Forest education as contribution to education for environmental citizenship and non-anthropocentric perspectives. Issue 9 (1st August 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kowasch, Matthias; Oettel, Janine; Bauer, Nicole; Lapin, Katharina
• Is Part Of: Environmental education research. Volume 28:Issue 9(2022)
• Page Start: 1331
• Page End: 1347
• Publication Date: 2022-08-01
• Subjects: Forest education -- environmental and sustainability education -- environmental citizenship -- encounters with nature -- non-anthropocentrism; Environmental education -- Research -- Periodicals; 333.7207
• DOI: 10.1080/13504622.2022.2060940
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1350-4622

Abstract

Abstract: Forest ecosystems play a fundamental role in mitigating global environmental changes. The development of environmentally sound behavior, and inter- and intragenerational equity can help counteract these global changes. One type of formal and non-formal environmental education is forest education, which aims to promote the achievement of sustainable development in forest-related ecosystems. We conducted an empirical study among forest educators in Austria, using a mixed-method approach, to investigate the potential of forest education to promote education for environmental citizenship. Our findings suggest that forest education and encounters with nature can lead to increased self-responsibility and contribute to critically reflect experience-based changes in behaviour. In conclusion, forest education is a useful tool for environmental citizenship education that contributes to improved understanding of forest ecosystems and non-anthropocentric perspectives for future development. However, forest education lacks funding, integration into formal education curricula, and the harmonization of framework conditions in non-formal education.