been treated as subordinates to men. and have been totally dominated by them, a parallel setting would have been created for men to dominate and destroy nature.
But in fact. "[s]eventy per cent of the leadership being taken around the world to protect the environment is initiated by women" (Convergence, 19928). This is supported by my discoveries during a global research project on women, learning and environmental activism
(Clover, I995b). The face of the grassroots environmental movement is predominantly
A feminist perspective does not imply that women are better resource managers than men because they are women, but rather draws attention to the knowledge and skills of women and the ways in which these have been excluded and marginalised (Convergence, 1989,
1992). A number of authors note the ways in which women have vast experience in resource use and management that provides them with a specific knowledge base and critical outlook.
For example, Salwa Tabiedi of Sudm notes that
... while frequentIy not recognised as such, women are a very important Iink in the chain between developrnent and the environrnent [because] they are instrumental in many activities that both utilise and/or affect the environment (forthcorning 2000).
Owor Peter Minor of Uganda also highlights the critical role wornen play in the development of community and sustainable use of resources. He States,
In local rural popuiations/comrnunities, women are a criticd enntry point and need to be recogn ised as vital pillars in building sustainable communities. They are versatile in managing survival dynamics especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Therefore. awareness creation with respect to environment and naturai resource management should first [involve] women. This will greatly improve the delivery, ensure success md guarantee results (ICAE/Ecologic, 1994:7).
Farrukh Tahir of Pakistan suggests that for this reason, women's role rnust be seen as vital if we hope to ever "achieve better environmental protection and natural resources management"
(Convergence, 1995: 17).
In India, women see the forest as a nature, as a living force, a condition for human survival (IC~cologic,1994). In Fiji, women recognize that forests wiIl "be able to continue to meet the subsistence and cultural needs of their families and to contribute to its economics if they are used wisely" (Convergence, 1995:75). The present-day ecological crisis
"has forced the ferninist conservationist culture to build a new framework of different alternatives, a new modei of social organisation that wiil ensure the survival of the planet"
(Viezzer, l992:8).
Kamla Bhasin observes that many
women are more in tune with nature. As child-bearers they have had to be more in tune with their own nature. They have also been creating and nurturing. I am not saying men cannot do this. 1 am also not saying women are biologically more caring and nurturing (Convergence, 1992:32). 228
José Roberto Guevara (forthcoming 2000) tells a story of what he lemed from working with
a group of Muslim women. They taught him that he need not look beyond the home to
become aware of the environment. The women were articulating a social understanding and
desire for the rest of nature. Beginning with this initial concept of the home is an important
way to start conversations that can then extend the concept of home and environment to
include "the larger environment." He suggests that environmental adult education must use
this understanding of the home as 'environment' to begin conversations with men around
sharing "equal responsibility with women in the home." Moema Viezzer agrees that
environmental adult education must work with men and help them to make the links between
home and the world, between "the production of goods and the reproduction of life"
( 1992:4). From a feminist perspective, however, environmental adult education must proceed
from a thorough understanding of women's current conditions in the family and society. for the comerstone of patriarchy is women's inferionty outside the home but often within it as well. Respect for knowledge of home rnust also challenge asymmetrical relations within the household and society.
The two central shifts in thinking that can be induced by a feminist perspective on ecological struggles relate to economic and intellectual worth. The first involves concepts of wealth and economic value and who the producers of wealth and econornic value are. The second relates to our understanding of what constitutes knowledge and who the knowers and producers of intellectual value are. The intellectual heritage for ecological survival lies with those who are experts in everyday survival techniques (Shiva, 1989).
As ecofeminism suggests, ecology requires a ferninist perspective. Without a thorough feminist analysis of social domination that reveals the interconnected roots of the oppression 229 of women and the oppression of nature, ecology remains an abstraction. for a feminist perspective asserts that the domination of women was the original domination in human society from which al1 other hierarchies of rank. class. and political power flow. Feminist perspectives cm bhgto environmental adult education ideris for teaching around responsibility, protection, nurturing, caring, and training. We need to broaden our conception of reason to encompass reasoning practices that are often more attuned to the needs of children and more sensitive to globai complexities. This entails developing Our environmental adult education practices towards sustaining Iife rather than generating profits and fostering cooperation rather than cornpetition.
Learning- In. Through.- With. and About Place
There is no other way for humans to educate themselves for srrrvivai and fulfilnwnt than through the instruction available tlzrough the naturai world. Thomas Berry, 1988: 167
David Orr argues ( 1992: 126) "place has no particular standing in contemporary education ... because we miss the immediate and mundane ... and because place is a nebulous concept." Although this could be said of much of adult education. the practice of community education has always been very much lodged in 'place'. However, what has seldom tigured in community education is the rest of nature 'as' or 'in' place. The authors/practitioners of environmental adult education emphasise the importance of 'place' in the learning and teaching process in two distinct but inter-woven ways: the actual setting or location, nature as place, and learning about and in 'place' through its local and global dimensions. For today
"nothing is so local that in one way or another it is not part of the 'global village' that this pl anet has become" (Convergence, l992:5). 230 One example of the notion of 'place' cornes from a Philippine expenence in the data.
The experience weaves the setting of learning with an enhanced learning of place:
we hiked through the rain forest, part of a mere four per cent rernaining forest cover in Negroes. Rainforests are under constant threat from both industrial and illegal logging. We traversed a river gorge by cable and pulley, and swarn in the clear waters beneath a tropical waterfail. We learned of a community's successes in organising to rehabilitate degraded hillsides, to protect the rernaining forest and improve the health of its people (Convereence, 1995:8).
According to David On, education most often takes place indoors, behind four wails and windows of glas. But learning and education should not be confined to the indoors or pedagogical institutions but should also take place in communities, "in the villages ... where people plant, eat, work and celebrate" (Ibikunle-Johnson and Rugumayo, 1987: 10). This requires the ability to first of al1 perceive the importance of location and then utilize the potential of 'place'. For place helps to stimulate interest and a deeper awareness of the world around us through the stories it has to tell.
There are many potentiais to using 'place' as a learning tool. As Rosemary Taylor of
Canada argued, learning in place can stimulate mernories that contribute to the process of learning about who we are (Convergence, 1995). Another is that people's perceptions of their immediate surroundings can be transformed such as in the case where, when given the opportunity by an outdoor educational activity, "urban dwellers [Manila] were arnazed at the numerous natural sounds they heard in just a few minutes" (Guevara, 1995:8 1 ). Hall and
Clover (1997) have found that combining indoor and outdoor teaching methods is an interesting way to stimulate the intellect and the senses, which are two important elements of being human.
Using place can also work to highlight socio-political inequities sometimes missed. Ln
South Africa using nature as a teacher and site of learning shows how "the worst areas, the areas where toxic garbage is dumped, are the poor areas." Learning in place can also be about the global as the local for there are few if any places in this world Ieft untouched by the
'globai', as global education has taken note. in the Philippines. the environmental adult educators and workshop participants listening to the stories of local people noted "striking parallels between their situation and that of tens of thousands of fisherfolk from Eastern
Canada - foreign overfishing, destructive technologies and unresponsive politicians"
(Conver~ence,19959). In Canada, massive foreign department stores, such as Toys R Us and
Wal-Mart, are used to demonstrate the homogenizing of entire neighbourhoods and how the global pushes aside what are rapidly coming to be seen as uncornpetitive local businesses
(Follen and Clover, 1997). Leaming in place enhances what The Treatv ( 1992: 1 ) calls for, w hich is "that environmental education should treat critical global problems, their causes and inter-relationships in a more systematic and contextual way."
In New Zealand, Joyce Stalker found that leaming in place about place at the University of Waikato in New Zedand meant
we learned that New Zealand is a high per capita user of paper; that the ducks in our university lakes were disease carrying; that the university sprayed chernicals in our buildings on weekends if particular insects were found; that a minimal arnount of the enormous profit made from the on-campus junk food machines was retumed to the university and none was retumed to the students. We learned about air pollution, the university's congested parking lots and the poor public transport system (Convergence, l995:26).
Learning in place about place had the adult leamers corne "face to face with both support for and barriers against creating change" (Ibid.:26). They also realized how particular leaming sites are embedded within a general cultural framework or logic that sustains the reproduction of society, its division of labour and social hierarchy. Learning sites can refract the dominant representation of the world, providing people with a way to verify that representation in their everyday experiences (Ibid.: 1995).
In Fiji, women use place in ternis of visits to the rainforest "to explore their relationship with the ecosystem and build commitments to ecological problems" (Strathy, Converoence,
1995:75). By learning rhrough real circumstances of everyday life, women connect their livelihood and action to their sense of place. In addition, a visit to a local sawmill "had a major impact on the women, many of whom have undertaken a number of follow-up activities [such as] ongoing community awareness programmes related to forest conservation" (Ibid.:75). These visits also sparked a creative burst in participants:
Some prepared a [popular theatre] video 'Protect the Earth and She Will Provide for You' .... Some participants developed the Lali Theatre Company as a result of the enthusiastic response they had to the popular theatre video and the villagers' reactions to their performance. Other participants have been involved in planting traditional kau salusalu plants, fruit and medicinal trees (Ibid.:74).
Leaming in place is more than studying interrelationships in our environment. Equally important is experiencing these relationships. It is an interchange between the body, the rnind, and the senses. As the British authors note, "attitudes of valuing nature develop partly result of the appreciation of the beauty, diversity and interest in life forms and natural systerns," and this implies immersing oneself in the bodily world of nature (NIACE,
1993: 19). Leming in place can help people to understand how they are always engaged in a process of listening and attuning to other presences that surround them even though they often fade into busy lives. In Canada, smelling flowers, feeling the bark of a tree, the grass or
Stones underfoot, and listening to the birds and other anirnals created an enhanced awareness of the depths of the landscape and its multiple influences on people's daily lives (Hall and
Clover, 1997). 233
To Francisco Vio Grossi, people cm learn how to re-lem through and about place
(Converaence, 1995). Leaming place is about the knowledge of place, of where, and who we are (ibid.: 1995). By learning in place we begin to see the community and its surrounding environment as a landscape of resistance, a source of regenerattion, inspiration, beauty and sensuality, a site of critique and organizing, and a site of envisioning and presenting networks of rneaning.
The Ro Le ofthe Rest ofNature
It seems that animals know things we don 'f know - they have certain things to teach us. Little wonder, then, that our ancestors revered the unimals as feachers urrd guides to a world mystery, thinking of them as creatures of power. Sean Kane. 1998:44
Leaming for ecological change should not and cannot be disconnected from the roIe of the rest of nature in the learning and teaching process for, as David Orr ( 1992: 128) observes,
"landscape ... shapes mindscape." By learning and teaching in 'place' we can be educated by the rest of nature for "if the environment permits it, we crin al1 lem whatever we choose to learn; and if we allow it, the environment will teach us everything it has to teach"
(Convergence, 1995: 1). There are a number of exarnples in the data of the role nature plays in helping people to link issues that seem disconnected. to stimulate creativity. to tell a story of the community and its problems or strengths, and so on. In nature there is hope. identity, shelter, beauty, and companionship.
I ( 1997:4) found through my work that "everything in existence teaches us something about life ... everything around us educates, how we interact with the land, minerals. trees, sky, animals, everything." Through interactions with the rest of nature in Asia, "we realised that there is a big difference between a person with a concept of a forest and one with the 234 experience of a forest" (Guevara, 199575). By using nature as teacher and site of leaming, it becomes more than just trees, it becomes a living, breathing being (Clover, 1995). Vio Grossi of Chile feels nature offers a way "to discover the riches of Our spirit and can deepen our sense of self and what has shaped and continues to shape who we are" (Convergence,
1995:40). Ln Canada, plants, worrns, water, Ieaves, and so forth that were collected by people from a park enabled them to make links between the diversity of soil, the ways in which niatter becomes soil, "and issues of respect and toleraice for difference, and patience with change, [for these] were addressed 'naturally', in ways which we could not have predicted"
(Hall and Clover, 1997:74 1 ).
In Hong Kong working with and through the natural environment focuses people's attention on appreciating its beauty but it "aiso shows the participants the damaged areas"
(ASPBAE, 1W5:32). Mikkes David Lengwati from South Africa demonstrates this observation of using nature to teach lessons in the consequences of environmental degradation. He notes, "over grazed pastures [teach] us that bare patches become rivers during the rainy season carrying away fertile topsoil. Until people construct contours, plant gras or trees to limit the runoff, the erosion continues to occur" (Convergence, 1995: 103).
Moreover, nature teaches that
in ciearing away natural vegetation ... traditional healers must search further than ever before for the herbs, tree roots, bark and leaves for the treatment of diseases ... nature teaches us that trees are food for people (fruit), animals (leaves), and the exth (compost, nitrogen) (Ibid.: 103).
Learning through the natural/physical environment poignantly shows the outcomes of irresponsible behaviour, but it cm also demonstrate how the rest of nature is a creative and adaptive force in a constant state of change, just as society and people's [ives are always in a constant state of change (Converance, 1995). 235
Leming with the rest of nature cm teach us to be, at least for a time, really in Our bodies for nature is the bodily world. It is smells and sounds and tastes and textures. Many
Native societies believed, as highlighted in Chapters Two and Four, that people can dialogue with nature. Environmental adult education should be a space in which people are able to engage in that dialogue with the rest of nature; in an emotional and philosophical language of
CO-evolution.This 'dialogue', as David Abram so poetically notes, contains a language that permits people "to participate in the ecology of the earth" (Abram, 1996:16).
Urr derstanding rhe Earth 's Processes
Humanity, like the rest of organic life, exists on earth for the needs and purposes of the earth. P.D. Ouspensky, 194957
A positive of modem science is that it has enabled humanity to understand many natural processes. But it is often charactensed as an eiite area, too difficuit for ordinary people to understand. But José Roberto Guevara believes that ordinary people already have a deep understanding of the complex inter-relationships that exist around them and any other "basic concepts of environmental science cm easily be learned by those who have not been formally schooled" (Guevara, 1995: 18). These concepts can easily be drawn from real life expenences.
Science education or understanding the basic concepts of food chains, life webs, and water cycles that have such a profound effect on people's lives can be learned through drawing and role playing (e-g., acting as the rain, river, cloud). The environmental adult educator's milieu must be both the biophysical and social environment (Ibid.: 1995).
Peter Sutton of Germany notes that when leaming comes from people's daily experiences it radically changes the moral imperative to consciously recognize that not just 236 facts, but values grounded in respect, inter-connection and generosity are in fact, part of science leaming. This means that environmental adult educators will need "to teach the means and the will to express oneself, as well as to teach both the observation of scientific phenomena with proper caution, and the adoption of new practices ... and moral values"
(Convergence, 1 989: 10).
Global educator Pat Mische of the United States (Convergence, 199222) advocates using ecoIogica1 systems as learning models, as a bais for the development of necessary alternative values and ethics linked to humaflarth relations. Eco-systems are tremendously complex living systems of evolution that "are open to many possible solutions and directions" (Ibid.:22). Applying these to socio-economic systems "opens up the possibility for very large improvements in public policy made possible through evolutionary leaming processes" (Ibid.:22). The Earth's living processes can serve as new conceptual frameworks for understanding life on this planet that would help nurture and create more sustainable communities. Physicist/Ecologist Fritjof Capra (199824) claims there is an inherent wisdom in the ways ecosystems "have organised themselves to maximize their own sustainability."
By using the 'web of life' analysis, for example, environmental adult educators can help to explain inter-connections, the ways in which each element of the other plays a role in the life of the next, without hierarchy and ranking. This cm then iead to discussions around oppressions such as gender, class and race: oppressions that are not 'natural' but rather socially constructed. The idea of the web of Iife stretches human imagination and perception and challenges people's assumptions about consciousness, intentionality within the natural world, and our ways of living on this planet (Mische, 1992; Guevara, 1995). Building Partnerships and Alliances for CoUective Action
AU living structures on the Earth evolved thraugh emergence in never-erirling display of creativiiy and adaptation. In other words, al1 structures on the planer are emergen t structures. Fritjof Capra, 1998
A community, among other things, "is a network of conversations." "One of the best ways to nurture" change within a community is to "facilitate and sustain these conversations"
(Capra, 1998:46). New partnerships and alliances of cooperation, although not unproblernatic spaces, cm be forces of creative change. They can be a fundamental component to building mornentum within communities to protect and restore the natural environment and create more healthy and sustainable communities. Sustained rnornentum around action depends in part on continuing to broaden the base of support through the integration of new players, resources, and perspectives. The creation of these new and/or stronger partnerships depends on a variety of factors such as conditions, skills. resources, opportunities and education.
Learning and creating new knowledge cmcome from networks and alIiances of working conversations in practice.
In 1973 Convergence,- Kurt Swinton of Austria wrote that the very political nature of environmental problems requires rnulti-level political action that means creating new andor stronger partnerships, alliances, and networks with environmental organizations to lobby for policy changes. Kerrie Strathy from Fiji also argues that among people, government and international agencies "cooperation is crucial" and education is an excellent tool for building this broader base of support (Convergence, 1995:74). Marta Benavides of El Salvador calls for the developrnent of alliances between communities and pedagogical institutions in order to tmly create an "education to serve the society and al1 the people" (Convergence,- 1992:42).
Anne Carnozzi observes that another fundamental is to develop patnerships between NGOs 238 and industry (ICAE/Ecological, 1994). Salwa Tabiedi of Sudan (forthcoming 2000) adds that the relationship between the media and institutions of higher education must aiso be strengthened if environmentai problems are to be communicated more effectively and dedt with. Karnla Bhasin (Convereence, 1992:34) observes that a central purpose of creating new partnerships and alliances is "to make people feel less vulnerable. build people's self- confidence, self-respect, management capabilities, creativity, inner strength and inner beauty."
