Ont-dekken en toe-dekken: leren over de veelvormige relatie van mensen met natuur in NME-leertrajecten duurzame ontwikkeling

Abstract

The objective of the explorative development research, that is described in this dissertation, was to design a structure which underlies a theoretically sound and generally applicable guideline for environmental education learning trajectories in sustainable development. Furthermore, aspects that have played a role in this re-contextualisation process of sustainable development as learning content for environmental education have been described. The objective of this was to gain insight into the possible ways of conduct that can stimulate the course of this innovative development in environmental education practices. The proposition is put forward that in the practice of environmental education two motives for acting can be distinguished: environmental education as a moralistic and as an educational task. Due to, on the one hand, the objections against environmental education as a moralistic task and, on the other hand, the connection between the two motives for acting, it is necessary to make explicit how the educational task in the working out of environmental education learning trajectories can be safeguarded. Therefore, the relationship between acting and providing meaning is further considered, after which a description is provided of two key concepts of an educational or school practice: knowledge and learning. Based on this, the educational task of environmental education can be described from a theoretical perspective. Using the concepts sustainability and sustainable development, and the subject matter connected to this, a policy development has been put into motion with consequences for the practice of environmental education-in-action. It is made explicit that the manner in which the two concepts are used in policies is not directly applicable to environmental education practices. The reason for this provides insight into the way in which both concepts can in fact be meaningful for environmental education as an educational task. This leads to a description of sustainable development as learning content of environmental education. Based on the results of the development research, the practice of environmental education-in-action is characterized. Successively the following things are addressed: the way in which in environmental education-in-action a limited definition of knowledge is used, the individual-oriented approach of environmental education, the propagation of an environmental message while renouncing a moralistic approach, the meaning of images of nature in the use of the concept sustainable development, and the use of different learning levels. With this it becomes clear in what ways the practice of environmental education-in-theory and that of environmental education-in-action differ and resemble each other. Moreover, it becomes clear to what extent the practice of environmental education-in-action can be justified and what supplements and refinements are needed. In the last Hoofdstuk the educational structure for the design of environmental education learning trajectories on sustainable development has been put together using the data from the preceding Hoofdstuks. It all comes down to learners on the one hand un-covering the multifaceted relationship between people and nature by experiencing it and investigating it in their own way of conduct compared to other ways of conduct. To this end, they use knowledge of how nature works and how practices function. On the other hand the learning is aimed at re-covering: investigating and learning to position oneself regarding the available courses of action in a practice, learning to make a choice and acting by it.