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Education should encompass two types of literacy – ecological literacy and civic
literacy. The first can be understood as the ability to use ecological understanding,
thinking and habits of mind for living in, enjoying and/or studying the environment.
Civic literacy, on the other hand, can be defined as the ability to use an understanding of social (political, economic, etc.) systems, skills and habits of mind for participating in and/or studying society (Berkowitz et al. 2005; Olson and Worsham 2012).
This implies that Education for Environmental Citizenship should be interdisciplinary and would have the ability to integrate the knowledge developed within environmental (natural) sciences with the relevant knowledge coming from the realm of
social sciences. We explore this issue further, under the heading of ‘topical
knowledge’.
Being aware of the complexity of the environmental knowledge, certain authors
proposed a digest curriculum that would be comprehensible for the majority of the
population. For instance, Berkowitz et al. (2005) were inspired by Paul Risser’s
definition proposing the following four elements:
1. Multimedia transport of materials
2. Clarifying the ‘everything is connected to everything’ concept
3. Ecology-culture interactions
4. Familiar ecological field observations based on a specific, local ‘spot’
Berkowitz et al. (2005) developed a framework consisting of three components:
1. Understanding of five key ecological systems: (a) one’s home community (ecological neighbourhood) and ecosystem, (b) the ecological basis of human existence, (c) the ecology of the systems that sustain us, (d) the globe as an ecosystem
and our impacts on it and (e) genetic/evolutionary systems
2. Building the disposition, skills, and capacity for ecological thinking (scientific or
evidence-based thinking, systems thinking, transdisciplinary thinking, spatial
thinking, temporal, quantitative, creative and empathic thinking)
3. The nature of ecological science and its interface with society
On the ‘social’ side (civic literacy) of the knowledge that is important for
Environmental Citizenship, it could be argued that concepts and theories developed
within the scope of environmental sociology, environmental psychology and environmental political science are of particular value. This body of knowledge consists
of, but is not limited to, the following: environmental values, awareness and behaviour, environmental activism and movements, environmental/climate justice, environmental inequality, environmental decision-making, environmental governance,
environmental communication and media, risk construction and environmental discourses, etc. (ENEC 2018).
According to M. Boström (2012), the term sustainable development is not a very
useful theoretical concept for social scientists to understand the relationship between
society and nature or for the study of environmental governance, management and
communication. The ‘social’ has to do with the entire relationship between society
and nature, which includes economic, cultural, political and institutional structures
and processes. It is therefore appropriate and feasible to create a civic sense in the
5 Knowledge and Environmental Citizenship
Education should encompass two types of literacy – ecological literacy and civic
literacy. The first can be understood as the ability to use ecological understanding,
thinking and habits of mind for living in, enjoying and/or studying the environment.
Civic literacy, on the other hand, can be defined as the ability to use an understanding of social (political, economic, etc.) systems, skills and habits of mind for participating in and/or studying society (Berkowitz et al. 2005; Olson and Worsham 2012).
This implies that Education for Environmental Citizenship should be interdisciplinary and would have the ability to integrate the knowledge developed within environmental (natural) sciences with the relevant knowledge coming from the realm of
social sciences. We explore this issue further, under the heading of ‘topical
knowledge’.
Being aware of the complexity of the environmental knowledge, certain authors
proposed a digest curriculum that would be comprehensible for the majority of the
population. For instance, Berkowitz et al. (2005) were inspired by Paul Risser’s
definition proposing the following four elements:
1. Multimedia transport of materials
2. Clarifying the ‘everything is connected to everything’ concept
3. Ecology-culture interactions
4. Familiar ecological field observations based on a specific, local ‘spot’
Berkowitz et al. (2005) developed a framework consisting of three components:
1. Understanding of five key ecological systems: (a) one’s home community (ecological neighbourhood) and ecosystem, (b) the ecological basis of human existence, (c) the ecology of the systems that sustain us, (d) the globe as an ecosystem
and our impacts on it and (e) genetic/evolutionary systems
2. Building the disposition, skills, and capacity for ecological thinking (scientific or
evidence-based thinking, systems thinking, transdisciplinary thinking, spatial
thinking, temporal, quantitative, creative and empathic thinking)
3. The nature of ecological science and its interface with society
On the ‘social’ side (civic literacy) of the knowledge that is important for
Environmental Citizenship, it could be argued that concepts and theories developed
within the scope of environmental sociology, environmental psychology and environmental political science are of particular value. This body of knowledge consists
of, but is not limited to, the following: environmental values, awareness and behaviour, environmental activism and movements, environmental/climate justice, environmental inequality, environmental decision-making, environmental governance,
environmental communication and media, risk construction and environmental discourses, etc. (ENEC 2018).
According to M. Boström (2012), the term sustainable development is not a very
useful theoretical concept for social scientists to understand the relationship between
society and nature or for the study of environmental governance, management and
communication. The ‘social’ has to do with the entire relationship between society
and nature, which includes economic, cultural, political and institutional structures
and processes. It is therefore appropriate and feasible to create a civic sense in the
5 Knowledge and Environmental Citizenship