Uncertainty, eco-emotions, nature and freedom – Pedagogical dilemmas of education for sustainability
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31074/gyntf.2025.1.29.40Keywords:
pedagogical dilemmas, sustainable future, eco-emotions, free exploration in natureAbstract
The study describes the key factors that often pose serious dilemmas for teachers in education for sustainability. Perhaps the most crucial dilemma for all educators dealing with sustainability is the uncertainty surrounding sustainability. Education for sustainability is fundamentally about a desired, imagined future that is different from the past and that no one can be sure of achieving. It therefore requires a radically different pedagogical approach from traditional forms of education, which are essentially aimed at passing on to future generations how society has operated in the past. Uncertainty about a sustainable future is now reflected in the emotions of many students worldwide in the form of negative eco-emotions. Nevertheless, such negative emotions also motivate many students to take environmentally conscious action. Thus, pedagogically addressing eco-emotions poses a new dilemma for educators. In addition to eco-emotions, another vital background factor for ecologically conscious actions is a positive relationship to nature. Free exploration of nature plays a key role in developing this positive relationship. The third pedagogical dilemma addressed in this study is how free exploration of nature might be integrated into the highly structured way schools operate.
Downloads
References
Ágoston, Cs., Csaba, B., Nagy, B., Kőváry, Z., Dúll, A., Rácz, J. & Demetrovics, Z. (2022). Identifying types of eco-anxiety, eco-guilt, eco-grief, and eco-coping in a climate-sensitive population: a qualitative study. International journal of environmental research and public health, 19(4), 2461. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19042461
Ágoston, Cs., Buvár, Á., Dúll, A., Szabó, Z. Á. & Varga, A. (2024a). Complex pathways from nature relatedness and knowledge to pro-environmental behavior through eco-emotions. Journal of Cleaner Production, 468, 143037. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.143037
Ágoston, Cs., Nagy, B., Nesztor, A., Varga, A. & Demetrovics, Zs. (2024b). „Ej, ráérünk arra még?”– Az időperspektíva, az ökobűntudat, a megküzdés, a jövőre vonatkozó tervek és a környezettudatos cselekvés közötti összefüggések vizsgálata magyar serdülők körében. Magyar Pszichológiai Szemle, 78(4), 605–624. https://doi.org/10.1556/0016.2023.00071
Baltic University Programme. (2019). Learning sustainable development – A guide for learners. https://www.balticuniv.uu.se/digitalAssets/684/c_684600-l_1-k_sustainable-development-course.pdf (2023. 12 . 28.)
Cunsolo, A. & Ellis, N. R. (2018). Ecological grief as a mental health response to climate change-related loss. Nature Climate Change, 8(4), 275–281. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-018-0092-2
Csonka, S. (2022). A természet szabad felfedezésének szerepe a hazai környezeti nevelési programokban. In: Juhász, E. & Kattein-Pornói R. (Eds.), Oktatás egy változó világban. Kutatás, innováció, fejlesztés: Absztraktkötet HuCER 2022 (pp. 29–30). Magyar Nevelés- és Oktatáskutatók Egyesülete (HERA). http://hera.org.hu/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Absztraktk%C3%B6tet-2.pdf
Csonka, S. (2023a). Nature and freedom in education – Findings from a qualitative study on school leisure time in natural settings. Journal of Applied Technical and Educational Sciences, 13(2), 348–348. https://doi.org/10.24368/jates348
Csonka, S. (2023b). Diákok szabadon a természetben – egy kvalitatív kutatás legfontosabb eredményei a terepi környezeti nevelésről. In Juhász, E. & Kattein-Pornói R. (Eds.), Az oktatás határdimenziói:Absztraktkötet HuCER 2023 (pp. 160–161). Magyar Nevelés-és Oktatáskutatók Egyesülete (HERA). https://hera.org.hu/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/HuCER2023_absztraktkotet-1.pdf
Dyment, J. E. & Bell, A. C. (2008). Grounds for movement: green school grounds as sites for promoting physical activity. Health education research, 23(6), 952–962. https://doi.org/10.1093/her/cym059
EFPA (2023). Climate change and psychology glossary. https://www.ordemdospsicologos.pt/ficheiros/documentos/efpa_expert_reference_group_climate_change_and_psychology_glossary_may_2023_1_1_.pdf (2023. 12. 30.)
Havas, P. (1996). A környezeti nevelés és a jövőképek. Iskolakultúra, 6(11), 58–70.
Kiss F. & Zsiros A. (2006). A környezeti neveléstől a globális nevelésig. In Kuknyó, J. (Ed.), A környezeti nevelés Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg megyében: mérések, elemzések, tanulmányok (pp. 12–27). Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg Megyei Önkormányzat Megyei Pedagógiai Intézete és Továbbképző Központja.
