Hidden From View: Ecological Crisis and the Dominant Social Paradigm in Teacher Preparation

• In Event: Global Views of Teacher Education Using Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices (S-STEP) Methodology

Abstract

This research explores my social studies teacher educator practice and my attempts to teach about environmental sustainability. The research questions were: How can I get involved in the environmental sustainability movement on my campus as a teacher educator? What obstacles do I face? What actions do I take? Two differing cultural paradigms, with distinct considerations of human-to-land relationships, provide conceptual frames. Through self-study I reflected upon and analyzed my teaching practice from 2019-2022. Data sources include journals, field notes, course-related materials, and formal writings. Findings suggest a dominant social paradigm of industrialized societies presented obstacles while teaching about a land-based cultural paradigm guided my actions. Implications arise for a reconceptualization of relational teacher preparation to include non-human relationships.

Author

• Muffet Trout, University of Saint Thomas
  Presenting Author