Education for Environmental Sustainability - (Reinventing Teacher Education) by Elizabeth Rushton (Hardcover)

About the Book

Drawing extensively on contemporary research and empirical evidence, including that from the UK, Australia, Brazil and Europe, this book sets out the key ideas, concepts and approaches for education for environmental sustainability in the context of teacher education.

Book Synopsis

Drawing extensively on contemporary research and empirical evidence, including that from the UK, Europe, Australia and Brazil, this book sets out the key ideas, concepts and approaches for education for environmental sustainability in the context of teacher education.

Conceptual ideas explored in the book include sustainability, nature and justice as well as empirically grounded approaches for teacher educators including participation, co-creation and outdoor education. This book provides a research-informed guide to enable teacher educators to further explore, reflect and implement education for environmental sustainability in their teaching and research so that teacher education is rooted in the endeavour to live justly on a finite planet.

Review Quotes

"This is a timely and much-needed book in which Rushton helps us navigate and understand the complex historical and spatial contexts of Education for Environmental Sustainability (EfES), engaging with key concepts, such as sustainability, nature and justice, and considering how these can be embedded across practice in schools. This book is essential reading for teachers and teacher educators who wish to reflect on and develop their practice in relation to EfES for the benefit of children, young people and the planet." --Nicola Walshe, University College London, UK

"Education for Environmental Sustainability by Professor Rushton is both informative and inspiring. Its combination of accessible explorations of the ideas and framings around Environmental and Sustainability education alongside reflective and critical questioning makes this a useful and usable book for educators at all stages of their journey. In particular, it is a really valuable text for teacher educators, supporting beginning teachers to think with and for environmental sustainability in practical and positive ways that are relevant and appropriate to their unique and varied contexts. Important, timely, and quite simply, a delight!" --Claire Ramjan, University of Glasgow, UK

"This is an excellent and fascinating book! Through a consistent and coherent text, thoroughly supported by recent and high-level literature, the author guides readers on current and complex topics such as Sustainability, Climate Change and Education for Environmental Sustainability (EfES). The book captivates readers, effectively demonstrating the pivotal role that education plays in addressing the challenges of building a more sustainable world. In this context, teacher educators and teacher education are crucial to realising EfES. This book will certainly be an important source of support for teachers seeking to address sustainability issues." --Luciano Fernandes Silva, Federal University of Itajuba, Brazil

"'Education for Environmental Sustainability provides a comprehensive insight into the current state of the discipline. Professor Rushton skilfully navigates the research in the field and adds a unique, nuanced, insight into the complexities educators grapple within this space. Superb insight is provided into social justice issues and the environment, a much-needed discourse in the field. The importance of a whole school approach and the role school leaders play in enabling this work are very welcome additions to the literature in the field. Overall, a highly readable volume that would be a welcome addition to any HE course and school library to support the thinking around Education for Environmental Sustainability.'" --Nasreen Majid, University College London, UK

"Education for Environmental Sustainability is a must-read for all educators who are concerned with making Education for Environmental Sustainability (EfES) an important feature of their professional practice, including for those who may not have the confidence, skills or knowledge in this area of teaching and learning. Drawing on a wide range of scholarly literature and theories that contribute to its richness and diversity, the work speaks directly to practitioners and teacher educators by providing reflective questions to help develop their understanding and practice. This highly accessible and readable book draws on a broad and rich set of themes and approaches that underpin EfES, from nature, justice and participation to creativity, outdoor learning and co-creation. It is said that education is critical in addressing our environment and climate crisis and this book offers teachers, teacher educators and all other education practitioners the confidence and inspiration to contribute to this crucial aspect of education." --Emma Towers, King's College London, UK

"At a time when global spotlights shine in tandem on the complexities of sustainability and on how best to equip teachers to confidently address environmental sustainability in their classrooms, Rushton illuminates the way. From the outset to the final page, Rushton expertly weaves together so-called 'pockets of good practice' and 'pockets of possibility' to design what I would call a windbreaker of praxis. This windbreaker provides a framework against which one can assess and reassess their practice and cushioning to lean into for inspiration, action, and further learning. Regardless of place, subject or stage of schooling, Education for Environmental Sustainability has universal application. From policy-related discussions, to considerations of justice and participation with a focus on the importance of understanding how to give agency to marginalised knowledges, to co-creation opportunities, to strategies for interdisciplinary, experiential outdoor education in curriculum-specific and co-curricula contexts, each chapter is a masterclass in illuminating the 'why' and 'how' of environmental sustainability in theory and practice. Education for Environmental Sustainability is a must-have for any teacher or teacher educator who seeks novel, practical, scholarly approaches for embedding environmental sustainability into their professional practice." --Susan Caldis, Macquarie University, Australia

About the Author

Elizabeth Rushton is Professor in Education and Head of the Education Division in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Stirling, UK.