Integrating Innovative Environmental Pedagogies into Practice in Adult Community Education

This study explores whether innovative environmental pedagogies that encourage learners to reflect on nature and are socially-critical can be integrated into teaching practice in a local government adult community education setting. Existing environmental education (EE) research reports that integrating innovative environmental pedagogies into teaching practice is problematic as a result of institutional constraints and teachers’ subjective influences. Most of this existing research has been conducted in schools, not in adult community education. My study recognises this gap in knowledge and explores how eleven practitioners working in one particular local government adult community education setting in England make meaning of innovative environmental pedagogies.

In my study I employ an action research strategy, collecting data through semi-structured interviews and cooperative inquiry meetings. Heron and Reason’s (1997) extended epistemology provides an appropriate theoretical framework. Their extended epistemology resonates strongly with my methodology and supports the practical methods required to address my research aims and questions.

My findings show that integrating innovative environmental pedagogies into one adult community education setting is indeed problematic. Problems include: practitioners’ concerns with adhering to externally imposed government performance targets; their practice of working in isolation and how their beliefs over remaining neutral in teaching significantly influences their attitude towards innovative environmental pedagogies. Unlike previous research, my findings also make visible how practitioner beliefs about nature and privileging learner needs mitigate against the integration of innovative environmental pedagogy into practice. I conclude that innovative environmental pedagogies cannot simply be grafted on to pre-existing practices. Innovation in EE must be situative and aligned with the contexts in which practitioners work.