Environmental and Sustainability Education in Teacher Education (eBook)

This book was inspired by the inaugural National Roundtable on Environmental and Sustainability Education in Canadian Faculties of Education (Roundtable 2016), which took place June 14-16, 2016, at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario. Roundtable 2016 brought together over seventy participants from across Canada, including educators, researchers, policy-makers, consultants, and community organizations. Over the course of three days, participants took part in keynote addresses, research colloquia, networking socials, and collaborative inquiry activities focused on Environmental Sustainability Education in Teacher Education (ESE-TE). Roundtable 2016 resulted in the publication of a National Action Plan containing action-oriented recommendations for enhancing ESE-TE, and a position statement titled 'The Otonabee Declaration,' where delegates articulated their views regarding environmental degradation, the critical need for enhancing ESE-TE, and, the role educators, children, youth, educational institutions, policy makers, and Indigenous communities play in enhancing ESE-TE in Canada. This volume concludes with a discussion placing current Canadian ESE-TE theory and practice within an international context.

Douglas D. Karrow is an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Studies, Faculty of Education, Brock University. He teaches in preservice and graduate education programs. Research interests focus on environmental and sustainability education from the standpoints of preservice teacher education, curriculum, and pedagogy. Additionally, he is currently researching the philosophical insights of Martin Heidegger and their application to teacher education, environmental and sustainability education, and education theory writ large. Recent publications include the book Canadian Perspectives on Initial Teacher Environmental Education Praxis, several book chapters published in Springer series, and journal articles published in Philosophy of Mathematics Education Journal, Brock Journal of Education, Alberta Journal of Educational Research, Environmental Education Research, Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, and Journal of the Canadian Association for Curriculum Studies. Currently, he is Co-Chair of the Environmental Sustainability Education in Teacher Education Standing Committee of the Canadian Network of Environmental Education and Communication (EECOM) and a participating faculty member of Brock University's Environmental Sustainability Research Centre.  

Maurice DiGiuseppe is Interim Dean and Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT). He teaches in preservice and graduate education programs. His areas of interest include STEM education, environmental sustainability education, teacher professional development, science textbook and digital resources development, and the history, philosophy, and sociology of science and technology. Dr. DiGiuseppe has authored/co-authored numerous elementary and secondary school science textbooks and academic publications, and has conducted research in teacher professional development, environmental sustainability education, nature of science, scientific inquiry in pre-college science education, non-traditional pathways to university education, and the development and provision of digital learning resources in secondary and post-secondary education. Most recent publications include the book Canadian Perspectives on Initial Teacher Environmental Education Praxis, and a chapter in the Routledge Teaching and Learning in Science series. Dr. DiGiuseppe is a former president of the Science Teachers Association of Ontario (STAO) and a recipient of the Prime Minister's Award for Teaching Excellence in Science, Technology, and Mathematics.