The political dimension in environmental education curricula: Towards an integrative conceptual and analytical framework

Abstract

The risk of neutralizing the political dimension in environmental education through the depoliticization of its thematic objects, its intended learning, and its educational purposes, is a curricular phenomenon identified by recent research in the field. The aim of this article is to develop a conceptual and analytical framework to identify clarification of the political dimension. The framework on the political dimension as part of environmental education provides political learning entry that help to avoid the vanishing of this dimension. Nevertheless, this is not without themes and cannot be decoupled from its educational aims. Therefore, establishing a conceptual and analytical framework considering environmental themes, political learning and educational purposes together can effectively support the curricular construction of environmental education’s political dimension. Thus, we define six environmental issue meta-themes by politicization and depoliticization trends that cross them; draw on environmental and political education research to identify political learning components in an environmental education context; and discuss linking political learning to possible educational purposes. We believe that within the dialectic of politicization/depoliticization that crosses the thematic subjects, learning and purposes of environmental education’s political dimension, the path leading to the democratic subjectification of learners guarantees its non-neutralization.

Keywords:

• Environmental education
• curriculum
• political learning
• environmental issue meta-themes
• educational purposes

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was provided by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Melki Slimani

Melki Slimani is doctor in education science. He is a faculty member of the Institut supérieur des études appliquées en humanités de Sbeïtla, Université de Kairouan, Tunisia.

Jean-Marc Lange

Jean-Marc Lange is full professor in educational sciences. He is the head of the Laboratoire interdisciplinaire de recherche en didactique, éducation et formation (LIRDEF), Université de Montpellier, France.

Michael Håkansson

Michael Håkansson is a Senior Lecturer in Didactic. He has a permanent position at the Department of Education at Stockholm University, Sweden.