The role of justice in environmental education, science education, and social science

Forsythe, M. E., & Chan, Y.-W. . (2021). Justice-centered education amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The Journal of Environmental Education, 52, 347-357.

The COVID-19 pandemic has illuminated some shortcomings of the educational system in the United States, particularly in environmental education concerning equitable policymaking. For instance, socio-political context can constrain effective decision-making and exacerbate the social inequities in the United States and the world, such as food insecurity or the lack of resources for virtual learning in marginalized communities brought on by the pandemic. Students taught solely on reading and writing – a dominant educational practice in the United States – are thus ill-equipped to handle such decisions. Therefore, a justice-centered pedagogy is needed develop the skills in students to evaluate the socio-political contexts of an environmental issue and make effective and just decisions. In this article, the researchers reviewed three case studies that highlighted the parallels between the pandemic and issues in environmental education, science education, and social science to provide ways in which a justice-centered teaching practice can improve the educational system and student outcomes in the United States.

Each of the three disciplines (environmental education, science education, and social science) has opportunities for discourse about justice-centered pedagogy. Justice has been a central theoretical component of environmental education since its inception despite the tendency to teach global issues based on colonial power structures and the possible perpetuation of Western ideologies. However, there is a push to bring justice to the forefront of environmental education practices by reframing global issues and decolonizing the materials and methods. Science education has traditionally taught students to do science and think critically about the methodology. In recent years, there has been a push to encourage a justice-centered approach to science education in that students review the impact of science on different communities and assess inequitable access to science among students. Social science has provided students a range of subjects in which to review justice and inequities. Yet social science with a justice-centered pedagogy requires students to evaluate the socio-political context of the injustices and understand the causes of these issues.

The researchers reviewed three case studies related to the K-12 school systems' shortcomings highlighted by the public response to the pandemic. In the first case study, the emphasis was that scientific knowledge changes over time, as illustrated by the frequently changing science on how COVID spreads. The researchers shared that science is an evolving field, and findings often change. However, the educational system typically teaches students as if science is fact and that it rarely changes. With the COVID-19 pandemic, the information being disseminated to the public changed as more data was gathered over time, and thus, information sometimes contradicted previous information. The second case study focused on the ways people make decisions based on scientific information within socio-political and economic influences, as illustrated by how vaccines were distributed. For instance, the COVID-19 vaccine distribution in the state of California was changed from the initial structure where health care workers were vaccinated first to instead prioritize vaccinating elderly residents first to slow the spread of the virus and subsequent hospitalizations of those infected. This decision was influenced by the social and economic strains, rapid spread of the virus, and high hospitalization rate among the elderly. The third case study reviewed the ways socio-political decisions impact the environment, and the cascading effect of those decisions that cause disproportionate harm to innocent communities. This is illustrated by the increased amount of waste from COVID. During the pandemic, the amount of waste from masks and other pandemic-related materials increased in coastal environments. Pollution of this nature typically adversely affects marginalized communities and can impact human health, a complex issue that requires scientific knowledge and socio-political acumen to alleviate.

These three case studies show how the pandemic raised multiple social issues that needed to be addressed by decision-makers, which are not usually integrated into science or environmental education. Based on the case studies, the researchers concluded the following. First, environmental education can support students in understanding the fluctuations in science or what is commonly understood as fact. For example, the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) standards include language and set a precedent about the changing nature of the field because of the complex feedback loop of humans, communities, political structures, economics, and environment. Second, environmental education centered on justice and science education can help students better consider socio-political influences alongside science when making decisions. Third, a justice-centered educational system can help students and scientists understand the impacts of their decisions.

There were limitations to this study. First, the researchers acknowledged that their experience with teaching future educators and teaching during the pandemic may have biased the information shared. Second, the United States is part of the Global North, making the research perspective biased and not generalizable to other countries. Third, the researchers did not mention nor provide examples of state educational or private school policies that incorporate justice-centered education, which may have provided tangible examples of implementing such complex educational changes.

The researchers recommended a transboundary justice-centered educational system that meaningfully combines the justice principles and opportunities of environmental education, science education, and social science. In doing so, each subject will take a more interdisciplinary approach and undermine Western ideology in teaching. For example, instead of asking students to consider the water cycle itself, teachers should encourage students to consider how the water cycle contributes to society and how it impacts and is impacted by specific communities. This type of teaching and learning will lead to a society of thinkers that can better meet future challenges and make just and equitable decisions.

The Bottom Line

<p>COVID-19 highlighted the socio-political contexts that can constrain effective decision-making and exacerbate the social inequities that exist in the United States and across the globe. In this study, the researchers reviewed three case studies related to the United States' K-12 school systems' shortcomings as highlighted by the public response to the pandemic. In the first case study, the emphasis was that scientific knowledge changes over time. The second case study focused on the ways people make decisions based on scientific information. The third case study reviewed the ways decisions impact the environment and the cascading effects of those decisions. The researchers recommended a transboundary justice-centered educational system which meaningfully combines the justice principles and opportunities of environmental education to meet future challenges better and make just and equitable decisions.</p>

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