Follen and Clover of Canada ( 1997) believe that new partnerships need to be increasingly more cross-sectorai, and that many untapped resources for improving the quality of Iife exist in every community. If partnerships and alliances do not include every sector, fundamentai change is unlikely to occur. But the problem with this, British authors note. is that environmental adult education has been unsuccessful at involving minorities or the disadvantaged (NIACE, 1993). However, by including the voices from the environmentai justice rnovement and the "expertise and experience which can be found in schools. voluntary organisations, specialist firms, consumer bodies, and universities" the content and context of iearning is broadened (Ibid.:2 1). Joining together strengthens people's knowiedge and skills base and offers them a greater potential to challenge those who have control over decision- making.
Environmental problems are both local and global. British authors argue that this rneans developing local partnerships but that funher partnerships can and should "be extended to include others working internationally" (NIACE, I993:z 1). This local and global pooling of resources to accomplish comrnon objectives results in advantages for each group member that he or she could never enjoy through individuai action. As Kamla Bhasin (Convergence,
1 992:35) suggests:
big work done by small people ... requires wonderful networking. If ai1 these small expenments are isolated and fragmented they will not mean much. Little drops of water mean nothing. It is only when they come together that they become a stream, when several smail streams come together they become a big stream. So we need networking at different levels. We need networking between different disciplines, economists, political scientists, lawyers, doctors, dancers, singers, poets. All these people need to come together to create a new world.
One very important component in any process of developing partnerships and alliances is the question of power. This includes the aspects of power over, power with, and power to.
Environmental adult education must be able to challenge and work with relations of power in terrns of gender, race, class, and hurnan/Earth relations and use people's inner and collective power to create this new world. For we should not "underestimate Our own strength nor fail to work together" (NIACE, 1W3:2 1).
Challen sinn and Workinn with Relations of Power
Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerjiul, not to be neutral. Paulo Freire. t985:SO
While environmental adult education must provide a space "in which al1 points of view wiII be heard and respected" (NTACE, 1993:22) and develop new and stronger cross-sectoral partnerships it must recognize in this inherent imbalance in power and deal with them.
Imbalances of power exist everywhere and can inhibit people's ability to build equal and beneficial working relationships. Power relations are neither static nor uniforrn but Vary according to context. Moreover, we are al1 to blame in creating or maintaining unequal power 240
relations, although this point is not raised by any of the authors. Power relations are most
effectively contained through knowledge, resources, race, gender, age, class, and language.
The twentieth century has seen the rise of a number of powerful social rnovements. Two
of these are the women's and the environmental movements (that at times overlap). These
movements, and particularly their interweaving, have provided educators with some criticd
insights into the notion of 'power'. The women's movement can be cited as one of the most
creative and vitd spaces to openly narne and challenge relations of power. The environmental
movement has given us much food for thought around the power dynamics between humans
and the rest of nature.
Any educational process that works to redefine relations of power must first and
foremost to try to understand the nature of power. Power often manifests itself as 'power-
over'. specifically in tems of the ability to gethake someone to do what you want them to or
maintain control over something. It is usually measured by control of resources (intellectual.
financial, natural) and most often emphasizes the notions of exclusion. separation. and cornpetition. Having 'power over' means the ability to narne what constitutes knowledge and
who is knowledgeable. Unjust power relations can be found in many places and spaces.
Examples include Northern or Western culture over Southern or Aboriginal cultures, rich over poor, scientific knowledge over traditional ways of knowing or popular knowledge, one race over another, and men over women. Within community contexts, imbalances of power manifest in their ability to include or exclude (for examples, see Viezzer, 1992; Clover,
1995).
In Canada environmental adult educators have developed a variety of processes to look at the issues of inclusion and exclusion. The purposes of these inclusion/exctusion activities are 24 1 to strengthen comrnunity visions and work by identifying sectors of society or people and elements of the rest of nature that are often missing or rnarginalized in processes of creating a healthy sustainable community. If imbaiances of power are not dealt with in the beginning, they wili corne back many times to haunt the educators and community members
(LEAP/TNFORSE, 1997a).
Environmental adult education must be a process of questioning relations of power, in particular gendered, race, and class relations of power as we11 as Our power to re-shape and destroy the rest of nature. In this process environmental aduft educators must also recognize their own power in terms of
an equal but also invisible power relationship between the learner and the adult educator, most comrnonly seen in the one-way flow of knowledge .... As environmental adult educators, we need to be aware of these power relations and of our own assumptions (Guevara, focthcoming 2000).
Freire ( 1970) argues that power can also be positive and domination is never so complete that power is experienced exclusively as a negative force. He characterises power as a dialectical mode of operation that is always more than simply repressive. In a general sense,
Freire's theory of power and his demonstration of its dialectical character serve the important function of broadening the spheres and terrains where power operates. Power is not exhausted in those public and private spheres by governments, niling classes. and other dominant groups. It is ubiquitous and is expressed in a range of oppositionai public spaces and spheres that traditionally have ken characterised by the absence of power and thus any form of resistance. The fact that the powerless are rnarginalized by the powerful in society has always created opportunities for free spaces where the hidden transcript of resistance grows. As Kamla Bhasin notes, ''People everywhere are searching for solutions. These are people who are concemed, who care, and who are brave enough to ask serious questions, brave enough to challenge the big and powerful, the greedy and ruthless" (Convergence,
1992:3 1). An examination of power relations as evidenced in daiiy lived experience.
demonstrates the multi-dimensional aspects of power. By seeing power in dl its totality, one
also sees the evidence of 'power with' and 'power to', new conceptualizations of power
(Peterson and Runyan, 1993). Collective power and inner or personal power becorne catrilysts
to challenge the larger political or public arena and the larger forces that oppress and
dominate.
Developing more equitable relations of power is a fundamental building block for any
real cooperative venture. An important strategy to building partnerships is to recognize your own power, identify those who systematically have less power, and then reflect on the ways
in which our own power can be used more constructively.
Nature as Partner
As Brazilian author Moema Viezzer (19929) notes. in developing partnerships with other people and groups we must also develop "new partnerships which include nature." This means seeing nature as much more than just a material resource. It rneans seeing it as a strength, inspiration, teacher, and, most of ail, a fundamental source of life. It also requires seeing the rest of nature as simultaneousiy powerful but aiso as a victim of the rampant myopic visions of development, patriarchy, consumerism, and capitalism. There are few if any places left on this pianet that have not been impacted by human activities, however, there are greater and lessor degrees of damage in those activities and it is this that needs to be examined (Conver~ence,1995). 243 Kamla Bhasin (Convergence, 1992:3 1) argues that we have to better understand nature as
"a complete system ... a Iiving system ... [that] sustains us so we have to sustain [it]." As environmentai aduit educators we can lem about partnering with nature frorn "dl those cultures and religions which respect, worship or treat nature as a living system." We can learn how to "give nature as much as we take from her or more and treat her with respect"
(Ibid.:3 1). The World Charter (199 15)calls for adult educators to "Educate [themselves] for individuai and collective environmental action which will replace beliefs that we are owners of nature's elements such as air, water, land and forests, with more care-oriented ideas and a new cooperation with nature." Perhaps we can even leam that although power is also within us, the Earth is another important source of power that can provide energy. creativity. and
~OY.
Empowerment in the Learning Process
Empowering can be understood to impiy a process of guiniîig influence in decision- making over the distribution of material resorrrces, knowledge und the ideology governing social relations. Sheela Patel. 1996:gO
In The Crisis of Color and Democracv, Manning Marable ( 1992:3) offers a definition of empowennent:
Empowerment is essentially a capacity to define clearly one's interests, and to develop a strategy to achieve those interests. It's the ability to create a plan or program to change one's own reality in order to obtain those objects or interests. ln other words, you shouldn't say that a group has power, but that, through its conscious activity, a group cm empower itself by increasing its ability to achieve its own interests.
As feminist adult educators have learned, consciousness-raising is simply not enough. This must be combined with active participation so that people not only understand their society, 244
but cm undertake efforts to modify social relations. To actively participate means becorning
more secure, a subject rather than object, less fearfui and more self-confident. Environmental
adult education cannot teach self-esteem or self-confidence. What it cm do is to provide the
conditions in which these attitudes and beliefs can develop. Empowerment cannot be built on
the idea of beneficiaries but only on participants.
Marta Benavides (Convergence, 1992:43) suggests that environmental adult education
must be a process that enables human beings and societies to "reach their fullest potentiai in
order that they might live in harrnony among themselves and in nature." It must be
empowering to al1 who participate in the Iearning process: leamers and educators. This
includes creating interest and motivation by helping people to feel ownership and atso a sense
that collectively, they can make change (LEAP/Ecologic, 1994). José Roberto Guevara
(forthcorning 2000) concurs with this when he argues that environmental adult education is
empowering and transfomative when it helps "people to believe in their capacity to change
themsel ves, their community and their environment."
A major part of being empowered is to be able to see beyond what is and to try to envision a better world and to look for universal principles that apply to any culture. Noel
Duhaylundgsod of the Philippines uses the world 'liberatory' to describe this. He argues that environmental adult education has to be a liberatory project geared towards the liberation of people frorn the "ciutches of oppressive and exploitative systems" ( 1993:2-3). A Iiberative environmental adult education
would be characterised by people's participation, equality and freedorn, empowerment and the right to choose and would encourage and facilitate critical analysis and refiection on experience and reality and motivate them to intensify their struggles for more just, democratic, healthy and equitable societies (Ibid.:.4). 245
It would dso liberate people "from being anthropocentric." Anthropocentrism is based on the
Judeo-Christian tradition of sel f-centredness that is "expressed as [humans] being the stewards of God's creation and having dominion over the earth" (Ibid.:3). This framework has "strongly dominated our thinking of resource use and management" (Ibid.:3). But
Duhaylundgsod also strongIy cautions against the other extreme that he calls
'geobiocentrism', a concept "articulated by people who cal1 themselves deep ecologists which seems to deny or exclude human beings as part of nature" (Ibid.:4).
The most effective environmental adult education in Sri Lanka is one that nurtures
"organised, empowered, learning-while-doing people" (LEAP/Ecoiogic, 144:27). It is based upon heIping people to realize that the power to change lies "in your heads and hands"
(Ibid.:27). In Africa, empowerment cornes when "communities seize the right to manage their immediate environments through open and democratic institutions. This is community environmental democracy" (Convergence, 1992:89). Environmental adult education is empowering when it "teaches people how to be leaders in their own homes and neighbourhoods" (ASPBAE, 19953)-It is empowering when it strengthen's women's
"contribution to environmental conservation" (Tabiedi. forthcoming 2000). It is empowering when it moves people
towards self-reliance - not just financial self-reliance, but self-reliance in skills, knowledge, information - so that dependence on others on the outside is reduced. Autonomous, self-reliant groups can safeguard their own interests (Convergence,- l992:34).
Vio Grossi of Chile suggests that to be tmly 'empowering' environmental adult education rnust help people 'learn to learn' to take risks and use their imaginations and creativity to make change (Convereence, 1995:39). He concludes by noting that if people feel powerless and frightened it is no wonder for it is a time of "uncertainty ... because for the first time in the history of humanity we are educating for the unknown, for living in a society which we ourselves have not yet envisioned" (Ibid.:41)- Empowerrnent is not just a discourse or state of mind. It revolves around the acquisition of the property of power and its exercise in the accomplishment of some vision or desired future outcome.
Asian educators observe that an environmental adult education to empower people
can be realised only when and where local cornmunities are free to participate. think. discuss, be critical, organise and implement solutions they see fit to address these environmental problems and the other issues that confront them. The current poli tical environment in some countries in Asia-Pacific region continues to discourage people's initiatives that espouse critical thinking and collective action (ASPBAE, 1995:6).
But places where democracy can be practised and transformative learning and action cm be accomplished always exist even in the most oppressive of social structures. in spite of apartheid in South Africa, when community inembers learned frorn factory employees that
"an industry planned to dump poisonous waste next to the Tembisa blacks-only township" the community began to organize (Lengwati, Convergence, 1995: 102). They mobilized the support of environmental groups and other organizations "to intervene in the matter" on their behdf (Ibid.: 102).
There is no magic formula or fail-safe educationd process for empowerrnent. But as José
Roberto Guevara (forthcoming 2000) writes,
Environmental adult education alone cannot solve al1 the complex problems but it can contribute towards achieving the vision of a sustainable future by ernpowering individuals ... [to identiQ] solutions to the probiems they face. Collectively, these efforts challenge and rewrite the stories about Our environment today. 247
Challenge, Controversy, and Complexity in the Learning Process
Anyone working in the field of environmental adult education soon cornes to redise that what exists is not only a difference of opinion on the importance of environmental problems but also a divergence in how to deai with these problems. Although a group of people may share a common idea, feel that ail is not well in the world, their ideas of how to change things cm vary radicdly.
Environmenta1 adult education walks a fine balance between respecting people's knowledge and ideas and challenging assumptions. For respect of the adult learner. her or his experience and knowledge, is one of the basic tenets of the adult education cannon. But there are times when people's ideas need to be re-viewed or challenged. It is simply not true that any opinion, position or point of view is acceptable or legitimate. If there are assumptions taken to justify an argument based on prejudice or attitudes behind arguments that are sexist or racist, then these assumptions are grounds for criticism.
Jenneth Parker ( l993:Z 16) notes that stimulating dialogue around values and ethics cm surface important controversial positions. Elucidating these differences is "a good way to build participation and relevance ... and produce the kind of lively debate that is characteristic of the best kinds of interactive adult education."
Environmental adult education should include a space for discussion of controversial ideas and positions. It must be highly challenging for both learners and adult educators. For people have a need to test their experiences against the collective knowledge of the group.
From this. change and the production of new knowledge can emerge (Ibid.: 1993). But trying to do this means dealing with complexity. 248 People and problems are never straightforward but always complex. Certain values are neither straightforward nor shared, diverse emotions complicate matters, people's visions for change and experiences radically differ. There is also enormous cornplexity in environmentd issues that environmental adult educators must deal with. These include population policy, biological and cultural diversity, solidarity, and networking, human and ecosystem health, the foreign debt, structural adjustment, economic development. consumerism. bioregional km, soi1 erosion, deforestation, and spiritual needs (Clover. 1995). March Burch argues that this complexity and abstractness makes it extremely "difficult for many adults to make a psychologically meaningful linkage between their present behaviour which is personal, immediate and concrete, and its long-terrn ecological consequences which are impersonal, fa off in time and seemingly quite abstract" (1993:29). So many things are beyond control and complete understanding. Cornplexity makes things very difficult but it can also be recognized as natural dynamic. A task of the field of environmental adult education is to work with unpredictability, cultural difference, conflict, inconsistency. instabiiity, and disorder. It is about helping people to learn and adapt under chaotic, unstable, and very uncertain conditions.
Remembering Fun and Celebration
Let us fil1 joy in our liye and work. Kamla Bhasin, 1992:34
An important but often ignored aspect of adult education for change are the elements of fun and celebration. These elements can get lost within "the all-too-often draining and frustrating vocation of community activism" (Keough et al., Convergence, 1 995:8).But from 249 time to time change does take place. people's efforts are rewarded, and when things do change, when positive things do occur, we must identify and celebrate them.
Clover suggests that an important role of environmental adult education is to use methods of teaching that "stimulate creativity and make the process of learning more fun"
(Convergence, 1995:49). Anne Carnozzi (LEAPEcologic, 1994:39) also feels that adult educators need to make sure there is an element of 'fun' in activities contained in any materiak they produce because "adults Iike fun!" According to Chapman the elements of fun and celebration have proven "to work effectively" in dealing with feelings of fear and powerlessness (in Parker and Towner, 1993:2 10). Chilean author Vio Grossi also advocates
"joy in Iearning" (Convergence, 199540). He views environmental adult education as a process that needs to stop and 'celebrate nature and life'. By doing so we can "recover the positive sides and senses of life, and capture its enthusiasm and pleasure ... to play. and to entertain. We need to put our energy into seeing Our encounters with others and nature as a celebration" (Ibid.:40). But having fun should not be confused with 'making fun' as José
Roberto Guevara (forthcoming 2000) observed during one of his workshops. He writes.
"while [the participants] enjoyed the creative learning ... they also felt uncornfortable with the approach that seemed to 'make fun' of the environment that they regard as sacred."
Environmental adult education needs to be a process of celebrating what we know, Our diversity, resistance, and courage. It must be about celebrating al1 Iife as diverse expressions of nature. Longer-Term, Non-formal Learning Activities
Many authors make it clear that in order for fundamental change to take place.
environmentai adult education must be viewed and developed as a continuous iifelong
process, taking place within but also outside pedagogicai institutions in order to meet "the
growing need for further knowiedge and information on relevant environmental problems"
(Ibikunle-Johnson, Convergence, 1987:78). However, the diff~cultywith working with adults
outside pedagogicai institutions is time. Workshops and other Iearning opportunities such as
evening meetings are often of short duration due to the many constraints placed upon adults.
However, three longer-term learning opportunities that various environmental adult educators
support are ecological adult literacy, participatory research, and study circles.
