Anarchist Foundations for Preparing Teachers for Ecological and Community-Based Education 

• In Event: 31.091 - Fairmont Royal York Roundtable Session Five
  In Roundtable Session: 31.091-4 - Eco-Critical Education Research and Radical Environmental Education in Teacher Education

Abstract

This paper briefly examines and explains the theory of social ecology and the political theory of libertarian municipalism as developed by the late Murray Bookchin (1921-2006) as a possible comprehensive framework for a secondary curriculum centered upon an anarchistic and ecological ethics. The author first offers an investigation of the philosophical foundations of social ecology and the political theory of libertarian municipalism and their implications for how we think about and practice education. Next, the author shares findings from an empirical study conducted at a small charter high school in a large metropolitan area that utilizes social ecology and community-based education to move its students toward enhanced self-actualization through active participation in nurturing greater community autonomy and in addressing social and environmental injustice. The aim of sharing these findings is to provide insight into how social ecology is understood and used by teachers and students within a school to foster social and ecological responsibility and activism on the community level.

Author

• Kevin James Holohan, Grand Valley State University