Interpretation of the Reality in Environmental Education: Identification of Mono-, Multi-, Inter-, Trans-Disciplinary and Inter-Epistemic Experiences

Julio César Tovar-Gálvez

doi:10.21601/ijese/11879

Full Text (PDF)

Julio César Tovar-Gálvez ¹ ^*

More Detail

¹ Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, GERMANY^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

The interpretation of reality is relevant to transforming environmental contexts. Environmental education (EE) might contribute to building more complex interpretations of reality. It seems that integrating disciplines is a way to reach complexity in interpreting reality. However, it is not easy for professionals and teachers to achieve such integration. Therefore, this paper aims to illustrate different interpretations of reality through specific educational reports on EE. This work is a qualitative and descriptive study of cases. The units to study are experiences in EE. The cases’ selection depends on whether the document describes an experience or a practical proposal on developing EE. The analysis classifies the experiences as monodisciplinary, multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, inter-epistemological or transdisciplinary. The results describe three cases per category. The discussion highlights that all the interpretations of reality are valuable and contribute, but a more complex framework probably will lead communities to broader and more profound interpretation and action.

Keywords

environmental education
monodisciplinary
multidisciplinary
interdisciplinary
inter-epistemological
transdisciplinary

License

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

INTERDISCIP J ENV SCI ED, 2022, Volume 18, Issue 3, Article No: e2274

https://doi.org/10.21601/ijese/11879

Publication date: 08 Mar 2022

Article Views: 1286

Article Downloads: 736

Open Access References How to cite this article

References

Baptista, G. C. S. (2018). Tables of contextual cognition: A proposal for intercultural research in science education. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 13(1), 845-863. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-017-9807-3
Batista, N. L., Feltrin, T., Cassol, M. S., Busnello, M., Ziembowicz, F. I., de Vargas, L. F., & Pigatto, M. M. (2019). A multidisciplinary proposal for environmental education with 6th years of fundamental education in Santa Maria/RS. Vivências [Experiences], 15(28), 193-205. https://doi.org/10.31512/vivencias.v15i28.28
Briggs, L., Trautmann, N., & Fournier, C. (2018). Environmental education in Latin American and the Caribbean: The challenges and limitations of conducting a systematic review of evaluation and research. Environmental Education Research, 24(12), 1631-1654. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2018.1499015
Cachapuz, A. (2020). Arte e ciência no ensino interdisciplinar das ciências [Art and science in interdisciplinary science teaching]. Revista Internacional de Pesquisa em Didática das Ciências e Matemática [International Journal of Research in Didactics of Science and Mathematics], 1, e020009. https://periodicoscientificos.itp.ifsp.edu.br/index.php/revin/article/view/89
Fragkoulis, I., & Koutsoukos, M. (2018). Environmental education through art: A creative teaching approach. Education Quarterly Reviews, 1(2), 83-88. https://doi.org/10.31014/aior.1993.01.01.8
Franzen, R. L. (2017). Environmental education in teacher education programs: Incorporation and use of professional guidelines. Journal of Sustainability Education, 16. http://susted.com/RATS_2.3/UploadsFinalPDFs/459_2018-01-08%2017.17.39_Franzen%20JSE%20Fall%202017%20General%20PDF.pdf
Galvão, C., Faria, C., Viegas, W., Branco, A., & Goulão, L. (2021). Inquiry in higher education for sustainable development: Crossing disciplinary knowledge boundaries. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 22(2), 291-307. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-02-2020-0068
García-Campos, H. (2019). Environmental education from an intercultural approach: A glimpse into Latin America. Southern African Journal of Environmental Education, 35, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.4314/sajee.v35i1.12
Kapyrka, J., & Dockstator, M. (2012). Indigenous knowledges and western knowledges in environmental education: Acknowledging the tensions for the benefits of a “two-worlds” approach. Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, 17, 97-112. https://cjee.lakeheadu.ca/article/view/1069
Klein, J. T. (2020). Sustainability and collaboration: Crossdisciplinary and cross-sector horizons. Sustainability, 12(4), 1515. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12041515
Lorenzo, M., Álvarez, M., Arias, A., & Pérez, U. (2019). Aprender a interpretar la acidificación oceánica con recursos on-line y experimentación contextualizada [Learn to interpret ocean acidification with online resources and contextualized experimentation]. Enseñanza de las Ciencias [Science Education], 37(2), 189-209. https://doi.org/10.5565/rev/ensciencias.2564
Ludwig, D., & El-Hani, C. N. (2020). Philosophy of ethnobiology: Understanding knowledge integration and its limitations. Journal of Ethnobiology 40(1), 3-20. https://doi.org/10.2993/0278-0771-40.1.3
Lundershausen, J. (2018). The anthropocene working group and its (inter-)disciplinarity. Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy, 14(1), 31-45. https://doi.org/10.1080/15487733.2018.1541682
Morin, E. (1996). Thought ecologized. Gazeta de Antropología [Gazette of Anthropology], 12, 1-7. www.ugr.es/~pwlac/G12_01Edgar_Morin.pdf
Mpofu, V., Otulaja, F., & Mushayikwa, E. (2014). Towards culturally relevant classroom science: A theoretical framework focusing on traditional plant healing. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 9, 221-242. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-013-9508-5
Nokkala, T., Aarnikoivu, M., & Kiili, J. (2021). Multidisciplinary peer-mentoring groups supporting knowledge sharing in doctoral education. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research. https://doi.org/10.1080/00313831.2021.1939142
Orozco-Messana, J., de la Poza-Plaza, E., & Calabuig-Moreno, R. (2020). Experiences in transdisciplinary education for the sustainable development of the built environment, the ISAlab workshop. Sustainability, 12(3), 1143. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12031143
