With ever-mounting and unprecedented ecological crises such as global warming, biodiversity extinction, the pollution by synthetic chemicals and other toxins, schools can no longer afford anything less than a thoroughgoing commitment to teaching for sustainability. Ecopedagogy can contribute to this project by working in the tradition of critical pedagogy to critique the current pedagogical terrain from the standpoint of sustainability and to advance potential openings for robust forms of ecoliteracy and the reconstruction of education.
This accessibly written introduction, ideal for courses in both education and environmental studies, establishes the idea and history of ecopedagogy as a social and educational movement for sustainability. Author Richard Kahn then turns his attention to critically examine both the pros and cons of the current sustainability developments in several major contemporary educational sectors. Ultimately he provides a powerful illustration for how the notion of ecopedagogy as a form of ongoing education can offer emancipatory critiques of schools, educational policy, and institutional and organizational culture.