Date of Submission

6-1-2020

Document Type

DiP

Degree

Doctor of Education

Department

Education

Keywords

ecocentric education, transdisciplinary pedagogy, laboratories in the real-world, environmental humanities.

Abstract

Global Eco-Trails (GET) is an ecocentric education school based in BC, Canada offering short cross-cultural environmental wilderness expedition programs in Thailand, Ecuador and Spain, and a full time K-9 alternative ecocentric school program in Canada. The organization has decided to take a deep look at the culture and progeny of its programs as it seeks to address the problem of practice of how to redesign their ecocentric education programs to more fully realize the goal of being fully inclusive in access and approach in terms of gender, the environment, non-Euro/Euro-North American cultures, and marginalized identities. The ultimate goal is to bring the programs to the forefront of contemporary education by providing a scalable model that can be adapted around the world providing a fully inclusive education system based on ecocentric and social learning principles and values. GET believes that the earth and society needs a new education model for the Anthropocene/Capitalicene. A multicultural/multi-demographic laboratory in the real-world (LRW) series of programs is proposed as the first step in a process to build a foundation from which to create curriculum and methodologies. These GET programs will practice Indigenous/nonindigenous co-teaching/management and through a critical pedagogy process seek inclusivity for all demographics. LRW programs will be led by students and faculty at partner universities' transdisciplinary environmental humanities, and teacher education departments who will conduct the research projects at each session under the direction of GET staff. Community partners will be drawn from environmental education and sustainable living and local community organizations at each program location. GET will build on its 20-year relationship with four communities, in Spain, Canada, Ecuador, and Thailand for whom the Laboratory ecocentric programs will take place each year in Spain and Canada. The K-9 school program being developed will mirror Environmental Humanities university department transdisciplinary areas of study combined with an evolutionary-based education subject model built on hunter-gatherer and horticultural society sustainable living skills and Indigenous pedagogy. Lab programs will take the form of a living prototype sustainable village where students can learn through experience and build within themselves a future vision, aptitude, and practice for positive sustainable change.

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