This paper aims to (re)consider environmental education (EE) through the lens of a mystery/knowledge continuum. It revisits the currents of EE identified by Lucie Sauvé and juxtaposes these with a typology of the senses of mystery. Philosophically and theoretically informed, the paper concludes that a "naturalist current" of EE optimally…

Art is as old as human culture. For most of the time, art was part of an exchange between humans and the cosmic order. Art was meant as a gift to nourish the fecundity of life. Art was communication with ancestral creational powers -- the invocation of a poetic space from which creation entered the material realm. This paper explores art as a way…

Purpose: This conceptual paper aims to interrogate the current epistemological and cross-cultural approaches used to conceptualize climate change (CC) education, to critically point out ineffective approaches and false assumptions, and to propose practical suggestions that may support the development of a defensible and well-argued CC curriculum.…

This paper explores ways in which applied semantics (coming out of Natural Semantic Metalanguage approach) can inform effective communicative strategies for action on climate change. After framing discussion, it presents three case studies, which are intentionally disparate in nature: contrastive semantics of the expressions 'climate crisis',…

They thought they felt "something," perhaps. The wisp of an outline not distinct enough to trace. Good. They circled it, at times, and at other times found themselves within. As they walked (a sort of walking. Figurative but real. Digital, but here. Over months of events), it curled open and headed in several directions. Foldings in the…

Over the last decades, ecofeminist thought has moved into a "fourth stage 'critical ecofeminism'" (Gaard 2017, xvi), based on an understanding that humans are unavoidably part of a multifaceted and interconnected global ecosystem. This paper suggests that ecofeminist theory and practice can now grow further into a fifth stage: an era of…

I begin with an assumption that there are intersectional relations among education, humans, cyber technologies, and nature, and assert that an expansive understanding of formal educational purpose is needed in the twenty first century. Drawing on Biesta's (2009) three domains of educational purpose (qualification, socialization, and…

Drawing primarily on John Dewey's Experience and Nature, but putting his metaphysical commitments into conversation with pedagogical experience, this article asks: how might a Deweyan understanding of nature and our experience within it support environmental progress? More specifically, how might we respect pluralistic relationships with…

Climate change is one of the most critical challenges of our time, requiring significant responses from all aspects of society, including education. The prevailing responses to climate change tend towards treating the crisis as a predominantly scientific and managerial issue that requires technological solutions or behaviour changes.…

This paper seeks to reclaim irony as more than a way of humorously pointing out that the times we live in are out of joint or coming to an end, instead emphasizing its potential as a productive force and method in both educational thinking and teaching practice. By interrogating the educative potential of irony as method and humorous experience in…

Framing education ecologically and cultivating an environmental consciousness in the way Michael Bonnett has articulated poses a fresh challenge to educators to identify the latent aspects of educational philosophy and practice that are rooted in an Enlightenment 'metaphysic of mastery'. In 'The Significance of Myth for Environmental Education'…

In the Anthropocene epoch, human activity is ubiquitous on Earth. However, this does not imply that nature is entirely under human control. The growing number of natural disasters that afflict human beings demonstrates the limitations of human abilities. Unfortunately, many of these catastrophes are caused by humans themselves. The adversity…

This paper argues that a proper response to the onset of potentially catastrophic human-induced climate change requires an understanding that is both broader and deeper than that which frequently informs current policies and that focusses on technological solutions and some behaviour modification. Such a technologically orientated response is seen…

Universities occupy a contested space regarding their responses to the climate and nature emergencies. They are criticised for their neoliberalism, marketisation and corporatism yet they provide education to the leaders of tomorrow who are essential for the transition to a sustainable world. In this paper, residential education is explored through…

In this article framing the special issue on the global school strikes for climate, we ask: what if education is not the solution, but part of the system young people want to change? In conversation with school strikers and reflecting on the contributions to this issue, we argue that the strikes pose a reckoning for education. Five key themes…