Paoli, F. (2019). Multi- inter-, and transdisciplinarity. Problema. Anuario de filosofía y teoría del derecho [Problem. yearbook of philosophy and theory of law], 13, 347-357. http://www.scielo.org.mx/pdf/paftd/n13/2007-4387-paftd-13-347.pdf
Porcel, M., & Odetti, H. (2020). School environmental projects as a local awareness factor: A case study in a rural high school. Indagatio Didactica [Inquiry into Teaching], 12(4), 41-55. https://doi.org/10.34624/id.v12i4.21652
Puerto Layton, C. M., & Tovar-Gálvez, J. C. (2020). Proposal for an assessment system of environmental education processes based on complexity expressions scenarios. Revista Internacional de Formação de Professores, 5, e020029. https://periodicoscientificos.itp.ifsp.edu.br/index.php/rifp/article/view/236
Reddy, C. (2017). Environmental education in teacher education: A viewpoint exploring options in South Africa. Southern African Journal of Environmental Education, 33, 117-126. https://doi.org/10.4314/sajee.v.33i1.9
Renn, O. (2021). Transdisciplinarity: Synthesis towards a modular approach. Futures, 130, 102744. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2021.102744
Riley, K., & Proctor, L. (2021). A physical education/environmental education nexus: Transdisciplinary approaches to curriculum for a sense of belonging. Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1017/aee.2021.29
Riley, K., & White, P. (2019). ‘Attuning-with’, affect, and assemblages of relations in a transdisciplinary environmental education. Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 35, 262-272. https://doi.org/10.1017/aee.2019.30
Robles-Piñeros, J. Ludwig, D. Baptista, G. C. S., & Molina-Andrade, A. (2020). Intercultural science education as a trading zone between traditional and academic knowledge. Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, 84, 101337. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsc.2020.101337.
Rogers, M., Pfaff, T., Hamilton, J., & Erkan, A. (2015). Using sustainability themes and multidisciplinary approaches to enhance STEM education. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 16(4), 523-536. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-02-2013-0018
Sakamoto, M., Yamaguchi, E., Yamamoto, T., & Wakabayashi, K. (2021). An intervention study on students’ decision-making towards consensus building on socio-scientific issues. International Journal of Science Education, 43(12), 1965-1983. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2021.1947541
Salamanca, A., Molina Andrade, A., & Melo, N. (2015). The classroom basket: When the waste is not already trash. In X Encontro Nacional de Pesquisa em Educação em Ciências [X National Meeting of Research in Science Education]. ABRAPEC. http://www.abrapecnet.org.br/enpec/x-enpec/anais2015/resumos/R1632-1.PDF
Sund, P., & Gericke, N. (2020). Teaching contributions from secondary school subject areas to education for sustainable development–A comparative study of science, social science and language teachers. Environmental Education Research, 26(6), 772-794. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2020.1754341
Tan, E., & So, H.-J. (2019). Role of environmental interaction in interdisciplinary thinking: From knowledge resources perspectives. The Journal of Environmental Education, 50(2), 113-130. https://doi.org/10.1080/00958964.2018.1531280
Tovar-Gálvez, J. C. (2020a). Currículo de educación ambiental desde la complejidad: construcción de la competencia ambiental a través de proyectos [Environmental education curriculum from complexity: construction of environmental competence through projects]. In A. Hernández, Rç Ramírez, & O. Escobar (Eds). Educación ambiental en el siglo XXI: del trayecto de construcción a la imperiosa necesidad [Environmental education in the 21st century: from the construction journey to the urgent need] (pp. 105-140). CIAD-CONACYT. https://bit.ly/3E1NwAn
Tovar-Gálvez, J. C. (2020b). Reducing the gap between theory and practice during the pandemic: Planning a complex virtual environmental project. Revista Internacional De Pesquisa Em Didática Das Ciências E Matemática, 1, e020017. https://bit.ly/38MLYeR
Tovar-Gálvez, J. C. (2021a). The epistemological bridge as a framework to guide teachers to design culturally inclusive practices. International Journal of Science Education, 43(5), 760-776. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2021.1883203
Tovar-Gálvez, J. C. (2021b). Bringing environmental education to the curriculum: Practical elements emergent from teaching experiences and research. Interdisciplinary Journal of Environmental and Science Education, 17(3), e2236. https://doi.org/10.21601/ijese/9606
Tovar-Gálvez, J. C., & Acher, A. (2021). Design of intercultural teaching practices for science education based on evidence. Enseñanza de las Ciencias, 39(1), 99-115. https://doi.org/10.5565/rev/ensciencias.2891
Tovar-Gálvez, J. C., & Sedano Aguilar, W. (2014). Taller: Niveles de reflexión epistémica en didáctica de las ciencias [Workshop: Levels of epistemic reflection in science education]. In Memorias del III Congreso Internacional y V Nacional de Educación Pedagogía y Cultura Ambiental [Proceedings of the III International and V National Congress of Education, Pedagogy and Environmental Culture] (pp. 499-504). Universidad de la Amazonía. https://doi.org/10.13140/2.1.1662.1128
Valderrama-Pérez, D., Molina, A., & El-Hani, C. N. (2015). Dialogue between scientific and traditional knowledge in the science classroom: Development study of a teaching sequence in a school in Taganga (Magdalena, Colombia). Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 167, 217-222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.12.665
Williamson Castro, G. J. M. (2009). Educación ambiental intercultural: ¿un nuevo paradigma? [Intercultural environmental education: A new paradigm?] Revista Colombiana de Educación [Colombian Journal of Education], 56, 132-155. https://doi.org/10.17227/01203916.7583
Woiwode, H., & Froese, A. (2020). Two hearts beating in a research centers’ chest: How scholars in interdisciplinary research settings cope with monodisciplinary deep structures, Studies in Higher Education, 46(11), 2230-2244. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2020.1716321