Ecoloeical Adult Literacv
Cfover and Hait ( 1997:74 1 ) quote Max Oelschlaeger who argues that "literacy has separated us from earth, from any sense of kinship with the larger community of life in which we remain ernbedded." The very concept of the 'environment' creates by its naming a separation that Iimits the impact of reforrn and redress. But according to Paulo Frei re ( 1 WO), literacy is much more than a simple exercise in reading and writing. It is about comprehension, interpretation, analysis, reflection, and an understanding of how words and worlds are socially constmcted- Learning to read and write words must proceed within a process of learning to read the world. In this way, literacy can be a pathway towards a new life. Ecological or green literacy, should be seen as a pathway towards a new relationship with al1 life for it is a "blending of an ecologicai sensitivity with an formed awareness of natural processes .... It is about the fundamentai link between nature, culture and knowledge; between the land, politics, livelihood and self-esteem" (LEAP, 1998: 1 ).
It is important to perceive literacy as a medium for transfemng knowledge relating to the rest of nature, not only from a scientific perspective but also from the perspective of people's knowledge. Ewa Usang of Nigeria discusses "green Iiteracy." Literacy, he observes, "can be defined as the ability to read, the ski11 to write and the knowledge of counting in a language"
(Convergence, 199551 ). Green li teracy
can be defined as the ski11 of transmitting and receiving information in an intelligible manner with sustainable environmental elements built in. Green literacy cm therefore be given meaningful expression as an aspect of basic education, especially for adults, since it equips them with those work-a-day skills of survival and improvement of their economic conditions with a sense of care and respect for those factors which enhance ecological harmony (Ibid.5 1 ).
Moema Viezzer convergence, 1992:4) creatively weaves environmental problems with concepts in literacy for "living daily with the environment brings, apart from the words. key topics which literacy teachers cm use" (Ibid.:6). She describes the ways in which these topics can be incorporated into literacy work developing the concept, although she did not cal1 it as such, of 'ecological literacy'. She wntes,
Many words used in our daiIy lives force us to reflect. Some of these are environment, water, air, farming, biosphere, garbage, biology, literacy, culture, pollution, cornmunity conservation, development, deforestation, energy, ecosystems, ecology, finances, tropical forests, geography, geo-politics, people, men, women, nature, society, etc. ... These words bring to mind a question which the whole world is asking: 1s there a way that humans can live with nature without destroying it? Living daily with the environment brings, apart from the words, key topics which 1 iteracy teachers cm use within their classrooms.
Ecologicd li teracy teaching should encourage adults to question environmental issues as they are portrayed through the media and other sources, comparing it to their own experiences. It should begin with knowledge claims from the bottom, from the basic issues of day-to-day 252 survival, from the essence of life: soil, fertility, agriculture, water, forest, etc. It would need to be a concept of leaming with, from. about, and through the rest of nature - a means of linking nature and knowledge, words and land, and so on.
Ecologicaily-focussed literacy programmes could contribute to people's empowerment vis-à-vis their own environments. In particular, as Mary Karanja et al. (forthcoming 2000) note, "women can enhance their effectiveness as environmental managers and educators if they possess basic Iiteracy skills." Literacy can empower them "to deal with daily problems in a more critical way." Moreover, it enables them to "transfer their expertise and knowledge to readable materiais so they can be better shared with other women and communities" (Ibid).
Ecological literacy activities are beginning to emerge around the world. Their objectives are to provide people with more accurate information about the nature and cause of conternporary environmental problems (e.g., from historical/traditional land use to existing power structures, the process of gIobalization and homogenization), to help people to critically analyse media interpretations of the environment and our place within it and to help people to explore their own culturai and persona1 relationships wiih the rest of nature.
Partici~atorvResearch
Budd Hall (1981:7), one of the founders of the participatory research (PR) methodology, describes it as an educative process of "inquiry that combines social investigation, educational work, and action." It is based on the creation of new understandings and new knowledge around the ordinary but essential facts of life and their impact on people. People become the researchers and their daily lived realities the context of the research and the data. 253
Ibikunle-Johnson (Convereence, 1989: 14- 16) refers to PR as "a people-centred leaming process that cm transform local patterns of awareness and increase participation in development activity." The ultimate aim of PR "is to catalyse local grassroots communities to identify their community problems and participate in the development of education and training programmes which will enhance their capacities" (Ibid.: 16).
Follen and Clover ( 1997:67) suggest that PR can help people "to explore important topics, consider a range of viewpoints, and challenge commonly held assumpt.ions-" It cm promote two-way communication and sharing of information: strengthen and support existing community problem-solving, analytical and evaiuative skilis. By involving people living in the research process, their contributions can lead to new insights and the information coliected cm be the bais to devise home-grown plans for action.
Guevara and Tanchuling ( 1 W6:34) agree that "Participatory research is a process of participation and investigation which dIows for the new knowledge to be readily transformed into leaming and action for both the researcher and the comrnunity." But they also identify some of the potential pitfalls of engaging in PR in the cornmunity. They caution that unless the community is actively involved from the beginning, "unless there is real concern for a problem," and unless it is perceived to be a problem by a majot-ity of the community and not just the researcher and/or a few people, the motivation to engage in educatiodresearch activities wilI be absent (ibid.: 1996).
Studv Circles
Another recommended rnethod or practice to encourage longer-term community discussions on socio-environmental issues is the study circle. Study circles are small group 254
free discussions. They are widely used by adult educators "to explore important topics.
consider a range of viewpoints, challenge commonly held assumptions, and achieve learning
that enables people to take constructive action" (Follen and Clover, 1997:67).
Study circles can be thematic, where a theme is selected by the members of groups. They
can also take the form of a debate that is structured and planned, often with two sides. They
can also be research-oriented in that they begin with a particular problem or concern that each
member tooks into and bt-ings back to the Iarger group for discussion (Clover. Hall. and
FoIlen 1998).
Like PR, study circles are spaces in which people take the time to explore topics most
often relevant to them and their communities. They "sharpen cntical thinking to help people
learn the economic social and political content of environmentai problems and to take the
actions that suit their own needs" (LEAP/INFORSE. i997:4).
Study circles help people to develop their research skills because each person is
responsible for finding and bringing materials to share with the others. Study circles also develop faciiitation skills because each person takes a turn at facilitating the discussions.
Study circles can also work to build networks because people come together not just because they know each other, but because the topics are of interest to them (Follen and Clover,
1 997).
Around the world, study circles are being used to examine social and economic barriers to change and to develop ideas for sustainable employment and healthy community living
(UIE, 1997). Roles of the Environmental Adult Educator
The investment of the environmental adult educator is to the environmentalist icleology. It is through the critical dimensions of environmental education thut the activist role in education is clearly evident. Karen Malone, forthcoming 20
Dealing with diverse issues, vdues, content, and contexts has major implications for the role of the environmental adult educator. Given this. Moema Viezzer ( 19928) asks: How can environmental aduit educators facilitate the emergence of a new ecological perspective and knowledge? She suggests this can be done by working with others to create a learning culture through stronger networks and partnerships; by empowering, rewarding innovation. allowing the freedom to make mistakes and valuing these mistakes as much as successes; by understanding that action is as much contemplation and reflection as motion and performance: by providing "an open climate for cultural interchange and [valuing] diverse forms of knowledge," but, perhaps most important, by encouraging people to speak, to question, by listening, by being a CO-learnerin the process, and by engaging in activism and reflection (Ibid.33).
Environmental Adult Educator As Co-Iearner
It is as much about educating orcrselves, as it is about educating others. Denis Mahoney. 1 W8:2 1
In 1976 Canadian adult educator James Draper, working within a liberai education framework, separated the facilitator/expert from the leamershon-experts. He argued that learning must be shaped only by the needs of the leamers. In 1995, José Roberto Guevara aIso argued that "we are only there to facilitate a process." However, in 1997 after having engaged in a number of community-based workshops with indigenous peoples and women 256 who had different views of the rest of nature. Guevan changed course. in a chapter he wrote in 1997 (forthcoming 2000), Guevara argues that
... adult participants have their own knowledge and skills gained from life experiences that can contribute to the learning process. On the other hand, the adult educator also contributes his/her own knowledge and expenences ..- therefore. both adult educator and participant partake and assume joint responsibility in a dialectic learning process.
The opening statement of The Treatv (1992: 1) is "we are al1 leamers." Being a learner liberates practitioners from being 'experts' or outsiders working only for the needs of others and allows them to be CO-leamerson the complicated and challenging road to sustainability.
Learning and teaching should be viewed as a give and take. a collective process where everyone lems from everyone else; the participants as well as the educators.
One way for environmental adult educators to become more effective CO-learnersis "to immerse [themselves] in the experiences of Our local communities ... [and] continue to re- discover and create their own concept of sustainable communities" (ASPBAE, I995:3). ibikunle-Johnson and Rugumayo ( 1987: 10) concur. They state. "adult educators must be able to go to the villages and learn from the people, share knowledge and experience and tap into their rich store of empirical knowledge and traditional wisdom." Environmental adult educators need to understand that people do not seek out educational opportunities because they are waiting to have learning bestowed upon them or even to be 'empowered'. They corne bearing a dignity as storytellers. They corne as creative people seeking to learn not as a transfer of knowledge and skills but through action and interaction with each other and with the adult educator. 257
The Educator-Acti vist
Peter Sutton of Germany ( 1989: 10) notes that at times adult educators "may feel left out
of the poIitica1 action ... [their] role is to enable others to cal1 for action, and to make their
own decisions." But if we are not satisfied with this limited function of environmental [adult]
educator, "we can ourselves take political action dong with other members of society."
Linking education and activisrn enhances a symbiotic educationai opportunity for
practitioners and lemers. The benefits flow in both directions and are dependent on the other
for their existence.
Lawrence Jansen from the United States (Convergence, 1992:95) argues that there needs to be more outreach between "adult educators and environmental organisations" in order to
"engage in strategies for achieving mutual goals." John Hurst, also of the United States. agrees with this statement because he feels that environmentalists generally "have not been aware of popular education and its accomplishments, nor see the importance of serious focus on educational theory and practice as critical for their work (Convergence, 1989:65).
Moreover, within the environmental movement much non-formai leaming occurs and
adult educators cannot regard [this] nonformal environmental education as the limited interest of a small population. Their contribution shouid not supplant existing educational efforts of environmental groups, but broaden and democratise the movement. Both the adult education and environmentai movernents are growing, as they were in the early part of the century; it is time they recognize the needs and opportunities of the other (Convergence, 1995:95).
Ln reaching out to environmental groups, adult educators cm "provide volunteer and professional environmentai leaders with CO-operativeand inclusive multi-organizational programs for cross-poliinating ideas, sharing research and collaborating on strategies"
(lbid.:94). Jansen also suggests that environmental adult educators should connect more with other "related social action movements such as peace, international developrnent. indigenous 258 people's rights, cultural survival, community development, histone preservation and economic justice" (Ibid.:94). Marta Benavides of El Salvador also believes that the activist environmentai adult educator's work "in coalition with al1 other groups, peoples and organisations seeking a better quality of life to promote our practices and understanding of education [as a means to] develop the political will to work for sustainable societies"
(Convergence, 1992:44). Graciela Evia and Eduardo Gudynas from Uruguay recommend that environmental adult educators make efforts to link people with different interests. such as industry and grassroots representatives and provide a space in which "al1 points of view will be heard and respected" and not just those of the more powerful (ICAE/Ecologic, 1994: 10).
The pedagogic and the political are absolutely intertwined. The pedargogic choices in fact, implement the political objectives. If this is so, then a principle role of the environmental adult educator/activist, to borrow from Rustom Bharucha, is to "ignite the moribund practices of political activism with creative and spiritual energies which can deepen the struggle for life with a renewed respect for ecology rooted in the [surrounding world]" ( 1997:3 1 ).
We must also remember, however, that focussing too rnuch on activism and strategic planning robs us of vaiuable information that cm only be acquired through the emotiond body and the unpredictable temtory. What we do not want to lose in our work "is the ability to drearn" (Convergence, 1995:4O).
The Reflective Practitioner
Most environmental adult educators becorne so involved in their work that they do not take the time to reflect on the processes in which they engage, dthough it could be argued 259 that the act of writing the chapters, articles, and so on used in this study is in fact an act of reflection. But due to the complex nature of environmental problems, we as environmental adult educators need to reflect more on our practice, our values, and the ways in which we perceive ourselves in relation to the rest of nature. Kmla Bhasin of India (Convergence,
1992:34) calls this "beginning with ourselves."
Noel Duhaylundgsod (1993:4) of the Philippines recommends that environmental adult educators criticalIy refiect upon experiences. reality, and what motivates "them to intensify their struggles for more just, democratic, healthy and equitable societies" (p.4). Chief Bisi of
Nigeria, who spoke during the Global Forum at UNCED (Clover, 1995a:220), challenged adult educators to reflect on what they rnean by environmental education and who they feel would benefit from it and why. For education "must serve societies, must draw on the needs and knowledge of the people and must be relevant ta their lives." Similarly, Parker and
Towner ( I993:209) observe that the complexity of environmental problems requires that we
"reflect on what the adoption of sustainability as a social goal means for education practice."
José Roberto Guevara (1995) describes the development of his book as 'a reflective process'; a way of thinking about his own work as an environmental adult educator. ffis own reflections on his work have helped him to move away from the notion that we environmental adult educators are catalysts of change, "which by definition mems that we are not transformed by the process we have facilitated, to acknowledging that we need to continue to transform ourselves and our practice (fonhcoming 2000).
Evia and Gudynas frorn Uruguay suggest the need for collective dialogue and "reflection amongst ourselves as environmental adult educators in order to understand what we mean by
'environmental politics', and to think about the content, objectives, and strategies" of 260 learning (ICAE/Ecologic, 1994: 1 1). Moreover, we need to take the tirne to reflect because
"we still do not know how to address values in nature, and how to link these with social justice." Nor do we "understand completely the role nature values play in the learning process" (Ibid.).
Reflection involves scanning mernories of the past, seeking connections. discrepancies, and meanings. Events or activities when mulled over acquire new rneanings over time, especially as they may be moulded and refrarned by the reflective process (Various riuthors.
Convergence, 1995). The goal of reflective practice is to understand the consequences of action, to assess how one is perceived as a practitioner and to connect those activities to one's value system and personal growth. The reflective practitioner should consider the brorid context of her or his work and what it mems to the learning processes they use and promote.
Reflection is the process that integrates "past experience into the present and [allows] its projection onto the future" (Ibid.:6). The process of reflection is a cognitive exercise but it also engages the emotions for "reflection can yield refinement of both knowledge and feelings" (bid.:6).
Knowledge and change in the world of the practitioner most often comes from reflecting on practice, on the engaged process rather than from appiying theoretical ideas. Learning from critical reflection renders apparent our understanding of the process of leaming, the assumptions that guide us as educators, and the cracks in our theoretical suppositions.
"Reflection is one of the essentiai tools we need to make a difference" (Harwood. 1989:6). Tools and Praxis
[he spoke] of myth of reading nature of singing to the corn his brothers and sisters we converse with plants and stars we paint our faces, we dance Peter Cole, 1998: 107
Adult educator Griff Foley ( 1995: 1 1 ) advises that any "conception of theory and practice
which emphasises their mutual dependence is more useful than one that sees theory as prior
to practice." Learning simply cannot be divorced from the methods of acquiring Uiat learning
and therefore a framework of environmentd adult education must, by necessity, contain
practice.
Of al1 the categones, the tools and praxis of environmentd adult education is the most
highly developed and the prîmary way the authors/practitioners responded to or dealt with al1
the other essential elements discussed previously. Praxis refers to creative activities through
which men and women can create, make or produce, change or shape the world around them.
These activities include an element of critique of existing historicai conditions and an
element of possibility for re-working those conditions by using the potentialities of
imagination, intellect, the senses, and the body.
Learning to see, hear, touch, and read our environments anew means using embodied and creative learning such as poetry, dance, music, art, theatre and storytelling and writing to stimulate creativity and reflection, enhance didogue and communication, and celebrate life.
ldentifving- and Creatinp Leaming- Materials and Resources
The nature world is our bible. We don't have chapters and verses; we have trees and fish and animais. John Mohawk. 1996: 10 262
One message emerging from the data is that materials used in environmental adult education must reflect community and or regional problems and issues. Materials must be based in place in order to have the most meaning and engage the attention of the reader. Only from there will people be able to move graduaily towards the pervasive global that global educator David Selby refers to as 'glocality' (see Chapter Three).
Ibikunle-Johnson and Rugumayo (19875) argue that materials used in the adult education process should be ones that are directed towards adults in the onset. "rather than adapted from those written for children." Canadian Mark Burch agrees for he too has observed that "materials developed for children are not necessarily effective in the teaching of adults" ( l993:28).
Calvin Howell of Barbados (Convereence, 198952) suggests that environmental adult educators use indigenous or home-grown materials when working with adults and also "as a basis of teacher training." By devetoping their own materials, the content will better "take into account the economic, social and ecological realities" of the comrnunity, country or region, educator, and lemer.
Leal Filho and Bandeira (Convergence, 199556) note that in terms of identifying resources and materials for teaching environmental issues to adults, one needs to consider certain implications. The first is 'information for whom' and 'their information requirement' because "although an editorial article on a certain environmental matter may not be suitable for a schoolchild, it may be appropriate for an adult." The second is 'information for what' that "relates to the aims of providing environmental information" (Ibid36). The authors stress the importance of materials that are directly finked to people's own experiences as a starting point rather than about something that is more remote or rernoved from their 263
situation. Other elements upon which one must focus when creating or thinking about the
materials highlighted in the data include engaging in needs assessrnent research to determine
the best format, using only environmentally-friendly materials such as re-cycleci paper, team
producing materials to ensure greater accuracy and broader input, finding local examples of
success and change, and making sure "there is an element of 'fun' in activities contained in
the materiais ... [for] adults like fun!" (ICAEEcologic, 1994:39). Leal Filho and Bandeira
(Convergence, 199557) add "diversity, time relevance, and accuracy as imponant elements
in ensuring the didactic potential of resources."
