Mid Sweden University

The ecological and social crises we face, and a need for Eco-Social-Cultural-change toward living in an ecologically and socially just society are intriguing questions for education (Blenkinsop and Fettes, 2023). In this paper, I set up a discussion about if, then what, and how the concept and meaning of eco-democracy might contribute for, in and through education, and implications that it might have for future research. If the purpose of education is to prepare the younger generation to support diverse, democratic, social, and ecologically just and sustainable societies then eco-democracy might be an important conversation for educational change, including questions of change in educational practices supporting uncertain tomorrows, young people's contemporary and imaginary future. The question is: What could eco-democracy mean for how to think about and enact public education whilst working towards an ecologically sustainable and just society where all living beings can flourish? The discussion builds on assumptions that to enact change education needs to be transformed (Jickling, et al, 2018; Paulsen, 2022). If considering the well-being of the whole community, more-than-humans included, and the right of mutually beneficial flourishing, the question that democracy seeks to answer -- how we should live together? - has to be re-thought. Accepting an ecocentric worldview has implications for democratic values such as participating, having a voice, liberty (freedom), and equality (Lundmark, 1998). The idea of a space for change and adaptation to new problem situations, the need for stabilizing forces, and rules necessary in democratic processes, as well as tools that make it possible to evaluate (Petersson, 1999) must then also include the more- than-human. To elucidate and explore eco-democracy for, in, and through education I draw on philosophical and theoretical work such as Bateson, 2000; Shiva, 2005; Macy, 2021; Martusewicz, 2020; Pickering et. al 2020; and put them in conversation with how (eco) democracy emerges in educational research focusing on environmental crises. Preliminary findings through a literature review are that democracy is mentioned in the context of more ecocentric worldviews but seems to be loosely defined. Eco-democratic education as such is seldom explicitly mentioned, nor is fostering eco-democratic citizens or enacting eco-democracy in teaching practice.There appears to be work to be done to re-think axiological, ontological, and epistemological assumptions that will push the boundaries of education in search of an eco-democracy (Orr, 2020; Payne and Hart, 2020). 

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Bateson, G. (2000). Steps to an ecology of mind. University of Chicago Press. Fettes, M & Blenkinsop, S. (2023). Education as the Practice of Eco-Social-Cultural Change. Palgrave Macmillan Cham. Jickling, B., Blenkinsop, S., Timmerman, N., & Sitka-Sage, M. (2018). (Eds.). Wild pedagogies.Palgrave Studies in Educational Futures. Lundmark, C. (1998). Eco-democracy: A green challenge to democratic theory and practice (thesis). Umeå: Umeå University. Martusewicz, R.A., Edmundson, J. & Lupinacci, J. (2020). Ecojustice education: toward diverse, democratic, and sustainable communities. (Third edition.) London: Routledge. Macy, J. (2021). World as lover, world as self. Parallax Press. Orr, D.W.(2020) Democracy and the (missing) politics in environmental education, The Journal of Environmental Education, 51(4), 270-279, Payne, P. G. & Hart, P. (2020) Environmental education, democracy, Thunberg, and XR, The Journal of Environmental Education, 51(4), 263-269, Paulsen, M., jagodzinski, J. & Hawke, S. (2022) (red.), Pedagogy in the Anthropocene: Re-Wilding Education for a New Earth. Palgrave Macmillan. Petersson, O. (1999). Samhällskonsten. Stockholm: SNS Förlag Pickering, J., Bäckstrand, K. & Schlosberg, D. (2020) Between environmental and ecological democracy: theory and practice at the democracy environment nexus, Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning, 22(1), 1-15, Shiva, V. (2005). Earth Democracy: Justice, Sustainability, and Peace. South End Press.