How to cite this article

APA

Tovar-Gálvez, J. C. (2022). Interpretation of the Reality in Environmental Education: Identification of Mono-, Multi-, Inter-, Trans-Disciplinary and Inter-Epistemic Experiences. Interdisciplinary Journal of Environmental and Science Education, 18(3), e2274. https://doi.org/10.21601/ijese/11879

Vancouver

Tovar-Gálvez JC. Interpretation of the Reality in Environmental Education: Identification of Mono-, Multi-, Inter-, Trans-Disciplinary and Inter-Epistemic Experiences. INTERDISCIP J ENV SCI ED. 2022;18(3):e2274. https://doi.org/10.21601/ijese/11879

AMA

Tovar-Gálvez JC. Interpretation of the Reality in Environmental Education: Identification of Mono-, Multi-, Inter-, Trans-Disciplinary and Inter-Epistemic Experiences. INTERDISCIP J ENV SCI ED. 2022;18(3), e2274. https://doi.org/10.21601/ijese/11879

Chicago

Tovar-Gálvez, Julio César. "Interpretation of the Reality in Environmental Education: Identification of Mono-, Multi-, Inter-, Trans-Disciplinary and Inter-Epistemic Experiences". Interdisciplinary Journal of Environmental and Science Education 2022 18 no. 3 (2022): e2274. https://doi.org/10.21601/ijese/11879

Harvard

Tovar-Gálvez, J. C. (2022). Interpretation of the Reality in Environmental Education: Identification of Mono-, Multi-, Inter-, Trans-Disciplinary and Inter-Epistemic Experiences. Interdisciplinary Journal of Environmental and Science Education, 18(3), e2274. https://doi.org/10.21601/ijese/11879

MLA

Tovar-Gálvez, Julio César "Interpretation of the Reality in Environmental Education: Identification of Mono-, Multi-, Inter-, Trans-Disciplinary and Inter-Epistemic Experiences". Interdisciplinary Journal of Environmental and Science Education, vol. 18, no. 3, 2022, e2274. https://doi.org/10.21601/ijese/11879