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Masters Thesis
Exploring the implementation of environmental education in the K-3 classroom through an EcoJustice framework
The Earth is facing unprecedented environmental perils. The current environmental troubles faced by our home demand humankind’s immediate attention. However, these issues cannot be separated from our deep societal and cultural woes as outlined in C.A. Bower’s EcoJustice pedagogy (Bowers, 2002). This truncated ethnography employs participant observation in one classroom and interviews with four K-3 teachers, exploring environmental education (EE) through an EcoJustice lens (Lowenstein, Martusewicz, Voelker, 2010; Bowers, 2002). Despite being cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic, this study still unearthed several insights. Participants shared valuable philosophies, methodologies, and experiences that can serve as points of contemplation for the field of environmental education. This study finds that while the teacher participants expressed that they do not have as much time as they would like to implement EE lessons in their curriculum, they understand its importance. Some concern was expressed that fitting EE into the already overflowing curriculum could add to teacher stress. Teacher suggestions include developing an official EE curriculum and integrating EE into subjects that are already being taught, such as reading and writing. As EE is developed for the future, it is paramount that teacher voices are acknowledged and elevated. Teacher voices are a precious wellspring of wisdom and knowledge.
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