With the increased urgency and magnitude of these global sustainability challenges, there might also be a risk to turn towards authoritative and prescriptive approaches where people are told how to behave. Is there still time to learn ourselves out of unsustainability or must we resort to strict measures and eco-totalitarianism? Schools that take all three major tasks seriously – qualification, socialization and subjectification (Biesta, 2020) while also being weary of indoctrination and instrumentalism, will look for educational responses that invite young people to critically assess what is happening to our planet, and to explore alternative pathways of development that will allow for more equitable, caring and just lifestyles that are mindful of planetary boundaries. Adding the latter to the equation calls for what we might call, Earth-centered education to also emphasize the ecological in what Biesta refers to as world-centered education (Biesta, 2022). But doing so is not easy as often curricula are prescribed, economic demands push for skills that will increase employability, resilience and personal growth, assessment favors the cognitive, ignoring socio-emotional and embodied forms of learning, and, lastly, a culture of accountability, management and control, makes it hard for teachers to be creative and connect with the issues that matter in today’s world. Without considering the creating space for resistance, counter-hegemonic thinking and disruptive capacity building, as an essential task of education, it might even be impossible. As an reflexive educator with existential concerns, the author asks himself the question: how can education help humanity learn its way out of the mess that we are finding ourselves in?
Published as Chapter 18 in: Civilizational Collapse and the Philosophy of Post-Apocalyptical Survival / Michael A. Peters (Volume editor)Thomas Meier (Volume editor). - Peter Lang, New York, 2025. – (Monograph Series: Global Studies in Education, Volume 39). – ISBN 9781636673608
https://doi.org/10.3726/b22083
Dit boek wordt gerecenseerd door Rob van der Poel als “Earth-centered education’ als kracht in tijden van systeemfalen? Waar liggen beloftes, waar gevaren?” De bijdrage vertaalt de ideeën van Arjen Wals over Earth-centered education naar een toegankelijke uitnodiging aan leraren, schoolleiders en opleiders. Wat betekent Aarde-gecentreerd onderwijs voor het leraarschap en diens professionaliteit?
https://nivoz.nl/nl/earth-centered-education-als-kracht-in-tijden-van-systeemfalen-waar-liggen-beloftes-waar-gevaren
