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Two University of Georgia science education professors have published the first and most authoritative guide on the confluence of three emerging yet critical fields of study—ecojustice, place-based education and indigenous knowledge in education.

Aimed at a educators and policymakers, Cultural Studies and Environmentalism: The Confluence of EcoJustice, Place-Based (Science) Education, and Indigenous Knowledge Systems starts from the premise that schooling is a small part of the larger educational domain in which we live and learn, said Michael P. Mueller  and Deborah Tippins, faculty members in the College of Education’s department of mathematics and science education.

Mueller

The book opens up ways in which home-grown talents, narratives, and knowledge can be developed, and eco-region awareness and global relationships can be facilitated. Incorporating a diversity of perspectives that include photography, poetry and visual art, the book provides a nuanced lens for evaluating educational problems and community conditions while protecting and conserving the most threatened and vulnerable narratives.

Co-editors Michael Michael van Eijck, of the Eindhoven University of Technology, in the Netherlands and Jennifer D. Adams, an assistant professor of science education at Brooklyn College, share the view that the impending loss of these narratives should be discussed much more widely, and that both teachers and children can take on some of the responsibility for their preservation.

“Ecojustice philosophy is a way of learning about how we frame, or perceive the world around us—and why that matters. Although it is not synonymous with social or environmental justice, the priorities of ecojustice span the globe in the same way,” said Mueller.  “It incorporates a deep recognition of the appropriateness and significance of learning from place-based experiences and indigenous knowledge systems rather than depending on some urgent ‘ecological crises’ to advocate for school and societal change.”

Tippins

Instead of a one-size-fits-all mindset, the book provides a tapestry of perspectives on culturally sensitive science education. It opens our minds to the reality that teaching science in rural Quebec, in agricultural Malawi and in inner city Detroit is in some ways alike, but in many ways crucially different. If we do not attend to the differences, we lose the learners and the vital potential for students shaping the communities in which they live, said Tippins.

With a multiplicity of diverse voices coming together to explore its key themes, this book is an important starting point for educators in many arenas. It brings into better focus a vital role for the Earth’s ecosystems in the context of ecosociocultural theory and participatory democracy alike.

The book includes chapters by several UGA faculty members and students: Norman Thomson, an associate professor in mathematics and science education; Cory Buxton, an associate professor in elementary and social studies education; Jamie Calkin, an adjunct professor  in mathematics and science education; and doctoral candidates in science education Jennifer Lance Atkinson, Stacey Britton and  Tina Williams Pagan.

The book is the third volume in the Cultural Studies of Science Education series published by Springer.