As mentioned previously in this chapter, Afncm authors argue that teamers should be
actively involved in the development of their own leming materials. That way they will be
more relevant and "draw upon the vocabulary universe of the leamers" (Ibikunle-Johnson and
Rugumayo, 1987: 10). In the Philippines this is done through the construction of maps or
diagrarns that represent local reality, systematizing the existing knowledge, and promoting
the detailed analysis of local issues (ICAJYJNFORSE, 1997a).
The Treatv ( 1992) is also identified as a valuable teaching tool or material that can and,
in fact, is being used by numerous orgmizations and groups such as ecology, women, youth,
and education (ICAE, 1993). It puts forward a powerful and positive vision: an alternative
mode1 for education in managing and reshaping global developrnent and human/Earth relations. It has been suggested that The Treatv be used as the content and basis of adult literacy classes, training programmes, and even community projects. 264
Bevond the Written Word
Akpovire B. Oduaran of Nigeria (Convergence, 199258) argues that a high illiteracy rate
in some countries demands "the education of people against environmental pollution go
beyond the use of print media." In his article, Ibrahim al Agib of Tunisia (Convergence,
1992) observes that those who cannot read and write, approximately 44 per cent, represent a
large percentage of the productive population in the region. But these unskilled and untrained
people, t hese "tenants, shepherds, indigenous people and craftsmen [sic]" should also have a
right to learn about their environment on their own terms (Ibid.:76). Tabiedi (forthcoming
2000) notes that "in a gender-segregated country like Sudan, women have been left out of the
education process. The reality is evident from the high rate of itliteracy among Sudanese
women, and indeed in many other developing countries." By using educationai resources
other than the printed word, we can reach out to people who do not read or write and we cm
also move away from a pureIy cognitive interaction with the printed word to a different type
of creative engagement.
Calvin Howell (Convergence, 198958) advocates "the utilisation of community
leming, resources and research to bring about community change and the awareness that people can lem through, with and for each other to create a better world." A case study from a group in India discusses the effectiveness of "a video showing the impact of deforestation on people, with stories narrated by wornen and songs about fetching drinking water, fuelwood and the effect of the fuelwood crisis on women" (ICAE/Ecologic, 1994:25). After seeing the video,
the women demanded a separate viewing for women to talk about the hardships of collecting fuelwood, the humiliation they felt when encountering forest guards and the beauty and wonder of the forest and its importance in their lives (Ibid.:25). 265
Keme Strathy [Convernence, 1995:75)discusses the use of video and theatre as learning tools. People
prepared a video 'Protect the Earth and She Will Provide for You' .... Some participants developed the Lali Theatre Company as a result of the enthusiastic response they had to the that popular theatre video and the villagers' reactions to their performance.
in Botswana the radio plays a critical roie in disseminating to adult listeners scattered about the country. "infornation and educational messages about natural resource conservation and protection and improvement of the environment." These radio programmes are most effective when augmented by "active and guided group listening activities"
(Convergence, 1995:69). In Sudan, the objective of a UNESCO television and radio- broadcast programme on environmental and heal th education "was to raise environmenta1 and liealth education messages." These programmes "employed a variety of methodologies such as dramas, interviews, speaker presentations. etc." (Tabiedi, forthcoming 2000).
But Brennan (ASPBAE, 1995: 10) noted that in Papua New Guinea "using visuat materials" to teach about environment issues did not work "because the visual was not associated with important cuiturai values but was concerned with individual expression of feelings." What worked better was "singing and dancing. Through the repetition of the words and actions of the dance, the values implied in the innovation [were better] accepted and passed into normal behaviour through their ceremonial acceptance in singing and dancing."
Stirnulating the CriticaUCreative, Emotional, and Embodied
The feet die of boredom for not walking in interestirtg places ... it is a terrible sin to regard the body with such poverty of imagination. Thomas Moore, 1992: 165 266
The diversity found in nature is a vitai, dynamic, healthy, and positive attnbute. Diversity
in the learning method provides the sparkle, that dimension that is most exciting and
renewing (Clover et al., 1998). It is widely suggested in the data that stimulating creativity
and imagination is one hope for renewal and change.
Francisco Vio Grossi of Chile (Convereence, 1995:39) suggests that a key role of environmental adult education must be to tap into "people's imaginations and creativity to make change." Using a variety of methods heips environmental adul t educators encourage people's critical and creative experience that is embodied and grounded in experience and expressed through stories and images, art, drawing, and music. Since people learn in different ways, multiple approaches work well to stimulate ideas, creativity, imagination, and learning
(Clover, 1995).
José Roberto Guevara (forthcoming 2000) also observes that
[the] use of creative approaches facili tates [an] evocative process of hel pi ng people to overcome their inhibitions. Also, breaking out into an action-song about the adverse impacts of logging helps keep the energy high but also adds variety to what might otherwise be a very technical discussion.
For "the extent of environmental degradation we currently face calls for us al1 to think of creative strategies if we are to survive" (Iûid.).
Misunderstandings do not exist - only the failure to commrtnicate. Senegalese Proverb (origin unknown)
Speaking and Iistening are fundamental to mutual participation and interaction. People need the chance to speak about their own expenences and test these against the knowledge of the group. 267 There has been an erosion of traditional life-world narratives as meaning-orientations
and the actual wedcening of the ability to communicate that, in turn, creates an erosion of the communicatively competent citizen (Welton, 1998). Speaking about one's own experiences
is an important element of learning. It can be a ceiebration and reflection on one's own work and ideas, it can dso bring out hidden assumptions and beliefs. As feminists have noted, talking cm release deeply felt emotions, give tangibility to half formed concepts, develop confidence, and focus attention on things that might be overlooked. But many have also found that many women often lack the confidence to articulate publicly their ideas and feelings, therefore special care needs to be taken in creating environments in which people feel cornfortable speaking. Often, this is done by creating small groups in the beginning of the process where wornen most often speak out (Clover et al., 1998; Manicom and Walters,
1 997).
Giving voice connotes a process of gaining the confidence to articulate publicly previously private concems (Viezzer, 1992). Talking about expenences with the rest of nature is a private concern that tends not to be given voice in our contemporary society. But talking about reiationships to the rest of nature must be legitimized. Environmental adult education must break the silence and give voice to both nature and people's experiences, whether positive or negative, with the rest of nature.
Providing a space for people to discuss their relationships to and mernories of the rest of nature cm assist the adult educator to understand how adults understand and actually feel about the world around them and thereby try to related this information to an overall process of transformation (Various authors, Convergence, 1995). 268
Music is also seen as a creative way of encouraging voice. It is a powerful medium of protest, power, and purpose. In India, as was noted earlier in this chapter, women sang songs of the forest to bhg people together to Save the trees (ICAE/Ecologic, 1994). Again as mentioned previously, in the Philippines music and songwriting raised people's energy levels and helped them to better understand the technica! issues of the logging industry better
(Guevara, forthcoming 2000).
Environmental adult education needs to differentiate between didactic instruction and genuine discussion, where a dialogue exists between practitioner and the aduit learner and negotiation is taking place in an atmosphere of mutual respect and trust. But dialogue requires an openness to the opinions of others and this requires listening - and this too must include the rest of nature.
The Art of Listening
Hearing is a capaciv beionging to the life of the spirit. David Levin. 1989: 1
People speak to make themselves understood, but they listen in an attempt to understand others. Listening is often the seriously neglected side of dialogic processes or communicative action. Western knowledge culture in particular tends to ignore listening processes. We need to develop iistening as a practice of compassion but also understand the critical role it plays in learning (Welton, 1998). Ecologically responsible adult education for the 2 1" century cannot be complacent about our personal and social capacity to listen to each other. Listening needs to become a more intentional pedagogical practice.
Meresiana Teresia from Hong Kong (ASPBAE, 1995:30) argues that as environmental adult educators we must watch the collaborative voice that emerges from adult lemers and 269 really hear their insights. This involves "not just talking to the cornrnunity. but listening to them."
Noel Keough et al. convereence, 1995: 1 ) tell the story of a CanadianlPhilippine popular theatre project called "TaIes of the Sari-Sari: In Search of Bigfoot." They sugpest that one of the objectives of environmentai adult education should be to improve people's understanding of their own existing levels of knowledge about the different environmental issues they face and their connection to the larger pianetary realm. In order to do so, it is "vital to go to the cornmunities and listen to the people" (Ibid.:6) for this tells stories of "overfishing. destructive technologies and unresponsive politicians" (Ibid.:9).
José Roberto Guevara also stresses the importance of Iistening through this story:
We did not challenge [the participant's] arguments. Instead we listened. In retrospect we realised that if the central concept of environmental education is the interdependence of al1 components of the environment, then a classification of living and non-living life forms [as we had presented it] is unnecessary. It may be that this holistic and integrated view of nature is what has helped our indigenous peoples live with respect and harmony with their environment (forthcoming 2000).
Listening to al1 voices of subjugation and hearing their truths makes us better able to question both Iocal and global political and development practices.
Listening is crucial to any process of disclosure. The type of listening that should be
"encouraged is listening with the heart, an attentiveness that includes emotional responsiveness" (Chan, 1 W6:217). The cultivation of the listening capacity is connected to compassionate sensibilities, concerns for reciprocity, respect for difference, and recognition of authentic needs.
If everyone talks and no one listens then talk falls into dead space. Having said that. 1 am aware that Westerners have much to leam from aboriginal peoples about the power and meaning of silence and the ways in which silence is a form of listening that opens people to 270 each other. Feminist adult education and global education focus on listening and suggest that by doing so, we may be able to highlight some fundamental sensitivities, perhaps lost or forgotten, about knowledge, relationships, values, and complexity that are required for the twenty-first century. Listening is a mutualistic art that by its very practice can enhance equaiity. As long as people are unable to listen to one another and engage in genuine dialogue, they will continue to tdk past one another and to live past one another.
Listenina to the Rest ofNature
We in the Western world spend a lot of rime talking about the naturcri worid. fndigenous peoples spend just as much time talking to the surrounding worid, rvhich rhey tend to experience not as a set of passive abjects or resources but as a field of expressive subjects. David Abram, 1997(a):49
Hearing is a gifi. me gifr of nature is art crnfulfiled capacity, an unrealized potential, an unfinished task David Levin, l98W
Listening cm be a flow of nourishment from the landscape to its human inhabitants To some extent every adult engages in a process of listening and attuning to the other presences that surround and influence daily life.
Hall and Clover (1997) and various Asian environmental adult educators (ASPBAE,
1995) emphasize the importance of helping people to take the time to listen to the rest of nature as part of the learning and teaching process. Increasing our capacity as listeners to be aware of and responsive to the inter-relatedness and comrnonality of al1 sonorous being may assist in working towards change.
Naturai and community environments are identified as criticai spaces to listen to the rest of nature. Activities developed in the Philippines such as 'Sounds Around You' and 'Quiet 27 1
Hike' give adults the rare opportunity "to listen to nature" and appreciate the world around them through their senses (Guevara, 1995:8 1).
By sometimes "silencing Our own persistent chatter we can find the silent wordless dance of [the rest of] nature" (Abram, 1996: 15). Without listening, "we often cut Our conscious, speaking selves off from the spontaneous life of Our sensing bodies" (Ibid.: 15).
Drama and Role Plaving
Theatre has been found to be a particularly effective way of communicating experiences and dealing with difficult issues. Many authors advocate the use of drama and role playing as ways to enhance people's understanding of an issue, deal more effectively with politicians, and to demonstrate the strength of their own knowledge and skills.
Drama and/or role playing have the ability to make a very abstract concept or experience more concrete, simplifying it so that people can understand and have control over it.
Simplifying does not mean trivializing, but rather it is a way of extracting the essence of a concept or experience to make it manageable. This is valuable in environmental adult education because many of the problems appear to be on such a massive scale that people feel paralysed.
Keough et al. argue that popular theatre is a means to "create entertaining and educational performances about issues of community sustainability [and over-consumption] that challenge the elite paradigm of sustainable development" (Convergence, 19955). It is a medium to "facilitate the expression of a people's view of sustainability and offer a celebratory, creative alternative'' (Ibid.5). The theatre performances identified people's own valuable knowledge, particularly about sustainability that they had not realized or 272 acknowledged (Ibid.: 1995). Drama is a way of reflecting on experience and, through this
refiection, identifying people's knowledge and commonalities as well as differences that will
need to be addressed separately. It is also a way in which people can clarify values. The
Bigfoot drama provoked people to question and to iook more deeply into a consumerist value
system being forced upon them. Behaviour modification was not the aim behind the use of
drama, but rather a creative oppominity for people to question and reflect upon their own
beliefs and values through the creative medium of others (Keough et al., Converoence, 1995).
Graciela Evia and Eduardo Gudynas from Uruguay (ICAE/Ecologic, 1994: 10) advocate
role playing to enhance people's understanding of an issue but, particularly, their skills in
challenging politicians and others in decision-making positions. They describe the
dramatization of a public hearing, arguing that it worked "to educate people in democratic
procedures" (Ibid.: 10). In Asia, role playing min, rivers, and clouds teaches people about
water cycles and some of the basic concepts of food chains, life webs, and so on. It also
teüches environmental adult educators, as José Roberto Guevara (forthcoming 2000)
observed, that "conducting creative activities like drawing and drarna [did] not lessen the
scientific nature of environmental adult education. [1 leamed that] these are not oppositional
approaches as 1 had believed originally." Role playing can be used as a means to explore
difficult issues within a fictional setting (Guevara, 1995). Moreover, "my experience as a community theatre artist and educator convinced me that [theatre cm often be a more effective approach] to environmental adult education [than] the conventional lecture- discussion with the occasional audio-visual presentation" (Guevara, forthcoming 2000).
Drama and role playing create the opportunity for al1 the various facets of a particular issue to be examined in detail by a group of people so they cm benefit from the combined knowledge and viewpoints. They are important pedagogical tools for dealing with controversial issues and people's fear and feelings of powerless.
Art and Drawing
Art involves a sensuous embodiment through vital interaction with a physical medium. Peter Abbs, 1997:35
According to various authors, drawing, photography and the use of local materials to create art can also form an essentid component of the leaming process, particularly in terrns of understanding 'self and a sense of place. Guevara (1995:65) describes one such use of art:
The backdrop was an 8ft. by 4 ft. mural of an ideal environment with verdant forests, clean lakes and rivers, rich agricultural lands, thick mangrove swamps and blue. crystal clear seas...p ictures of farmers, fisherfolk, women, workers, urban poor, students, children, businessmen, politicians and a few endangered plants and anirnals... then the stories were about the effect of current environmental problems to these characters or how they continue to cope with these problems. The stories came from actual experiences of the participants.
In this type of process, everyone participates and the leamers draw on their own local knowledge and present it in a large-scale visual of their own codes of representations. The artistic process of drawing a map or mural allows adutts to overcome their tendency to intellectualize and categorize the experience of nature. Another example of the use of art is in the United States, where 'photonovelas' have ken created as "environmental health education materials." Photonovelas are "community produced educational materials" that resemble comic books but use photographs of red people and real life situations instead of drawings (Convergence, 198 1 :36).
Art can be constructed using whatever materials are locally available. In Canada environmental adult educators used potential 'soi1 makers' such as leaves, cigarette butts, 274 flowers, and worms to create a living murai. The materials represented the community in terms of its problems and its dyriamic and diverse attributes (Hail and CIover, 1997).
Art and drawing are also means by which rnemories cm unfold and reflection on Iife experiences can be enhanced. These can be abstract drawings of symbols and lines, for the point is not to be an artist, but simply to draw what one feels.
Detaiied drawings of fields and streams, of family and community, their homes and families can heip people to reflect on the experiences and spaces that are meaningful and worked to shape who they are today: their values, identity, knowledge, and behaviour
(Convergence, 1995).
According to Jay Gnffiths (1997:30), art is also a powerful tool for motivation and protest. He argues that "art within the protest movement is far more than mere self- expression or decorative pastirne." Rather it raises emotions and can direct that emotion towards action. Environmentai adult educators can experiment with ways of using art, drawing, and the creation of collective murals to stimulate ideas for passionate action.
Ecolo~icalHistories and Storvtelling
ifthis is your land, where are yourfather's holes for honey? if tliis is your land, why do you keep asking us the rtames of the rivers ? ifthis is your land, rvhere are your stories? Peter Cole, 1998: 107
Conelly and Caldinin ( l990:2) suggest that "humans are storytelling organisrns who, individually and sociaily, lead storied lives ... education is the construction and reconstxuction of personal and social stories; teachers and learners are storytellers and characters in their own and others' stories." Constmcting stories through narrative enabies people to analyse, re- construct, and re-tell the stories they encounter on a daily basis. The narrative method 275 provides a way of characterizing the phenomena of human experience through capturing and creating stories of experience. Narratives give voice to individual experiences in a manner that strives to preserve and respect the complexity and integrity of the stories. Stones are grounded in the particulars of human experience and are also driven by a sense of capturing the experience and its context as a whole. Certainly indigenous peoples, and similarly other marginalized peoples, are asserting their rights for their respective stories to be heard and told through their own voices.
Pat Mische (Convergence, 1992), drawing from the wisdom of Thomas Berry, argues that an essential problem of contemporary times is that we no longer believe the old stories, but we have not yet replaced them with new stories. These new stories can be created by people through their own lives and experience andor from 'Iistening' to the stories of those with deeper or closer Earth-based wisdom(s).
