Environmental Education-Related Policy Enactment in Japanese High Schools

TY - JOUR

T1 - Environmental Education-Related Policy Enactment in Japanese High Schools

AU - Glackin, Melissa

AU - Greer, Kate

PY - 2021/8/13

Y1 - 2021/8/13

N2 - Over the past decade, Japan’s rich tradition of environmental education-related policy has shifted to encompass international discourse concerning global competition and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). In view of this shift, this article explores environmental education related policy enactment from the perspective of high school teachers. In-depth interviews were conducted with 16 experienced teachers and were analysed using the environmental education-related conceptual lenses of Lucas (1972) and Stevenson (1987, 2007). The findings suggest that the current policy enactment in Japanese high schools features a narrow interpretation of environmental education that emphasises knowledge acquisition and overlooks the development of practical skills, attitudes or democratic citizenship. This case study highlights the necessity that, for a progressive environmental education to become established, policymakers must find a way to balance local knowledge with the demands of international organisations, paying particular attention to curriculum ideology, policy competition and the teachers’ voice in policy creation.

AB - Over the past decade, Japan’s rich tradition of environmental education-related policy has shifted to encompass international discourse concerning global competition and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). In view of this shift, this article explores environmental education related policy enactment from the perspective of high school teachers. In-depth interviews were conducted with 16 experienced teachers and were analysed using the environmental education-related conceptual lenses of Lucas (1972) and Stevenson (1987, 2007). The findings suggest that the current policy enactment in Japanese high schools features a narrow interpretation of environmental education that emphasises knowledge acquisition and overlooks the development of practical skills, attitudes or democratic citizenship. This case study highlights the necessity that, for a progressive environmental education to become established, policymakers must find a way to balance local knowledge with the demands of international organisations, paying particular attention to curriculum ideology, policy competition and the teachers’ voice in policy creation.

U2 - 10.1177/09734082211031325

DO - 10.1177/09734082211031325

M3 - Article

VL - 15

JO - Journal of Education for Sustainable Development

JF - Journal of Education for Sustainable Development

IS - 2

ER -