Leaders in Environmental Education: the cascade of influence

Summary

This paper argues that one way to augment the personal and professional development of future leaders in environmental education is through mentoring, a process which is well‐documented in other fields but which has received little attention in environmental education. A narrative case is reported based on survey and interview data from three mentor‐mentoree pairs of environmental educators from the USA and Australia. The records reveal similarities in the mentoring relationships, notwithstanding differences in gender, age, working associations and the onset of the relationship. By tracing the ‘cascade of influence’, this research envisions other relationships where the full expression of environmental ethics may require lifestyle provacateurs — mentors who subtly challenge the deeply held belief system of mentorees.