Because people's past experiences play such an important role in shaping how they perceive and interact with the rest of nature, environmental adult education should promote the reconstruction of experiences "between human beings and the earth and the relationships therein" (Hall and Clover, 1997:500). In order to do this, Hall and Clover advocate the formation of the practices or methods such as storytel ting and ecological autobiography.
Storytelling is a method of teaching and research, much used by feminist educators to explore how "one's past experiences have shaped perceptions, values, attitudes and behaviours"
(Ibid.:500). Ecologicd storytelling is "about connections or experiences with the rest of nature. [It] invests the natural world with authority, placing it at the centre along with its listener's past experiences and its tel ter's words" (Ibid.:50 t ). 276
Swiss environmental adult educator Matthias Finger (Convergence, 198927) argues that
"environmental sensitisation can stem from within the individual person without it being
triggered by an obvious environmental disaster." Leaming should be "linked to specific life
experiences, mostly dunng childhood" (Ibid.28-29). He advocates the use of the pedagogical
methodology of ecological life histories as one way
to understand what, where and how adults actudly lem in the field of the environment, and where this leaming process le& them to. As well as ... an attempt to understand what aduIts do with concrete environmental information and what function this type of knowledge has in their overall process of adult transformation (Ibid.:27).
We ako need these stories in order to better understand alterative modes of knowing and perceiving in terms of our perceptions of the rest of nature. Stories can help to render more visible how people learn about ecology, what they know and how they know it, how they perceive themselves in relation to the rest of nature, and how an understanding of ecology can help people learn about themselves (Clover, 1997d).
Canadian Rosemary Taylor (Convergence, 1995:85) concludes that nature writing is
"replete with reminiscences of childhood - a way to open a window ont0 memory. Specid places from childhood serve as touchstones." These stories of environmental experience can also link people who otherwise feel they have nothing in common. A "variety of personal experiences can often constitute a collective environmental vision of the way the world is and/or how people would like it to be" (Ibid.:85).
Stories can be a telling of dramatic incidents that have profoundly impacted upon peoples' lives, but they cm also be a lens through which people's everyday experiences with the rest of nature can take on new meaning, and create new knowledge and the understanding of 'self. Stories emphasise the educational importance and legitimize the experience of the 277 everyday, and by doing so, help people to realize that the 'everyday' is far from mundane.
The everyday is a dynamic space of change, wonderment, chaos, contestation, and joy. What hopefully will becorne more evident as we share and Iisten to a larger number of stories of people's relationships, or lack thereof, to the land is a deeper insight into the ways in which we express ourselves through naturekulture particularities.
Usi ng; Success Stories
Ir means the passing on of stories from generation tu generation - fonns thnr exisr only in the tenuous moment of their actual pe@onnance, and foms thar take tlreir irrspiration, not from texts, temples or other monuments nt the centre of hurnun effort, but front the Ive of nature surrounding it. Sean Kane. 1998:44
People need sources of hope, optimism, and inspiration. It is hope that opens possibility.
Various authors identified using success stories as a tool to create hope and inspire action.
Keough et al. (Convergence, 1995:9) highlight this by describing the uplifting power of positive stones of change:
we also heard hopeful stories of Bantay Dagats, or community-based fïsh patrols, the construction of watch towers to help protect, study and rehabilitate coral reefs and mangrove replanting to replenish fish breeding habitat and provide a buffer against typhoons.
Anil Chaudhary of India believes that environmental adult educators need to see the
"educational potential of smdl-scde environmental activities." Using these success stories as a "basis of leaming and teaching can empower and also highlight broader political. social and culturai issues" (Convergence, 1989:76). British authors claim that success stories can be useful tools to deal with feelings of powerlessness, fear, and/or green fatigue (NIACE, 1993;
Parker and Towner, 1993). Success stories are most often local in character but are often situated in broader poli tical, social, and cultural contexts. Sharing success stories can be an ernpowering and i nspirational process.
Outdoor Sensorv Learninn
David Abram ( 1998: 13 and 15) notes that
the senses are what is most wild in us - capacities we share, in some manner. not only with other primates but with most other entities in the living landscape, from earthworms to eagles .... If we ignore or devalue sensory experience, we lose our prirnary source of alignment with the larger ecology, irnperiling both ourselves and the Earth in the process.
People can mediate or reflect upon the rest of nature through touch, emotions, and their senses. This can also be an important way to rediscover ourselves in relation to the world around us. The use of sensory perception leaming, particularly in the out-of-doors, is perhaps the newest area for the field of environmental adult education. However, since using the rest of nature as a teacher and site of learning, a way of bringing the senses and body into the
Iearning process, is mentioned often throughout this chapter, particularly in relation to leaming about, in, and through place, 1 provide only a few more examples from the data.
A. Pradhan of Pakistan (ASPBAE, 1995:3)stresses the need to combine indoor and outdoor teaching methods in order to stimulate the intellect as well as al1 the senses. The use of sensory perception in leaming "cm awaken a re-newed solidarity and radically different view of the rest of nature. It dso implies a distinct connection between the human and the rest of nature." Vio Grossi (Converaence, 199540) observes that outdoor sensory education can recover the positive sides and senses of life, and capture its enthusiasm and pleasure." 279 Environmentai adult education must be a "lifelong leaming process that begins with initiating a sensual appreciation for our environment, including a deeper understanding of the complex inter-relationships that exist" (ASPBAE, 19955). It must provide the opportunity for people to immerse themselves in the culture of nature that is so much a part of their culture. This creates a learning opportunity that "flows with the cycles and rhythms of the rest of nature and elucidates its inter-connected and holistic character" (Ibid.:40).
Ani1 Chandbury of India notes that nature camps and exposure visits focus people on
"appreciating the beauty of the natu ral environment" (Convergence, 1989: 32). I have observed in my own work that quiet walks through natural areas provide a different form of stimuIus for people and changes the environment into a living, breathing being ( 199.5).
Rosemary Taylor advocates the use of outdoor sensory learning because the senscs, particularly smell, can bring back andior provide lingering mernories (Convergence,
1995:85). She believes there is much untapped power in sensory and incidental learning that most adult educators fail to appreciate and incorporate into their work. Outdoor sensory learning can work to spnng people out of a cognitive interaction and "into an imaginative, sensory, embodied process of learning" (Ibid.:4 1 ).
Abram ( 1996) adds that an ernbodied exploration of the world, is an exploration of the body's energies and also renews the bond between our bodies and the earth.
The task of creating alternatives must draw on a range of resources including humour, the body and playhlness that outdoor sensory learning can provide. Perhaps outdoor sensory or embodied learning and direct interaction with the rest of nature is one way to broaden
Freire's idea of "reading the world" - a creative, critical, sensuous, and connected process of reading the whole world. Chapter Nine Learning Patterns of Landscape and Life: Concluding Reflections and Recommendations
Introduction
Formai education in schools and further and higher institutions, carried by identifiable people trained for the purpose is most important and ofien sets the standards by which education is defrned and judged. Horvever. people also leum ho w ru behave towards their environment in their homes and communities, clrrring leisure activities, in the workplace, and from relatives. peer-groups, culturul influences, [and] the mass media. John Smyth, 19956
1 began this thesis with an examination of some of the dynamic and controversial threads of deep ecology, ecofeminism, social ecology, and bioregionalism in order to outline some of the ways in which they could strengthen the field of adult education on its ecotogical trajectory. In Chapter Three 1 then undertook an examination of some of the theories. principles, and critiques of three contemporary paradigms of compulsory environmental education: education for sustainability, global education, and humane education. In particular, global education offers a useful idea for environmental adult education with its focus on both the 'inner' and 'outer' person. Humane education raises some very interesting and important issues around the treatment of animals, something not rnentioned in any of the documents analysed which 1 discuss in this chapter. Chapter Four is an examination of the theory and practice of adult education, in particular, the ways in which it has been broadened and re- shaped by critical theorists, popular educators, and feminist adult educators. 1 demonstrated by examining some of the ideas of four major theoreticiadeducators, an underlying anthropocentric bias that has made it difficult to integrate environmental concerns into the fabric of adult learning. 28 1
Chapter Five identifies the research question and discusses the case study rnethodology, site setection and methods used in this snidy. 1 also discuss my role as researcher and author of 14 of the 42 publications and some of the ways in which ideas 1 had previously espoused were challenged through more and more interaction with people in their own communities.
Chapter Six provides a historical context of the ICAE and LEM. In particular, it focuses on the events, particularly those of the UN and/or its agency UNESCO, that, arnong other things, attempted to draw attention to contemporary environmentai problems and the role education shouId/could play, and subsequently stimulated the production of various
1CAWLEA.P publications. These are not unproblematic spaces or documents, but they have provided important opportunities to debate old ideas, develop new ones, and to network.
In light of escalating global environmental threats what is required are new ecologicai articulations of the field of adult education. Chapters Seven and Eight are an in-depth examination of 42 ICAELEAP documents produced between 1972 and 1997. Usine a number of anaiytical questions identified in Chapter Five, 1 extracted numerous ideas put forward about learning and teaching within an ecological context and brought them together as a broad theoretical frarnework for environmental adult education.
This chapter begins by outlining the maturation process that has provided, over the past
25 years, fundamental challenges to environmental adult educators' thinking and brings to the field of adult education a preliminary design for a leming framework. It then highlights a number of areas and concepts that need fürther theorizing and how they can draw from the various educations and theories outlined in Chapters Two and Three. This chapter also includes a section on the overall significance of this study to the field of adult education and future policy, research, and dissemination work for ICAE and LEAP. 1 found at times that 1 282
had to raise questions rather than provide answers, for the point of engaging ir? any education study is to learn some lessons, arrive at some conclusions, and also discover new questions that can lead on new journeys of inquiry and work (Merriam, 1988). 1 conclude with a word of caution to environmental adult educators around limitations, both within and outside the field of adult education.
The Maturation Process
Human dialogues with the earth and sky Vary with the reiationship humanity has with its environment. Sean Kane, 1998:70
There is a trajectory of change in adult education that can be identified and is captured in the above quotation about broadening the dialogue of education and learning. In the early years of development many of the ideas around human/Ea.rth relations reflected the presumption that humans are 'owners of nature's elements' and must therefore manipulate and cake firm control of life-processes. But as time progressed, attention shifted from desired
States of the environment and management towards a more ecological perception based on the pnnciples of harmony, cooperation, inter-dependence, diversity, and intrinsic value and rights.
Table 2. on the following page illustrates this maturation process. Column one contains the research questions (see also pp. #125- 126)- and the final set of columns, divided into the epochs, contains the nurnber of times a question was responded to by the various authors. Table Two
Number of Resuonses in Each E~och
Ouestions
1. Ecological Knowledge and Identity 1 01 11 2 2. Human/Earth Relations 1 11 21 6
4. 'Place' of Learning III 41 3 5. Role of the Rest of Nature I OF 01 1 - - -
6. Learning Materials 1 21 ------7. New Knowledge and Roles of Educator 1 1 1 11 1 4 8. New Ideas and Messages [ 41-71 12 9. Values I 11 11 5
Ynestra King writes that "theory never converts simply or easily into practice: in fact, theory often lags behind practice, attempting to articulate the understanding behind things people are already doing" (1989:25). This is certainly tme of the field of environmental adult education.
The area to receive consistently the most attention is method or praxis because the vast majoi-ity of the authors are practitioners who find their way through complex ecological terrain through praxis. Praxis is the unity of thought and action, or theory and practice in the sense of practice in action. As practitioners, the authors were most interested in the question of '~ow':How or what methods do we need to develop to deal with the perplexing push and puII of local and global, poiitical and spiritual, cognitive and sensual, action and reflection? 284
Often linked to praxis are discussions about the types of materials that would be required in
order to work with adults within an ecological context.
The second most concentrated area has to do with messages or ides that determine roles
for environmental adult education. Within the vast and complex ecological sphere. authors
were compelled to address the powerful economic and development interests that influence
and shape the world, new human/Earth relations, and the terms on which they as practitioners
need to understand them.
Three areas that were al1 but ignored in the exly years but gained much attention by the final epoch, 1995- 1997,' are ecological knowledge and identity. humadEarth relations. and the role of the rest of nature in the leaming and teaching process. Feminist adult educators in particular did much to open the door for discussion around knowledge in terms of exciusion, marginalisation, what knowIedge is, how it is constructed, whose or what knowledge counts or is given credence, as well as issues of identity and historical agency. But to explore the
'human' in terms of ecological knowledge and ecological identity, emotional and cognitive aspects not shaped solely by the social andor cultural (as separate from nature) but by a relationship to and experience with the rest of nature, was a new and mystifying challenge.
Another category that received little attention in the early years but much more by 1995-
1997 is the issue of 'place', or setting of Ieaming, for this too was a relatively unusual area for the field of adult education. Although community adult educators had used the community as a site of learning about existing socio-economic and political problems, the role the rest of nature could play in this learning process was entirely new. Authors discuss
1. It must also be recognized that more writing took place in these years than any others because, as time went by, LEAP broadened its base and scope considerably. 285
the issue of 'place' in terms of the actud physical setting or location of learning, the more
familiar ground, but also 'place-making' in terms of perceptions of the immediate
environment, sense of historicd agency, the complex relationship between subjectivity
formation, living networks, and patterns of inter-dependence.
Consistently hovering in the background is the problematic area of values. Like adult
education, environmental aduIt education is not seen as neutral but rather a value-inscribed or
value-laden process. Although feminist educators had opened a space to discuss oppressive
and exclusive androcentric values, identifying values not govemed by anthropocentrisrn was
the obvious fundamental challenge.
Al1 the categories and their collective ecological perceptions of learning and teaching
have major implications for the role(s) of the environmentai adult educator. Most common is a vision of the adult educator as learner, mobilizer and engaged activist.
From 'Awareness-Raising' - To Res~ectingKnowled~e
During the analysis process, 1 noticed a gradua1 change in my own idea, as well as those of others, vis-à-vis 'awareness-raising'. Over the course of the years, most authors began to stop talking about 'awareness-raising' as a primary objective of environmental adult education.
For me, this understanding took place when 1 moved beyond the literature (Convergence,
1995) and began to engage more with people in a CO-learningprocess (Leal Filho, 1997).
Many authors had uncritically taken from UNESCO documents, sociological literature on risk, and/or the writings by environmental educators in the compulsory school system, the idea of the 'unaware' public. What many of the authors in this study have discovered through 286 our work with adults at the community level is that there exists an ail too aware public, but a
public that is confüsed, fearful, hopeless, hopefûl, apathetic, fatigued. and perhaps most
important, a public often trying to figure out what to do with their knowledge. By this 1 do
not mean that every individud knows everything nor that there is not always more to be
leamed, but rather taken together, people have a profound collective knowledge,
understanding, and critical analysis of what is taking place around them that they have
Ieamed through daily-lived experience, through their senses, instinct and mernories. and
through the media and social movements.
What is lacking is not knowtedge but the opportunity to discuss, share, debate. and challenge that knowledge, that which pedagogical institutions provide (or should provide). As rnany of the authors moved away from the Yack of awareness' and the 'behaviour change' stance, theory began to take on a new depth and become more usefül to the process of leaming and teaching.
A Challenge to Mv Own Assum~tion
1 began this research with the assurnption that because the authors came from quite diverse locations and contexts there would be major differences in how they saw and practised environmentai adult education. However, 1 found this was simply not the case. In fact, often what would occur. for example, was that one author from the Philippines would support the views of an author from Canada while this same view was not shared by authors from South Africa or Switzerland. This made me see the truly global nature of the process of learning, teaching, and facilitating within an ecological context. Fundamental Challenges and Changes to Adult Education
Our goal [as environmental adult educators] is to achieve a better qua fi- of life ffor people] rather than a higher standard of [living]. Marta Benavides, 1 992:37
The fundamental challenge for environmental adult educators world-wide has been to articulate what needs to be woven into the theory and practice of adult education if it is going to be able to address contemporary environmentai problems and human/Earth relations; if adults botti inside and also outside pedagogical institutions are to have the opportunity to
Iearn to Iive with the Earth on the Earth's terrns (Mische in Conver~ence,1992); if adult education, taking from the quotation above by Marta Benavides of El Salvador, is to work to raise people's qudity of life in relationship to their environment and not simply their standard of living (in Convergence, 1992:37).
If adult education is to be useful in terms of dealing with interwoven social, cultural, political, economic, and environmental problems, then its methodologies and theories have to be criticalIy re-thought, re-framed, and broadened. Derived from the writings of the environmental adult educators around the world, the findings of this study provide a new ecologicai perspective on learning and teaching. This perspective goes beyond simply
'greening' adul t education activities and programmes, beyond simply adding environmental issiies and stimng, and even beyond, as Kent Mikkelson of Denmark (in Converoence,
199272) States, "greening ... out way of thinking" as adult educators, for we can recycle, re- use, reduce, and use lead free petrol and change technology "but the reality is that dramatic and fundamental changes in the way we live and inter-act with each other and the rest of nature are required, and this means dramatic and fundamental changes to economic and political structures at national and international leveis" (Ibid.:72). These changes can be made 288 through the spheres of knowledge. spirit, conscience, emotion. and collective politicai action and "we are convinced that adult education is and must piay an undeniable key role in this process" (Benavides, in Conver~ence,l992:43).
A Nascent Learning Framework for Environmental Adult Education
The world 's iandscape is in a state of disaster and this holds true for its biophvsicul, econornic, and socio-cultural environments- NoeI Duhaylundgsod, 1993:s
To be useful. a framework for aduIt education "must be comprehensive and rïgorous." It should not be simply intellectual but should have "emotional, intuitive and ethical dimensions" (Foley, 1995:9). As 1 mentioned in the introduction, a learning framework for adult education is one that encompasses the following: ideas about the processes of learning and teaching; what constitutes knowledge and expertise; the roles of the educator; values that guide the process; the social, cuItural, environmental and political contexts of the world in which we live that influence what education does and how it does it: and the content of leaming and how that is chosen and used. It must also of course, include fundamental strategies and methods to help us get where we want to go, for as Paulo Freire argues. we make the road by walking (1982).
