2019 Presentations (Communicative Events)

Comparative and International Perspectives on Environmental Education

Pizmony-Levy, Oren

Environmental education (EE) is a global pedagogical movement that is closely related to the environmental movement. It encourages schools to raise awareness for the inter-dependency of the environment, society, and economic growth. It also motivates learners to adopt sustainable behaviors and practices. EE is seen as a long-term strategy to address environmental challenges such as climate change and pollution. In this Keynote presentation at the Research Symposium of the North American Association for Environmental Education, I discuss the global nature of the EE movement. The presentation begins with a brief introduction to the field of Comparative and International Education (CIE). Then, I outline and demonstrate four contributions the CIE field can offer to EE research: (1) Analysis of emergence and development of transnational discourses that link education, environment, and more recently sustainability; (2) Analysis of impact of transnational discourses on countries worldwide; (3) Analysis of the role of local context in shaping environmental education policy and practice; and (4) Critical view on global diffusion of policy and practice. I conclude the presentation with lessons from another educational movement: International Large-Scale Assessments.

Video of the Keynote is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-7NY-0vKDc&t=881s