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 curriculum that is Earth-inclusive.

Currently the term ecological theory is not widely used in curriculum studies and among curriculum theorists; more often terms such as ecological education, place-based education, and ecojustice education are used. However, in The SAGE Handbook of Curriculum and Instruction, William Pinar does use the term ecological theory and categorizes it as a political one, along with other theories committed to unearthing the hidden curriculum of schooling such as critical pedagogy and cultural studies. Pinar points out that Chet Bowers has put forth strong criticisms of the cultural assumptions in schooling that deter sustain-ability and that ecofeminist theory elaborates upon the relationship between gender and sustainability. Furthermore, Pinar mentions David Jardine's work in phenomenology and ecological theory. Although Pinar's account is one of the few that uses the term ecological theory, many scholars' research and work could be classified as such. Several such scholars are included in a 2005 special issue of Educational Studies that was dedicated to ecojus-tice and education. Editor Rebecca Martusewicz acknowledges and even emphasizes that not only are the authors' ideologies and assumptions different, but also they are in some cases incompatible; therefore, to offer one definition of ecological theory not only would be difficult, but also would be wrongheaded. In order to describe various aspects of ecological theory in curriculum studies, it is important to draw upon the work of a variety of scholars including Chet Bowers, Peter Corcoran, David Gruenewald, David Jardine, Rolf Jucker, Rebecca Martuscewitz, Gregory Smith, David Sobel, and Kathryn Ross Wayne, to name a few. Although it is impossible to be comprehensive, individually and collectively the work of those mentioned above, as well as of others who are not named, can provide a working conceptual framework for ecological theory. To that end and to describe some of its major movements and ideas, this entry distinguishes between ecological and environmental education theory, explains several aspects of ecological curriculum theory, and provides examples of ecological theory in action.