What 1 found in the data was not so much a progression of thought or a coherent leaming framework but rather a potpourri of ideas voiced from different regions which 1 have attempted to pull together in a preliminary learning framework for environmental adult education. Figure 3. on the following page is a detailed picture of the learning framework for environmental adul t education and its essential elements.
290
The learning framework for environmental adult education maintains a base in the
principles of critical adult, popular, and feminist adult education and continues to focus on
issues such as poverty, illiteracy, oppression, knowledge creation, and creativity. At the same
time, it challenges the anthropocentric bias of the field, broadening its aims or goals by
adding to and reconceptualizing the landscape of leaming. As Marta Benavides of El
Salvador notes, because of the immediate role education should play "in human fulfilment, in
the promotion of harmonious coexistence in nature, Lit] must be both environmental and just
in its essence, spirit and practice" (Convergence, 1992:43).
The broad categories of the learning framework are Content and Context, Values,
Strategies and Tools and Praxis. Within these broad categories, some of the essential
elements include human/Earth relations, ecological knowledge and identity, the role of the
nature and 'place' in the learning and teaching process, nature's intrinsic value, feminist
values and perspectives, creativity and opportunity, ecological storytelling, nature as partner,
building alliances and partnerships, ecological literacy, and outdoor sensory learning. These elements reflect Adrienne Rich's idea of something needing to "smell of the earth ... [to bel good for the earth" ( l993:î).
The learning framework for environrnental adult education is one that seeks to encourage
a fundamental shift in people's relationship with the worId around them and their place
within it. It works to valuize and build analytically and practically on people's patterns of thought, knowledge, and everyday experiences with the rest of nature. For, to borrow from
Aldo Leopold (1966:210), if adult education cannot do this, then what is adult education for? Recommendations and Ideas for Future Theorising and Work
Throughout Chapters Seven and Eight 1 contributed various ideas, thoughts and recommendations to each of the categories and elements. Below 1 offer a few others which 1 hope will stimulate future debate and analysis by those who read this thesis.
AIthough it was not in the data, 1 feel that any discussion around power should address the issue of complicity. Not everyone shares the same quantity of power. The amount people have often depends upon contexts and situations. Power relations may also not always have a conscious design but they have unintended consequences which define deep structural aspects of oppression. We are al1 powerfui at times and powerless at others. The women's movement has encouraged people to analyze simultaneous experiences of positions of both privilege and marginality as the material ground for the development of new behaviours and understanding (Lather, 1991 ). As women began to examine power relations as evidenced in their daily lived experience, the multi-dimensional aspects of power became more evident.
But not everyone has the same amount of power . For exarnple, white women often have more access to opportunities than do women of colour, although they most often have less in relation to men. Wealthy people often have more power than the poor. One ethnic group can have more opportunities than another. Adults most often have and exhibit more power than children. Younger more healthy people usually have more power than the old and the sick. in addition, the amount of power a person has varies from situation to situation as mentioned above. For example, an adult student may have power in her or his work, but less power than the professors who grade the papers. Women rnay have more power over their children, but 292 less in relation to their husbands or on the job. Men may have power in their homes but Little or no power in their work environments. Although nature at times seems al1 powerful (e.g., floods, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes), recent changes in the climate, water qua1 ity and fish populations demonstrate the impact of negative human power on the rest of nature.
Wornen educators, more than anyone else, have drawn attention to how oppressions are multi-dimensional and mutuatly reinforcing. Patriarchy is an underlying ideology which reinforces hegemonies, in particular, over women and animals. as was noted in Chapters Two and Three. It is only by seeing power in its totality that it becomes possible to challenge its unjust nature and work towards sharing power based on a new conceptualization of what it can and should be. It is important to identify contributions to the development of educationai practices and activities that name inequities in power, address the ways in which we are al1 guilty of maintaining power in one way or another, and identify the importance of the power of the collective (Clover, forthcoming 2000).
The Issue of Lanauaae
Although it is not mentioned specifically in the data, the issue of language is extrernely important and environmental adult educators must be ware in choosing materials because no use of language is neutral and value-free. Language is the site of ideological struggle. A linguistic analysis can elucidate the non-neutrality of language, denaturalizing the invisible hierarchies and power relations ernbedded within our linguistic practices. The creation and use of language are determined by ideology, values, and ways of understanding a problem.
Meanings in text are soçially constructed and therefore terms develop diverse meanings and representations of 'the other', such as women, people of colour, and the rest of nature. 293
Language is also a means of rnaintaining power. It has been used as an effective way to maintain power, dominate, and exclude. Gender-exclusive language, for example, is one method through which power has been maintained. It has played a key role in determining who and what is important, and who and what can be obscured from sight and mind. Non- sexist and feminist linguistic innovations have challenged the hegemony of androcentric meaning and grammar. As 1 have found in my own work. other forms of language that exclude are jargon, acronyms, and words specific to certain sectors such as business or hedth.
Language is also important in the ways in which we understand ourselves as apart from or integral to the rest of nature. Words such as wilderness, nature, the environment, and culture al1 have a tendency to separate humans, for humans are seldom if ever referred to as wilderness, nature, or the environment. Culture is often defined as 'other' than nature. Texts can create these separations simply through the words that are used. Moreover, the ways in which the rest of nature is described in a text is also meaninghil.
Environmental adult education can also be about recovering language in ternis of creating new means and connections through language so we can understand the wildemess' or 'ecology' of ourselves. On this point, as 1 briefly mentioned at the beginning of Chapter
Seven, 1 made a major change to the language of this study. 1 noticed that although most of the authors referred to the fact that humans are a part of the rest of nature, rnany perpetuated the separation through language (e-g., 'people', 'humans', 'nature'). Therefore, although 1 did not tamper with quotes, 1 made the decision to insert the phrase 'the rest of nature', although not necessarily the best phrase, in an atternpt to reflect the underlying concept of inter- connectedness in people's writings. Lack of Authorial Interaction
The second general observation I have made is that very few authors quote each other. in fact, 1 am one of the few authors who quotes other sources. This has implications in terms of how accessible these documents are and how broadly they have or, perhaps better said, have not been disseminated. It also reinforces my observation that most of the authors are first and foremost practitioners who draw from and write about their own experiences rather than respond to the literature. This is a strength in terms of the continua1 contribution of new knowledge and ideas from actual engagement. But it is also a weakness in that authors do not debate each others ideas nor do they consciously buiid on each other's ideas, and there is a danger of constantly reinventing the wheel so to speak.
Listenine and Sensorv Perception
In reference to LEAP's participation in the final PrepComm for UNCED, Marta
Benavides of El Salvador comments:
1 stop and listen to the music, enjoying the dance of the players, the smiles on their faces - the picture of hope and resistance 1 think. It is important to stop and smell a flower, no matter if one is running late. Running late? For what? (Convergence, 1992:38).
Listening to and engaging through our senses, the emotions, and the body with the rest of nature are areas that 1 feel need fûrther exploration. Although these were noted by many authors to be essential, 1 feel we as environmental adult educators do not yet fully understand the connections between listening, touching, srnelling, etc. and their impact on people's views of the rest of nature or their future actions. We do not fully understand the wisdom of the body and its place in the leaming process, particularly when it is connected to using the senses and the rest of nature. Much more follow-up and many more research activities need 295 to be undertaken once people have engaged in a IisteningAensory activity out-of-doors to answer questions such as What are other roles of this type of activity in a workshop? What connection do people make between their sensuai relationship to the rest of nature and their cognitive relationship?
Resource Management vs Nature as Partner
I found myself drawn much more the idea of nature as partner rather than that of resource management. For has not this limited vision of nature as purely a resource and something which needs to 'managed' and controlled part of the problem? Global education, humane education, ecofeminism and deep ecology in particular offer creative and alternative ways of being and understanding the rest of nature from which environmental adult educators should draw upon in the future reflections around this issue.
People-Cen tred vs. Li fe-Centred Development
There is a difference in the ways in which authors view the idea of developrnent. Some argue that development needs to be "people-centred and people-oriented (Bhasin.
Convergence, 1 992:32). While 1 too believe that the economic growth-centredness, which is what 1 think Bhasin is addressing, needs to challenged and changed, 1 am not sure that
'people-centred' is the best way to frame the alternative. Other authors are more inclined to use terrns such as Iife-centred development that appears to be more inclusive of the rest of nature and demonstrates a more holistic way of re-conceptualising development. Life-centred
üvoids any anthropoçentrisrn and pushes back the boundaries of the purely economic. The World of Animais
Only when lions have historiuns will hunters cease to be heroes. African Proverb
In reference to the African proverb quoted above, it appears that even in environmental
adult education, lions will have to find their own historians. Absent from the data is any
specific mention of the treatment of animais and their rïghts as part of the content of adult
learning and as teachers or partners in learning and change. In Chapter Three, David Selby
was cited as stressing that the rights and needs of animals are seldom recognized. He rightiy
argues that
as proper subjects for consideration within ... education curricula ... we al1 recognise the centrality of issues of power, domination and aggression ... but stop short of applying these concepts to the relationship between humans and non-human animals ( l994:28).
For humane educators the often cruel and violent ways in which hurnans treat animais is
merely a reflection of how we treat one another- Other humane educators conclude that there
is a direct link between the maltreatment of animals and violence in the home (Amencan
Humane Association, 1992).
Selby has developed creative activities for children to look at ways in which we treat
animals. Environmental educators also need to look at the rest of nature, not just in terms of
'landscape', but in terms of animals and their rights. Environmental adult educators must
begin to develop ways and means of opening discussions around animailhuman relations.
Their exclusion cm been woven into existing activities such as those based on analysing
'inclusion and exclusion' and through walks outside, as the Philippine authors suggest, where people listen quietly to the world around them. 297
The anthropocentric concept of humans as conscious actors and animals as unconscious
as discussed in Chapter Four, is inherent in aduit education. However, with some further
thought around ideas found in humane education, the world of animals, both wild and
domestic, in terms of food, health, emotionai need, and ecosystem health, can be woven into discourse and framework.
Another source of inspiration could be the writings and teachings of aboriginal peoples about animals. Not in a 'romantic way' as Edmund O'Sullivan (forthcoming, 1999) was quoted as saying in Chapter Two, but in terms of trying to identify and understand a variety of different values and beliefs for often, the aboriginal perspective of the animal world is unique. According to John Mohawk (1996:6), "animals are viewed as another race." Perhaps by including an aboriginal perspective into the discussions of Our relationship to anirnals, to borrow from John Mohawk, they will findly become more 'poetic' (Ibid.:6).
Ecological Media Literacv
It is time Ive realized that al1 television has an impact and "eclrtcates," even r-f for the wrong reason. Birgit Brock-Utne. 1985:97
Various authors have suggested that the media are powerful, pervasive, and highly influential sources of informai and non-formal leaming in contemporary society. In 1972. J.
Roby Kidd wrote:
It is ... essential that mas media of communications avoid contributing to the deterioration of the environment, but, on the contrary, disseminate information of an educational nature on the need to protect and improve the environment in order to enabfe man [sic] to develop in every respect CConvereence, 1972:9).
Again in 1976 Lars Emmelin of Germany discussed the media as a key player in the field of environmentai education. He also suggested that its value, however, was often lirnited by its 298
tendency "to concentrate on forrn rather than the content of an environmental message - the
emotional nature of the message and the focus on events rather than processes"
(Convergence, 1976:46). In 1993, Richard Welsh (in Parker and Towner, t 993) also briefly
discussed the power of informal leming through the media to feed into green fatigue and
profoundly impact upon people's knowledge of and attitudes towards their environment and
its contemporary problems. Salwa Tabiedi of Sudan (forthcoming 2000) observes that
[gliven the high ievel of illiteracy in Sudan and the limited access to adult education, media such as television and radio could play a vital role in environmentai adult education. However, this has not been the case and the media has failed to give due attention to environmental issues.
Walter Leal Filho and Monica Villa of Britain have observed that "most of the
individuals who, at present, proclaim themselves 'environmentalists' have adopted new
behaviours influenced by the media's reports in the past decades" (Convergence, 199556).
They aIso note that "in the relatively short history of 'the environment' as a social problem,"
public concem has moved up and down in cycles. '.Media coverage of environmental
problems has been behind much of these up and down trends" (Iùid.56). There is no doubt
that the media play a key role in influencing public opinion. It can distort. dis-empower, and
confuse. It is informative, but simply "communicating environmental problems to the public
is not sufficient." Educationai strategies must go beyond information sharing and awareness
(NIACE, 1993: 10).
The media, however, can also at times be a positive force. Much of the success of
environmental groups such as "Green Peace and Friends of the Earth has been ascribed to
their communication strategies, including a particular emphasis on calling the media's
attention to their carnpaigning issues" (Convereence,- 199556). In the Sudan women concerned about "toxic materials ... used ... the mass media for education purposes" (Clover, 299
1 995: 107). in his article, Juma E. Nyirenda of Botswana (Convergence, 1 995:69) aIso looks at the role of the media, in particular, the use of radio broadcasting as a tool of environmentd adult education. In Botswana the radio plays a critical role in disseminating to adult listeners scattered about the country "information and educational messages about natural resource conservation and protection and improvement of the environment." But the author also notes, that is the most effective tool when augmented by "active and guided group listening activities." If done in this way,
the audience listens in an organised way to radio programmes produced for them and uses these as a starting point for discussion, to increase knowledge and information and possibly put into practice some of the things they lem on the radio (Ibid.:69).
The World Charter (199 1:4)goes so far as to cal1 for laws which require the media to comply, where the environment is concerned with the following:
a) A favourable orientation around the preservation and conservation of natural resources; b) The plurality of viewpoints in al1 cases of environmental conflict; c) Accuracy and proper contextuaiisation of information; d) People's right to articulate the environmentd problems facing their communities.
But given the various mentions of the media in the data and the unlikelihood that the cal1 from the World Charter will ever be heeded, environmental adult educators should begin to develop an 'ecological media literacy.' By examining the media through an ecological lens, people would be able to discuss what is meant by the terrn 'environment' and 'nature'.
Moreover, they could explore the relationship between the formation of identity and subjectivity by examining the ways in which images and information about the rest of nature and human identity are presented.
Teaching ecological media literacy would focus on newspapers, journal articIes, tekvision and radio programmes, film and the Internet. It should also include the medium of 300
computers. For the promised decrease in paper use has not materialized, but more important,
one wonders what role computers may be playing in distancing people further from the rest of
nature and how that will impact on learning. What need is there to go into a forest when you
can fmd as much information as you require in the virtual world? News programmes often
discuss the problem of people holed up indoors, spending hours in front of the computer
screen. As one of the largest sources of informa1 Iearning, media literacy should be
considered a major component of environmentai adult education. However, in order to be so,
it wif 1 require much more exploration and development. There are many possibilities that can
be explored in this area. One source which could be used in this process is education for
sustainability that, as noted in Chapter Three, recognizes the non-neutrality of the media and
the key role they play in shaping how people see and understand an issue.
Wither Militarism?
As 1 wnte this section, NATO forces are killing and destroying in Yugoslavia in sheer
voIume. 1 am deeply ashamed of Canada's role in this mission of greed, destruction, and
power couched hypocritically in the Ianguage of democracy, humanitarianism, and global
security.
Feminist author Joni Seager notes that "militaries are major environmental abusers" yet
they are also "privileged environmental vandals" (1993: 14). She notes that
militarized environmental destruction is more global, more ubiquitous, and more protected than the actions of even the most flagrrintly irresponsible multinational corporations or governments. Whether at peace or at war, militaries are the biggest threat to the environmentai welfare of the planet (bid.: 15).
To this Bandarage (1997:27) adds that "superior military power ... enabled the Europeans to colonize 85% of the earth by the end of World War 1." She also notes that global military 301
spending continues "to be enormous. The totd global military expenditure of $8 15 billion in
1992 equalled the income of almost half of the world's population" (Ibid.205). Sums such as these, that are spent on the rnilitary, could have saved "the lives of millions of children and preventred] thousands of children from becoming blind by giving them and their pregnant mothers vitamins and a proper diet" (Brock-Utne, 1985: 14). And of course, it is the women and chiidren who make up the bulk of the innocent victims of war (for examples, see
Bandarage, 1997; Brock-Utne, 1985; Seager, 1993).
In spite of the above, only the World Charter, which was only a draft document, and a report from the African NGOs Think-Tank raise the important issue of the military and its profound negative impact on socio-environmental capaci ties. The World Charter ( 199 1 :4) calls for "the end of the arms race," while the Think-Tank notes that "Africa is littered with civil wars and economic stnfe leading to the breakdown or near-breakdown of neo-colonial
States. in this situation of chaos, it is not possible to have a sustainable development"
(Convergence, 1992:90). Although the ICAE has a major programme titled Peace ana Human
Rights, there has been very little overlap between the work that it carries out and the work of
LEAP. This is something that needs to rectified within the larger ICAE structure. Moreover, within ICAE's Peace and Human Rights programme, there has been Iittle if any attention given to the environmentai costs of militarism. However, that notwithstanding, there is some literature now on peace education and feminist peace education that contains a focus on the environment (for example, see Brock-Utne, 1985). As well, there are ideas contained in global education with which environmental adult educators should become more familiar and begin to incorporate into their work. Global education, as noted in Chapter Three, engages students in an examination of the complexities of peace in terms of understanding the differences between negative and positive peace as well as interpersonal peace.
