Education for Sustainability: A Critical Theory of Place

• In Event: Roundtable Session 21
  In Roundtable Session: Theoretical Shifts in Place-Based Education

Abstract

Increasingly we find ourselves living in regions seriously affected, if not differentially, by violent changes. These include changes in weather; political unrest around resources; unsustainable use of energy; and despoiled food systems. These are in many ways connected, yet educators find ourselves struggling to connect the every day work of teaching to these world movements and crises; additionally, we struggle with how to help students make sense of how we got to this point. The paper explores how community-based sustainability education when informed by a critical theory of place, may prove essential in helping youth develop counter-hegemonic critiques that support strategic thinking and action for sustainable existence in the neighborhoods in which they live and work.

Author

• Julie H. Carter, St. John's University