Ecological Theory

Ecological theory is an orientation in curriculum studies that aims to be responsive to the complex intersections between culture and the natural environment and questions how those intersections work for or against environmental sustainability on a local and global level. Sustainability generally refers to practices that do not interfere with natural systems' abilities to renew themselves and to practices and orientations that will not reduce future generations' abilities to live on Earth. Although it overlaps with environmental education, ecological theory emphasizes the ways in which humans interact with their surroundings, and those interactions (not studies about the environment alone) become central to the curriculum. Global governmental and nongovernmental agencies, along with recent developments in global climate change, have highlighted a need for a theory of ...