What role does nature play in inter-personai, extemai and intemal peace? Given militarism's profound impact and the relative scarcity of references to it in the literature or in environmental education, this is a question worth pursuing.
The Educator Activist and Policv Change
In 1992 Marta Benavides argued that we must press those who are policy-makers and hold public positions of leadership to recognize the need for [Iifelong Iearning] and to develop means to carry it out (Converrrence, 1992:43). Then in 1997 as part of a presentation at the UNESCO Environmental Education conference held in Thessaloniki, Greece. I also suggested that
[el nvironmental adult education will only succeed if policy too can be influenced. If adult educators, consultants, bureaucrats and politicians can see the importance of adult and community-based education strategies, and understand that the goal of greater sustainability will not be met without including the voters, consumers, workers, employers, land-owners, media representatives, community activists, nurses, lawyers, doctors, poets and musicians to name but a few who play such key roles in the transformation (or lack thereof) of society (Clover, 1997d236).
Ln July 1997 at CONFINTEA V in Hamburg, Germany, as was mentioned in Chapter Six. we moved some way along this road. It was the first time in history that a handful of environmental adult educators were able to make the links between adult learning, the environment and sustainability in an official document (Ibid.:236).
As I write this conclusion in 1999, the UN in general and UNESCO in paxticular still have not provided much concrete support to adult leaniing. There are stiil few policies that truly encourage and support the increased provision of leaning opportunities for the world's adults either within or outside pedagogical institutions, although each of the global conferences produced documents that highlighted the importance of non-formal education, lifelong learning and reaching out to aduits. For this reason 1 feel that the educator/activist role and lobbying and advocacy work are critical to bringing about change. We must use our knowledge and experiences as environmental adult educators to continue to try to bring about poiicy change at national and international levels. The UN conferences, aithough not without their problems and limitations, have, with pressure from INGOs, NGOs, teachers. educators, professors, and grassroots organizations, outlined some new policy directions and reconceptualizations of environmental education (although no one would pretend there is not still a long way to go to improve compulsory environment education). "Would that we [in adult education] could be so far dong!" (Clover, 1997d3236).
The Place of Environmental Adult Education
In keeping with what 1 have learned frorn the authors about various ways to frame
'place', 1 will respond to three diverse questions about 'place' in relation to environmental adult education.
First, should environmental adult education stand on its own or be a part of al1 adult education programmes and activities? In light of what 1 have discovered through this research, 1 have to argue that both are necessary.
If environmentai adult education is to become a significant force, the ideas generated from this study will need to be woven into the fabric of the field and not kept confined to the margins. Environmental problems cannot be seen as something to be tackled whea a11 our other problems are solved, for the environment is not just about satisfying physical needs, it 304
is a fundamentai of culture, spirit, emotion, and knowledge. However, 1 also believe that the
field of adult education is not entirely ready or able to accept the environment as a critical
issue. Also much more research and theorizing need to be done, although this study moves
that process dong somewhat. These mean the field also needs to remain as a separate entity.
Second, what is the 'place' of the word 'environment' in environmental adult education.
At this point in time, 1 feeI the field of adult education must maintain the word 'environment'
rather than opting for words such as global or sustainability. To a iarge extent, words such as
nature and the environment have ceased to play a relevant social role in educational and
sustainability debates. A search 1 undertook in the Resource Library of the Transforrnative
Leruning Centre in OISE/UT for the word 'nature' in various texts on er!vironmental
education showed me how seldom it is used- lnstead we seem to use terrns such as natural
resources and biodiversity. To eliminate it or change it for something else at this time 1 feel
would be to lose the very tentative grasp we have on the larger 'life-world'. Adult educators,
unlike those in compulsory education, do not yet have a sufficient understanding of the
natural world's role in our Iives and are still somewhat unsure of its place in the curriculum,
although this is changing. 1 also feel that the word 'environment' allows for a more spiritual or 'inner7,as noted by David Selby, approach to the learning and teaching process than the
idea of 'sustainability'. Sustainability may be easier to grasp for adult educators, but since a
new worid-view, a new ecological perception of the world, is what we ultimately seek,
rnaking the world more comfortable for adult educators would not be the most challenging, controversial, or innovative approach.
Third, What is the 'place' of a theoretical framework of environmental adult education?
As it stands at the present time, environmental aduIt education has no one definition or 305 cornprehensive framework but rather it includes a number of characteristics, fotms. and practices. This leads to a further question: 1s it possible or even usefui to define a theoretical framework of environmental adult education more tightly at this point? At this moment in time 1 respond by saying no because 1 feel more dialogue and debate will come from keeping it deliberately broad at this stage.
Lessons Learned and Significance of this Study
It seems to me that the challenge of changing Our world view is central to our times. Peter Reason. 1 998:42
A major challenge in developing a new theoretical framework is to make links between old and new. For environmentd adult education it is to build on the tned and tme principles and practices of adult education and then to introduce and mdce tangible links between environmental issues and other types of issues considered more relevant to the field such as inequity, literacy, poverty, peace, health, and so on. This study takes one step cioser to meeting this challenge, for while it challenges the anthropocentric frarnework of adult education, it also demonstrates how participatory research, literacy, and study circles can include environmental issues, how consumerism and economic development are environmentai issues, how the rest of nature is mired in the ideology of destruction and exploitation, how women's lives are integrally linked to their environment, and so on.
For the first time in the history of the ICAE a study has been done that outlines the historical intellectual progress of an element of its global work by producing the beginnings of a new learning framework. This study documents some of the many changes that ICAE has undergone in a particulcir area of its work and demonstrates the intellectual creativity and vibrancy of many of its members. This study also recognizes that practitioners, those working on the ground, have
sornething significant to contribute to a rich episternology of environmental adult education
theory and human/Earth relations. It also illuminates how the developrnent of theory is in fact
a social process, one that emerges from the interaction of action and thought in the 'life-
world' - a world of thoughts, emotions, dialogue, listening, and senses. The environmental adul t education that the authors/practitioners describe involves an inherently self-reflective, reflexive process, and non-dogrnatic approach. It works to create space for collective. participatory production of ecological knowledge and insight and builds on what emerges from the experiences of those actively participating. The richness of the approach lies in the thought and implicit analysis that went into designing specific educational methods that have yielded even more challenges and possibilities for future work.
From my standpoint as International Coordinator of LEM, 1 make an interesting observation about what has emerged from the data. The degree of commonality among the ideas, principles, and practices of the authors who corne from very divergent locations and contexts was surprising. When 1began this study, 1 had expected to see much diver,=ence arnong the regions. However, under each essentid element 1 was able to pull out similar ideas from a number of regions. Yet environmental adult education is not a prescribed. universally applicable toolbox of methods and ideas. It is essentially a localized practice. Its objectives, form, and process are shaped by and respond to the immediate needs of people's lives - their cuItural, environmentat, political, social, and economic contexts. is it the processes of globalization and homogenization that support the commonalities? It is hoped that by bringing the common yet local together that they will be built upon and debated in each region. 307
Two of the findings of this study pose a challenge to me as the international Coordinator and to the ICAE in general. 1 discovered that other than myself, the authors did not quote one another. As 1 mentioned in Chapter Five and earlier in this chapter, this is both a strength and a weakness. A strength because it shows a global coherence in ideas but a weakness because people did not build on each others' ideas. This has implications for me as the International
Coordinator; 1 must expend more time making sure that these documents are more broadly disserninated and encourage people to engage in a debate and dialogue around the ideas contained in them. 1 also discovered that there was a very meagre contribution from the
Caribbean (only one author from Barbados) as well as the Arab Region (two authors: one from Tunisia and the other from Sudan). Much more work needs to be done to reach out to these regions of the world and tap into their work and ideas that 1 know from my work exist.
Although al1 of the documents used in this study are avaiiable for dissemination. there has been no one comprehensive list of ICAELEAP documents that focus on the environment. This study has generated that list and it will be broadiy disseminated.
Moreover, the findings of this study will be presented at the ICAE World Assembly of Adult
Education in May 2000 in Jamaica and at numerous other academic and non-academic conferences. Portions of this study will be disseminated to al1 interested ICAE members and its availability publicized in Pachamama and UNESCO's bi-rnonthly magazine, Connect, in order to stimulate discussion, debate, and further research and theorking in this very new field.
This study offers insights, critical analyses, concrete examples and general principtes of envi ronmental adult education that 1 hope will simulate ideas for approaching adult education 308 work in new ways. What is still required is a deeper analysis of and further research into each of the elements.
Finally, based on the essentiai elements explored in this study, 1 think Paulo Freire's powerful idea of vocation to become more fulIy human can be extended. For human libention wiil not happen without a sort of ecological liberation that cm only corne from an ecological consciousness that compels people to choose life-dfimingeconomies and ways of being rather than capitulating to the life-destructive economies of today's world.
Therefore. environmental adult education must rnaintain its base as "a liberatory project" ... to Iiberate people from the clutches of oppressive and exploitative systems" (Duhaylundgsod, l993:2-3). But it must go further and Iiberate people "from being anthropocentric" (Ibid.:3) and "from Our primarily matenalistic relationship with nature (by encouraging] the re- discovery of nature as a spiritual support system of life" (ASPBAE, 19955).
To become more fully human is to not despoil, plunder, and pillage but to foster and nurture life in al1 its diverse forms. Human vocation is to realize that alongside our individuai consciousness there is a community and a biosphenc consciousness, a community that is
'with' the world and a community to which we can listen and dialogue using al1 of our capacities, senses and ways of knowing. Human vocation is to recognize that Our oppression and disconnection from nature is dehumanizing. Our vocation as environmental adult educators is to encourage people's cognitive wilderness - their ecological 'concientizacion' - by challenging them to see the rest of nature in their lives as a past. present, and future. In addition, Our vocation is to realize that powerful and transformative learning can aIso take place with, through, about, and in the rest of nature. To conclude, in the words of the South 309 African author, David Lengwati (1995: 103): "For the sake of future generations, our main
responsibility is to leam and build creatively and sustainably for a healthier environment."
Recognizing Limitations
As environmental aduit educators working within the complex dynarnic of cultural,
social, political, economic, and naturai worlds, we need to realize that in terrns of the rest of
nature, we simply cannot understand everything. The compiexity of the rest of nature may be
permanently beyond our comprehension. We may not be able to foresee the ways compiex
ecosystems will react to destructive human-initiated changes, particularly at their present scope and velocity. There are also so many things we do not know about how adults perceive themselves in relation to the rest of nature. Having not asked before, it would be difficult to know them now. Moreover, as Peter Sutton of Gerrnany (Convereence, 1989: 1 1 ) notes, "the processes of change are also governed by political, social economic and scientific facts far beyond our control or grasp."
Francisco Vio Grossi of Chile describes this as 'uncertainty' . He notes that environmental aduit education cannot be a process of knowing everything and providing al1 the answers but rather should be a process of asking questions in a tirne when things change so quickiy and so many things are simply unknowable and as yet even unenvisioned
(Convereence, 1995). In support of this statement José Roberto Guevara suggests that we must impress upon ourselves, as well as those with whom we teach and work, that environmentai adult education "is only the beginning of a much longer process" of learning to live and living to learn on this planet. This process of learning to live and living to lem must include interaction with the rest of nature for if we do not use the rest of nature as
teacher and site of learning we will always wonder ...
We showed them photographs of a forest spears of sunlight piercing the blanket of leaves trees stretching their limbs towards the heavens We listened to nature sounds on a cassette the gushing river cutting through the forest the dancing cicadas, singing their nightly songs We read the latest statistics. Less than a million hectares of old growth forest more than eighteen wildlife species in the endangered list They saw, they listened, they read, but had they experienced? Without experience what had they really learned? José Roberto Guevara, forthcoming 2000
Final Conclusions
We find possibiiities and strength where we least expect them. Marta Benavides. 1992:38
Put simply, fundamental socio-environmental change requires us to know where we are, how and why we arrived there, how we can change direction, and what direction it is that we wish to tdce if the goal is to create a more ecologically sustainable world. Although education cannot be expected to undertake this task on its own, "in al1 its forrns it should be a process to enable people" in problem identification, greater concientizaci6n, the creütion of new knowledge creation, solutions and actions for change (Benavides, Convergence,- 1992~43).
For Adoum N'Gaga-Waye ( 1997: 128) of Senegal
environmental adult education is not a luxury but an urgent necessity on which depend both the ecoiogical equilibrium of the Earth and the survival of humanity. AduIts bear both the heavy responsibility for decisions affecting the environment of the planet, and the duty to educate the younger generation. a process which enables human beings and societies to reach their fullest potential in order that they might live in harrnony among themselves and in nature. We also believe [it] is critical for promoting equitable and environmentally sustainable development and improving the capacity of peoples, nations, and countries to address environment and development issues (Benavides, Convergence, l992:43).
The essential elements that emerge from the data transform the field of adult education into a
theory and practice inclusive of the entire 'life-world'. They challenge the anthropocentric
frarnework of adult education and identify and include nature's intrinsic value, ecological
knowledge and identity, culture and nature connections. environmental racism. consumerism,
outdoor sensory learning, and nature as partner, to name but a few.
Environmental adult education aims to foster a willingness to consider al ternative ways of knowing and of living and being with the rest of nature. It focuses on quality of life, of dl
Iife, rather than simply raising the standard of living. It recognizes that al1 people around the world struggle for quality of Iife and cultural identity. in Sri Lanka and India poor people want a cIean environment and a sensud relationship with the land. intrinsic to aboriginal peoples' stmggles for ecological sustainability are attempts to protect meaningful cultural practices that are threatened by capital-driven poverty and ecological devastation.
The framework developed in this study takes the field of aduIt education outside the familiar and presents preliminary alternative ways to interpret and work towards the transformation of the world. However. the relevance of environmental adult education to the larger field of adult education will only become clear with wider exposure to and engagement with it.
The dynamic quality of frameworks is that they are always evolving, changing as the world they attempt to articulate changes and evolves. The leaming framework for 312 environmental aduIt education outlined in this chapter is a preiiminary effort and is therefore deliberately broad. Although 1 have expanded on many of the essential elements, a more in depth intellectual task of further exploration, inquiry, and theorization remains to be done if the field of adult education is to become a space in which people cm learn to live and live to lem with the rest of nature. Bibüography
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and Global Responsibility 2 InT,,nIPc..l
We consider bat environmentai edu- crises that thmaten the world's future. world's communities design and worit cation for equitable sustainability is a ïhe root causes of such problems as out their own alternatives to existing con tinuous lcaming process based on increasing poveny, environmentai de- policies. Such alternatives include the respect for ail life. Such educatïon teriora tion and comm unal violence can abolition of chose programmes of de- affirms values and actions which con- be found in the dominant socio-eco- velopment, adjusunent and economic uibule to human and social uansfor- nomic system. This system is basedon reform which maintain the existing mation and ecological preservation. It over-production andover-consumptim growth mode1 with its devasting ef- fosrers ecoiogically sound and equita- for some and under-consumption and fects on the environment and its di- bIc societies that live together in inter- inadequate conditions io produce for verse species, including the human dependence and diversity. ïhis requires the great majority. one. individual and collective responsibil- We consider rhai in heren~in the We consider that environmen- ity at thc local. national and planeiruy crisis are an erosion of basic values, ta1 education should urgently bring Icvcl. and the dienation and non-participa- about change in the quality of life and We considcr that prcparing our- tion of almost al1 individuals in Lhe a greater consciousness of personal sclves for the required changes de- building of theû own future. It is of conduct, as well as harmony among pends on advancing collective under- fundamental importance that the human beings and between them and standing of the systemic nature of the other foms of life. 1 SOme Trincipk crfEnvironmentaC~ducutwnfor
1. Educaùon is the right of dl; we are ship with respect for selfdetermi- 6. Environmental education must al1 Ieamers and educators. nation and the sovereignty of na- stimulate solidarity, equality, and 2. Environmental education, w hether tions. respect for human rights involving forrnal, non-formal or informal, 4. Environmenial education is not democratic strategies and an open climate of cultural interchange. should be groundcd in critical and neuval but is value-based. ILis an innova tive thinking in any place or act for social transformation. 7. Environmenmi education should rime* prornoting uansfoma- 5- Envhnmend education musi in- mat critical global issues, iheir causes and inter-relationships in a tion and construction of society. volve a holistic approach and thus Sysiemic apparh and wi,.n their 3. Environmental education is both an inter-discipliriary focus in the social and historical contexts. Fun- individual and collective. Itairns to relation between human beings, damenmi issues in relation to de- develop local and global citizen- nature and the universe. veiopment and the environment, opportuniries for grasmots dcmo- a demOCtaLiZation of the masme- such as population, heahh, me, cratic change and participation. dia and its commiunent to the in- human rights, democracy. hunger. This means that communities musr terests of al1 secm of dtty. degradation of flom and fauna, regain controlof their own destiny. Communication is an inalienable should be perceived in this manner. 1 1. Envirionmentalducation valuesaii right and the mass media must be transformed into one of the main Environmentai educatiori must fa- different form of knowledge. channels of education, not only by cilita~equal parmerships in the Knowledge is diverse, cumulative and socially produced and shauid disseminating information on an processes of decision-making at ail egalitarian basis, but also ihrough levels and stages. not be pateriied or monopolized. the exchange of means. values and Environmen ta1 education must re- expcriences. cover, recognize. respect. refltct designcd to enable people to man- , Environmeritai education must in- and utilize indigenous history and age conflicts in just and humane ways. tegrak knowledge, skills. values, local culaires, as weil as promote attitudesandactions.Itshouldcon- cultural. linguistic and ecological EnvitummdMaimusastimu- vert every oppominity inm an edu- diversity. This implies acknowl- htediabgueandcmpa&mamaig cationai experience for sustainable edging the historical perspectiveof mdividds and insiiaitiais in ardnm socieaes. native peoples as a way to change CreaEntwIifestyleswhicharcW ethnocenuic approalhes, as wellas Education must help develop an on meetmg everyocie's bagc nseds the encouragement of bilingual ethical awareness of al! fmsof qadessof-, gendtx, age, Ai- education. Iife with which humans shart this gious,ck, ph ysîcai u mentaldiffar- lan net. resmxt aii Me cycles and IO. Environmental education should - ;rnposc l&iu on humani* exploi- emPower P~OP~=and pmmoe 14. Environmental education requires tation of other forms of life.
