Critical Approaches to Environmental Education
Program Overview
This certificate critically considers and responds to current concerns regarding environmental challenges; associated racism and other societal inequities; related protest, activism, advocacy, and action; and implications for environmental education practice and research. Central themes that will be considered include intersectional connections between social, health, and environmental justice; critical approaches to sustainability, climate change, and energy education; critical environmental media literacy and communication; and respectful engagement with Indigenous and other racialized or marginalized knowledge systems, practices, individuals, and communities. This certificate will appeal to educators and administrators in early childhood, K-12, post-secondary, outdoor, community, non-profit, and government educational settings through consideration of critical environmental topics in a range of subject areas and contexts. Experiential, land-, and place-based approaches to critical environmental education will be explored and enacted in accordance with current health guidelines. Participants will synthesize and share their learning through a culminating inquiry project.
Program Details
Courses in this program are offered fully online. Courses are held in both an asynchronous environment (D2L) and a synchronous (real-time) environment (Zoom) which allows instructors to virtually meet and talk with students and experience a live exchange of ideas, hear class presentations and do group work with access to a whiteboard. For additional information regarding online delivery, refer to the Online Delivery & eLearn website.
Students will leave this certificate program with a strong understanding of:
- Foundations of and current trends in critical environmental education practice and research
- Historical and contemporary examples of environmental protest, activism, advocacy, and action
- Critical approaches to sustainability, climate change, and energy education
- Critical environmental media literacy and communication
- Critical experiential/land-/place-based approaches
- Intersectional connections between gender, sexuality, (dis)ability, and culture in relation to social, health, and environmental justice
- Respectful engagement with Indigenous and other racialized or marginalized knowledge systems, practices, individuals, and communities
- (Potential) connections between environmental education and other subject areas (e.g., sciences, humanities, arts, social studies, and health and physical education)
- Relationships between curricula and practice from/for early childhood, K-12, post-secondary, government, outdoor, and non-profit perspectives and contexts
- Critical environmental education research approaches
This topic is ideal for:
- Early childhood, elementary, secondary, and post-secondary educators and administrators;
- Non-profit and community-based professionals, educators, and administrators;
- Professionals, educators, and administrators working with forest schools, camps, or outdoor and environmental centres;
- Professionals, educators, and administrators working for municipal, provincial, or federal organizations, parks, science centres, and zoos; and
- Others with academic and/or professional interests in critical approaches to environmental education.
A registration package will be sent to new students after they have been admitted. Registration for the summer term will be available in late winter. Fall and Winter registration opens in the spring. Your Graduate Program Administrator will send more information about registration to you.
Fee details are available through the University Calendar. An explanation of fees is available on the Faculty of Graduate Studies' website.
The University of Calgary offers multiple ways to meet the cost of your education. Please refer to the Awards, Scholarships and Bursaries page to learn more about options available to students. For additional information, please contact Student Financial Support.
Please refer to the MEd Interdisciplinary Admission Requirements page.
Program Schedule & Course Descriptions
- Program begins each Summer term (refer to the Academic Schedule for specific dates)
- Outlines are normally available 1-2 weeks prior to the start of term in D2L
- 3 units per course
Term 1 - Summer
Foundations of Critical Environmental Education
This course will introduce and explore foundational topics, issues, scholars, and moments in critical environmental education research and practice.
Key ideas and topics include:
- Foundations of environmental education
- Early critiques of environmental education
- Foundational scholarship for and approaches to critical environmental education
- Sociohistorical and environmental dynamics underpinning critical environmental education
- Historical examples of environmental protest, activism, advocacy, and action
- Intersectional connections between social, health, and environmental justice for Indigenous and other racialized or marginalized people
- Reflexive considerations for sociocultural positioning in critical environmental education
Registration info:
EDER 693.23 L01
Term 1 - Summer
Contemporary Topics in Critical Environmental Education
This course will introduce and explore contemporary topics, issues, and scholars in critical environmental education research and practice.
Key ideas and topics include:
- Critical approaches to sustainability, climate change, and energy education
- Critical environmental media literacy and communication
- Critical experiential/land-/place-based approaches
- Contemporary environmental protest, activism, advocacy, and action
- Critical environmental education in early childhood contexts
- Respectful engagement with Indigenous and other racialized or marginalized knowledge systems, practices, individuals, and communities
- Intersectional connections between gender, sexuality, (dis)ability, and culture in environmental education
Registration info:
EDER 693.24 L02
Term 2 - Fall
Curricular Connections in Critical Environmental Education
This course will introduce and explore potential curricular connections as well as associated challenges and successful strategies for critical environmental education in a range of subject areas and educational contexts.
Key ideas and topics include:
- Identifying potential curricular connections and links to practice for critical environmental education
- Common curricular challenges related to and successful strategies for addressing the absence or misrepresentation of Indigenous and other racialized or marginalized perspectives in curricula
- Curricular considerations for K-12, post-secondary, outdoor, community, government, and non-profit settings
- Technological considerations for critical environmental education
Registration info:
EDER 693.22 L01
Term 3 - Winter
Research in Critical Environmental Education
This capstone course will introduce a variety of established and emerging research approaches relevant to critical environmental education. Students will identify and pursue an inquiry into an area of interest within critical environmental education.
Key ideas and topics include:
- Foundations of critical environmental education research
- Established research methodologies and methods in critical environmental education research
- Emerging research methodologies and methods in critical environmental education research
- Considerations for conducting research with Indigenous and other racialized or marginalized people
- Developing and conducting independent research in critical environmental education
Registration info:
EDER 693.25 L01
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