Kovacs, L. N., Jordan, G., Berglund, F., Holden, B., Niehoff, E., Pohl, F., Younssi, M., Zevallos, I., Ágoston, Cs., Varga, A. & Kökönyei, G. (2024). Acting as we feel: which emotional responses to the climate crisis motivate climate action. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 96, 102327. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2024.102327
Kováts-Németh, M. & Bodáné Kendrovics, R. (2015, Eds.). A környezetpedagógia elmélete és gyakorlata. Palatia Nyomda és Kiadó.
Lindberg, C. (2015). Perspectives on ESD from a European Member of UNESCO’s High-Level Panel, with Particular Reference to Sweden. In Jucker, R. & R. Mathar, R. (Eds.), Schooling for Sustainable Development in Europe, Schooling for Sustainable Development,vol 6 (pp. 71–86). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-09549-3_5
Mallett, R. K. (2012). Eco-guilt motivates eco-friendly behavior. Ecopsychology, 4(3), 223–231. https://doi.org/10.1089/eco.2012.0031
Martin, L., White, M. P., Hunt, A., Richardson, M., Pahl, S. & Burt, J. (2020). Nature contact, nature connectedness and associations with health, wellbeing and pro-environmental behaviours. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 68, 101389. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2020.101389
Meadows, D. H., Meadows , D. L., Randers , J. & Behrens, W. W. (1972). Limits to Growth. Universe Books.
Mónus, F. (2020). A fenntarthatóságra nevelés trendjei, lehetőségei és gyakorlata. Debreceni Egyetemi Kiadó.
Nisbet, E. K. & Zelenski, J. M. (2011). Underestimating nearby nature: Affective forecasting errors obscure the happy path to sustainability. Psychological science, 22(9), 1101–1106. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797611418527
Orr, D. (1991). What is education for. Context, 27(53), 52–58. https://doi.org/10.1215/00267929-52-1-53
Oswald, T. K., Rumbold, A. R., Kedzior, S. G. & Moore, V. M. (2020). Psychological impacts of “screen time” and “green time” for children and adolescents: A systematic scoping review. PloS ONE, 15(9), e0237725. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0237725
Palmer, J. & Neal, P. (1998). A környezeti nevelés kézikönyve. Körlánc Környezeti Nevelési Program.
Pihkala, P. (2020). Eco-anxiety and environmental education. Sustainability, 12(23), 10149. https://doi.org/10.3390/su122310149
Pihkala, P. (2022). Toward a Taxonomy of Climate Emotions. Frontiers in Climate, 3:738154. https://doi.org/10.3389/fclim.2021.738154
Ramey, K., Dunphy, M., Schamberger, B., Shoraka, Z. B., Mabadeje, Y. & Tu, L. (2024). Teaching in the Wild: Dilemmas Experienced by K-12 Teachers Learning to Facilitate Outdoor Education. In Lindgren, R., Asino, T. I., Kyza, E. A., Looi, C. K., Keifert, D. T. & Suárez, E. (Eds.), Proceedings of the 18th International Conference of the Learning Sciences-ICLS 2024, (pp. 1195–1198). International Society of the Learning Sciences. https://doi.org/10.22318/icls2024.227170
Richardson, M., McEwan, K. & Garip, G. (2018). 30 Days Wild: who benefits most? Journal of Public Mental Health, 17(3), 95–104. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPMH-02-2018-0018
Schultz, P. W. (2002). Inclusion with nature: The psychology of human-nature relations. In P. Schmuck & P. W. Schultz (Eds.) Psychology of sustainable development (pp. 61–78). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0995-0_4
Sund, P. & Wickman, P. O. (2008). Teachers’ objects of responsibility: something to care about in education for sustainable development? Environmental Education Research, 14(2), 145–163. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504620801951681
Szabó, Z. Á., Varga, A., Berze I. Zs., Kristóf, H. E., Néder, K. & Dúll A. (2023). Magyar diákok környezettudatos cselekedetei és szándékai – nagymintás vizsgálat a Fenntarthatósági Témahéttel kapcsolatban. Új Pedagógiai Szemle. 73(3–4), 22–52. https://upszonline.hu/index.php?article=730304007 (2024. 01. 03.)
Szabó, Zs. Á. (2023). Iskolai intervenciós program az ökoérzelmek és a megküzdés témájában. [MA Diplomamunka, alkalmazott rész]. Eötvös Loránd Tudományegyetem.
UN. (1987). Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our common future. http://www.un-documents.net/our-common-future.pdf (2024. 01. 11.)
Varga, A. (2022). Iskolák a fenntartható jövőért. L’Harmattan.
Whitburn, J., Linklater, W., & Abrahamse, W. (2020). Meta-analysis of human connection to nature and proenvironmental behavior. Conservation Biology, 34(1), 180–193. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13381
White, M. P., Alcock, I., Grellier, J., Wheeler, B. W., Hartig, T., Warber, S. L., Bone, A., Depledge, M. H. & Fleming, L. E. (2019). Spending at least 120 minutes a week in nature is associated with good health and wellbeing. Scientific reports, 9(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-44097-3
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Author
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
