New paths for an ecological literacy

Abstract

The cultural model of the western world, characterized by a strong trend toward specialization, polarization, fragmentation, offers a context that privileges individualism versus collectivism, verticality versus horizontality, expansion versus stability. More and more such model permeates scientific education. There is the risk that such attitude contributes to increase disparities of power, knowledge, wealth and access to natural resources, and feeds and exasperates conflicts in an increasingly unsustainable world.

In order to make our way towards sustainability it is important to learn to think, to organize, to behave in ways that are complementary to the dominant model: to recompose—therefore- what was fragmented, share what was separated, and reconnect links, developing the consciousness of the interconnectedness of all things.

School and university may have a crucial role in favouring such re-equilibration process, by promoting the development of creative, conscious, responsible citizenship at personal and collective level.

We present here some reflections—that stem from our background in Natural Sciences with a gandhian perspective- of our educational experience as science teacher trainers.

Key words:

• ecology
• conflict
• education for sustainability