The organizations chat sign chis Treaty will im~lementwlicies to: 5. Promoie knowledge, policies, 10. Stimulate and support the creation melhods, and practices in al1 areas and suengthening of ecologically Turn Lhe declaraûons of this Treaty of formal, informai and non-for- responsible producers* and con- and orher Trcaties produccd by the mal environmental education and sumers ' associations,and commer- Con ference of Citizens' Groups for ail age groups. cial networks, that provide eco- during thc Ri0 92 process, into logically sound alternatives. documents for use in formaleduca- 6. Promote and support uaining for tion systems and in education pro- environmental conservation. pres- 11. Sensitize populations so that they grammes of social movernents and ervation and management. as part esublish Peoples* Councils for social organizations. of the exercise of local and plan- Environmenui Management and efary citizenship. Ecological Action to tesearch, dis- Work on environmental education 7. Encourage individuals and groups cuss, inform and decide on envi- for sustainable sieues togeiher ronmental problems and policies. wilh groups that draft other Trea- to take positions, and instiaiaons to ties approved during RIO 92. make policies, that constantly re- 12. Creare educational, judiciai. or- view the coherence between what ganizational and political condi- Make comparative szudiesof thetrea- is said and what is done, as well as tions to guarantee hatgovemmenis ties of ci Dzens' groups and those pm the values of our cultures, tradi- iülocate a significant part of thtir duced by the United Nations Confer- tions and history. budgefs to education and the envi- ence on Environment and Deveiop 8. Circulate informaiion about peo- ronment. ment (UNCED) ami and the thelu- ple's wisdom and memory, and sions in educational activiueS. 13. Romote partnership and coopera- support and inform about appropri- tion among NGOs, social move- Work on the principles of this ate initiatives and technologies in ments, and the UN agencies Treq from the perspective of lo- relation to the use of natural re- (UNESCO,UNEP, FAO. and 0th- cal situations. necessarily relating sources. ers) at national, regionai and iner- them to the state of the planet, 9. Promote gender CO-responsibility national IeveIs to joinrly set priori- crcating a consciousness for trans- in relation to production, reproduc- ties for action in education. envi- formation. tion and the maintenance of life. ronment and development, 14. Promore the creation and sangthen- of consumerisi bchavior and ac t to in environmental eddon, and ing of national, regional and inuma- change practkes and tht sysms the cdm,in tâch University, of tional networks for joint action bt- that maintain them. intdisciplinary centres for the tween organizations of the South, 17- Scarch forself-mMqgcd.ecoronii- environment North* West wiJi aploDew +xa~~yand scoiogica~~yappropriate 20. ~mngthenso~lœganuationsand ~enpecùve(e-g-fo~ign &bh humm alenutives of poducbon whjch movements in order to enhance the rights, peace, global warming, popda- contribute to an improvcment in exercise of citizenship and an im- tion, contaminated products). the quaiity of iife. povement in the quality of Iife and 15. Ensure that the media becomes an 18. Act to eradicaw scxism, racism the environment. educational instnrment for the ptser- and any other pcjudiccs, as well as 2 1. Assure that ecological organiza- vation and conservation of natural re- conuibutc to the promotion of cul- tions popilarite theiractiviticsand sources presentinga plurality of views ual diversity, ttmtorial rights and tha t comrnuni tics uicorporare eco- and relia ble and contex tuaiized infor- self-determination. logical issues in everyday Iife. mation; and stimulate the broadcast- ing of programmes generated by local 19. Mobiiize formal and non-fornial 22. Establish crieria for thc approval communities. institutions of higher education in of education projects for sustain- support of icâching, mhand able socieùts, biscussing sochi 16. Romote an un&mtandingofthecawes extension mwards the community prioriâes with funding agencics.
-- - . - - - All signatories of this Treaty apee to: 3. Produce materiais to publicise this 6. Ensure the 1st Planetary Mecting Treaty and its unfolding hto edu- of Environmental ~d&on for Distribute and promote the Treaty on cationai action, in the forrn of texts. Sustainable Soc ieties is held wirhin Envuonmental Education for Sustain- eûucational materiais. courses, re- three years. able Societies and Global Responsibil- search, cultural events, media pro- ity in all counuies, through jointcam- grammes, fairs of popular cnativ- 7. Coordinate action to support social paigns by NGOs, social movements ity, elecuonic mail, and other movemenls which are working for and others. means. impmving the quality of life, ex- tendingeffective internationaisoii- Stimulate and create organizationsand 4. Form an international coordination darit y. lo to groups of NGOs and social movements group give continuiiy the pro- posais in this Treaty. 8. Foster links between NGOs and to iniuate, implement, follow, and social movernents to review their evaluate the elements of this Treaty. 5. Stimulate,createanddevelopnet- suaiegies and programmes on en- works of environmenui educators. vironment and education.
This Treaty is aimed at: Those responsible for the mass me- Local and national govemments dia who are ready to accept the able to act in tune and in partner- 1. Organizations of social movements - chalienge of openness and democ- ship with the aims of ais Treaty. ecologist, women's, youth, ethnic. racy, thus iniciating a new concept Business people committed to farmers'. union, neighbourhood. artis- of mas communication. working within a rationale of rc- tic groups. and olhers. Scientistsand scientik insiitutions covery, conservation and impove- 2. NGOs committed to grasmots social that take ethical positions and are ment of the environment and the movements. sympathetic t the work of social quality of Me. 3. Rofessional educators interested in movemen ts and organizarions. Alternative communities chat ex- establishing programmes relatedtoen- Religiousgroupsiniatsted in wak- perience new li festy les in harmon y vironmental issues in forma1 educa- ing with social organizations and with the principles and aims of this tion systems and other educational ac- movements. Trcaty. tivities. Al1 signatories of this Treaty are commit- in al1 sectors of public adminisua- red to: tion, with ihe direct participation of NGOs and social movcments. 3. Roposing aconomic policies ihat S. Contributing to the formatim of a stimulatt business to develop and caaperative and dccentralizcd gio- apply appopriatc technology and bal banking systcm for NGOs and crcarri environmental cducation social movanents that wili use pan 2. Dernanding chat governments dlocate programmes for the cornmunity, of iuresources for ducaiionaipm a significan t perccnrage of Gros Na- and as part of personnel training. grammes and at the same time bc tional Product to supporting pro- 4. Encouraging funding agencies to an exernplary txercise in using fi- grammes of environmental education priaititt and akawsignifiant ric- nancial resaurces. Background to the Tteaty
The ahof the Treaty on Envi- panded it not only in tems ing the cirafts of the other Tmormw, Bd ronmental Education for Sus- of its concepts but also in its four sections. On 9 June the Treaty tainable Societies and Global format and the composition Finally this text was was prestnttd to the plenary Responsibility is to elicit the of the group responsible for translated into four lan- session of the International cornmiunent of dl active and its development. It ihus mok guages and printed for dis- NGO Forum, after which interested people io a series of on the characterisucs of a cussion in the Journey on ihe group met to discuss spe- principles. Treaty, an international Environmenial Education in cific points which still cc- The process that led to agreement to be signd by the conrext of RIOI92. quired consensus. Som ad- the drafting of this Treaty can individuals and organita- IV. ditional comments wcre bc described in the following tions concemed with cduca- During the Journey in June made in the plenary and are stages: tion. 1992a last stage in thedraft- included in an annex, re- 1. Guidelines weregivem ing of the text led to a final flecting the stm of a new The elaboration of a Charter on by the NGO Coordination version after 14 hours of stage of implemenung the Environmental Education in Gnrip fa CINCED fœ th discussion in plenary ses- Treaty w hich began in Rio. four Ianguagcs, wilh the subse- drafting of documenls ihat sions and workshops, and The process then also stantd quent collection and systemati- umtairied the foUowing sec- many hours of incorporat- to collect the signatures of zation of comments improving tioris: bbuduction, AirriplCs, ing and editing the addi- those supporthg and com- and rnodifying it from five con- Pian of Ac bon, Coondinaiion tional poposals into the tcxt. mittcd u, the implementa- tinenls betwecn August 1991 and Moniiaing MahaniSnS. This version was then uans- tion of the Treaty. and March 1992. Gmps to bc Involvcd. and lated into the four languages v. n. ~Thefirstouosrx- adopied by the Intcrnationai On 12 June the Treaty was In March 1992, the chen Charter tim weat discdin New NGO Forum. accepted in a plenary meet- on Environmental Education York, nie ocficiai launch of ing by the International Fo- was introduced ai the 4th Pre- III. theTrmtyiookpbceon 7 Jme rum of NGOs and Socid paratory Cornmittee (PrepCom) In ApriWy 1992 the texts 1992, during an Eco-Carnivai Movements. in New York wherc it was re- drafted in New York werc F'afade with the participation An international dnfted by the NGO Education once again circulated inter- of 2000 children hmuie commission was set up to Working Group, which ex- national1y, Lhereby corn plet- Samba Sdiool, Fiowcrs for implement the vcaty.
For further infomiatiin pleose contact: ICAE Envlroamcaîal Educatlon Pmgr8mme Intmmation8î Countlî Moern a Vicuer, Caxdinator faf Ad~itEduutlon C/O Redc Muihcr 720 Bathurst Street. Suite 500 Caixa Postal 4651 Tomnto. Ontario MSS 2R4 01061 Sao Paulo. SP. Brazil Tcl:(416)588 1211 Tcl:(55 1 1)627050 Fax:(55 1 1)8713457 Flx:(416)588 5725 Learning for Enviroamental Action Programme (LEAP) Environmental Populrr Education Programme INTERNATIONAL JOURNEY FOR ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
DRAFT
IDEAS FOR A
WORLD ENVIRONMENTAL ADULT EDUCATION CHARTER ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION ACIlON 92
This is a copy of a proposed World Charter. It is a preliminary draft for a Charter of Popular Environmentai Education which wiU be developed in a participatory manner from now until June 1992 by thousands of people fiom around the world. From the 1st to the 12th of June of 1992 the II United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) will take place. This conference will be paraiieled by the '92 Global Fomm which will include more than 50 major events organized by various sectors of civil society. Centres for popular education and environmental education £rom diverse countries will hold the 1st International Journey of Environmental Education. This event will bring together 500 representatives for the publication of the Popular Environmental Education Charter, and the procurement of environmental education on the XXI Popular Agenda.
The purpose of this preliminary draft is to generate reflection throughout the world at the popular level, around environmental education. Take it as it cornes; discuss it within your organization; critique it; strengthen it; modify it and circulate it to organizations and communities with whom you are in contact. Attempt to obtain contributions, systematize it and use it to raise the consciousness of the entire population.
Al1 people and groups interested in participating in the coiîective elaboration of the Popular Environmental Education Charter can send their contributions, suggestions, recommendations, ideas and corrections to the member of the Liaison Group of the ICAE in their respective region (see last page). 1DEAS FOR LI
We, people fkom the four corners of the world, who are popular and social entities, and who are united by our interest to leam and to strengthen our human voices in the protection of life, will corne together under the framework of the 2nd World Conference on Environment and Development and the Global Forum Rio '92. Realizino That: Throughout the entire universe there is only one Earth - Earth is Me's home and life is our home.
Earth is life home's because it is the only known place which has running water, singing birds, the laughter of children, and where men and women dance together and share gifts.
In the last few years the Earth has been ransacked as never before. It has been transformed from a paradise to a junk and social inequality depot.
Those humans who have seized coqtrol of the Earth, have been the cause of the death of countless living beings. Through excessive exploration for naturai resources, many populations have been forced into degradation and poverty. The planet has been ravaged of vast amounts of oil which far exceed any basic human survival requirement.
World leaders use science and technology to engage in wars which have the capacity to completely annihilate life on this planet. We need wisdom rather than science. There is no civilization when the scientific community rationalizes, economics aaack and desnoy and technology kik. f Everything in nature is valuable; things for economic destruction have only a price tag. Life's inestimable gifis should not be appraised by an destructive and unsustainable market economy. Now that environmental degradation is at its worst, choosing and breaking in a new path is desirable to most peoples around the world. The structure and approach of the United Nations organization does not respond to the kind of planetary re-organization that humanity needs to iive in Face and safety.
A new global ethic which wiIi enable humanity to once again oo-exist in harmony has already begun to surface. Harmony in iife is designed for the daughters and sons of the Sun and Earth and for ail those beings on earth who were given the right to live, love and are.
We Declare That:
AU citizen~have an urgent requirement to learn to live with nature, and in cooperation and peaœ with one another.
Popular Environmental Education is a means of iearning to asset basic '- human rights: quality of life, fieedom, justice, equality, diversity, change, participation, creativity, identity, recreation, and loyalty.
Every field concemed with the protection of Nature and the flourishing of life are themes of Popular Environmental Education. The Earth should not have owners; its energy @es and resources are for the maintenance and perpetuajion of al1 species.
The different parts of the Earth belong to the people who live there in . harmony with each other and with Nature and who carry the intention of preserving it for future generations.
Clean air and water, healthy food and sanitaq living conditions, and ali things for 'the adequate preservation and reproduction of life are the conditions necessary to maintain human dignity.
A new relationship with Nature is based on sustainable economies which are socially fair and politically feasible and whose growth is not for profit but for a production which is iife reproducing. 8. A sustainable economy rejects the arms race, nuclear energy, genetic and bio-technological manipulation, the imposition of extraneou demograp hic conû-ol and technology, and the exportation of toxic goods ' and residues. 9. Demographic growth cannot be mnsidered the ody cause of environmental misery and degradation without connecting it to the unjust distribution of the hits of in-human progress. .'Thesocial and ecological debt of countries of the North, incurred from la./. centuries of colonialism and exploitation mut be made up for and not '- simply pardoned.
11. The Prioritv &enda for people suffering the domination of industrialized counmes focuses on changing the curent socio-economic order and includes the following: + The end of the arms race + The political revision of external debt payment agreements + A political agreement which will end famine, unemployment and lack of control over good produced. + The assurance that there will be sufficient food to feed a countries interna1 population before exportation takes place.
12. Al1 peoples are assigned the right to act, with urgency and through any 1'' means necessary, to stop any and al1 flagrant abuses against Nature no matter what the source of aggression.
f 13. Popular Environmental Educatioq is personaliy and collectively a means ,'of learning and acquiring new knowledge, new attitudes, and new skilis
1'' 1 to ensure a healthy planet as outlined in this statement. We Agree To: 1; Educate qurselves for individual and collective environmental action \ which will replace beliefs that we are owners of nature's elements such as air, water, land, forests, with more are-oriented skills and a new cooperation with Nature. 2. Share the responsibility of the reproduction of life between men and
, women from family planning, care of the elderly and care of the sick, to ;/ the administration of temtories and the management of a new relationship with Nature.
3. Promote, create and support sociaily appropriate technologies which contribute to the presewation of natural resources which means: *Appreciating and rejuvenating those-traditional technologies which are the people's paaimony, as well as developing new technologies which are environmentally discerning.
4. Promoteanenvironmentalconservationinourcountrieswhichislinked to cultural patrimony conservation. 5. Encourage respect and tolerance among religions and promoting a socio- ecological approach to linking the individual to Earth and spintuality.
6. Promote and support the formation of ecologicaily responsible consumer organizations on a local, national and international level.
7. Promote and support the creation of Environmental Managerial Councils which can discuss, establish policies and make decisions around environmental problems/issues.
8. Promote laws which enable people to monitor government and business activities in regards to how they affect the environment. 9. Promote laws in which the media shaii comply, where the environment is concerned, with the following:
a) A favourable orientation around the presewation and conservation of natural resources; b) The piuraiity of viewpoints in ali cases of environmental codict; c) Accuracy and proper contextualization of information; d) People's right to articulate the environmentai problems facing their communities. 10. Participate in defining policies and programmes and using mass media and technology for local and global dissemination of popular environmental education related information. 11. Promote, support and create channels of training human resources for effective environmental management at ali levels.
12. Disseminate information on popular creative experiences, knowledge and recoliections on the suitable use of natural resources in order to consolidate environmental education.
13. Publish reports which draw attention to aimes against nature and other human beings wherever they occur. - 14. Produce and share new global ethics, new knowledge, new attitudes and ,' new skills leamed from popular environmental education. 15. Develop environmental education politid strategies and cornmon policies on planetary integration topics: a) rain forests b) contaminated food c) waste and residue d) external debt e) war, peace and human rights f) urbanization g) culture
16. Encourage and develop Popular Environmental Education knowledge, .,' methodology and practice at al1 levels of educative action including schools.
17. Create the bridges necessary to develop Popular Environmental /. Education through dialogue and put pressure on the scientific - .community, econornic power groups, constituted authorities and the media.
1' 18. The rights, obligations and commitments of this Popular Environmental -'Education Charter are self-pertinent and are universal in scope.