Environmental and sustainability education in times of dual crisis

More information about the project

Background

Society faces a dual crisis: climate change and democratic regression. These challenges are further complicated by potential tensions between democratic and environmental imperatives. Measures deemed necessary to address climate change may be perceived as undemocratic, while conventional democratic processes may prove ineffective in confronting the climate emergency.

Schools play an important role in this context. The Swedish curriculum mandates schools to impart knowledge and values that contribute to a democratic and ecologically sustainable society, and it is generally assumed that these goals mutually reinforce each other. However, the difficulties of reconciling democratic and ecological imperatives in educational practice have been overlooked and remain seriously under-researched.

Aim and research questions

The aim of this project is to explore how democratic and ecological imperatives are negotiated within environmental and sustainability education, and to identify problems and opportunities for their reconciliation. The project draws on Foucauldian theories of green governmentality and democratic biopolitics. The main research questions are:

• How are democratic and ecological rationalities articulated and rendered practical in environmental and sustainability education?
• What kinds of subjectivities and conceptions of democracy and ecological sustainability do these educational initiatives produce?
• What are the problems and opportunities for reconciling ecological and democratic imperatives in environmental and sustainability education? 

Methods

The research project is primarily based on qualitative methods. Data collection includes:

• Interviews with students, teachers, school leaders, and other key actors involved in environmental and sustainability work in schools.
• Participant observations in schools, where the researchers follow meetings, projects, and everyday practices related to democratically organised environmental and sustainability education.
• Textual and document analysis of policy documents, materials from certification programmes, local plans and project descriptions, and other written sources that guide schools’ sustainability work.

By combining these methods, the project provides a rich and nuanced understanding of how democratic and ecological objectives are addressed in schools’ environmental and sustainability practices, the opportunities that emerge, the dilemmas that arise, and how schools can contribute to addressing the dual crisis through education.

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