Why the Latin American Education Model Ecopedagogy is Uniquely Situated to Address Shortfalls Within Environmental Education

Ecopedagogy is an educational framework that bridges the politics of the academy with grassroots political organizing capable of achieving social and ecological transformation (Kahn, 18). It is a movement directly influenced by the work of Paulo Freire and indirectly influenced by Latin American networks for popular education and liberation theology (Kahn, 19). This research is designed to broaden the impact of environmental education (EE) and encourage deeper reflection on how to instill values of environmental stewardship and connection to nature. The Global South’s ecopedagogy incorporates the awareness of oppressive systems in its educational approach not used in western environmental studies, thought and practices. It is not the differences between EE and ecopedagogy that make them more or less effective but rather the implementation methods of the teacher and their awareness of effective teaching. This pedagogy is being used globally and has been taken up by a working group in the United Nations since 1992 (Kahn 12). One aspect critical to successful implementation of this pedagogy is the teacher’s focus and ability to support development of critical thinking skills. By looking at three studies, the first, a comparison study of teachers from three different countries the United States, Argentina and Brazil, who use ecopedagogy principles; the second a study of a North Carolina forestry middle school EE program; and the third an examination of the effects of a required senior research project at an ecopedagogy based charter school in Wisconsin.Bachelor of Art