Page 58 - Cultural Studies of Science Education

34 M.L. Bentley

Ethics and Urgency

Martusewicz, Lupinacci, and Schnakenberg provide an underlying ethic in their
foundation for ecojustice education based upon the sacredness of the complex eco-
system upon which all life depends. The provision for ethics as an aspect of content
in the science curriculum also was a concern of Dewey and has a long history in
science education. In 1937, Dewey said, “The formation of the attitude ... is the
work and responsibility of the school more than of any other single institution”
(1987, p. 254). This concern has particularly been a focus of feminist critiques (Zell
1998). Certainly science education includes both cognitive and affective dimen-
sions and we need to be more concerned about developing students’ attitudes and
motivations. In the words of Stephen Jay Gould (1994), “we cannot win this battle
to save species and environments without forging an emotional bond between our-
selves and nature … for we will not fight to save what we do not love” (p. 4). An
education that excludes an ethics foundation can lead to a self-centered, rudderless
citizenry. According to the late Senator Gaylord Nelson (1997):
Ironically, an issue at least of equal importance to population is rarely noted or mentioned
anywhere. Yet it is the key to our environmental future. The absence of a pervasive, guiding
conservation ethic in our culture is the issue and the problem. Society’s answer must be to
focus its attention and energies on nurturing a conservation generation imbued with a con-
servation ethic. Without such a guiding cultural ethic, society will not have the
understanding, motivation, conviction or political will to persist in addressing the truly hard

questions that will confront us in the decades to come. (pp. 38–39)
To develop an ethic of ecological sustainability science educators ought to become
familiar with deep ecology, conservation biology, bioregionalism, ecofeminism, and
socially critical analysis (Corcoran and Sievers 1994). This task is all the more critical
in our time as distress signals from one ecosystem after another become harder and
harder to ignore. Croplands, forests, and grasslands, systems that support the world
economy, are under varying degrees of stress and degradation in almost all places
including the USA (Worldwatch Institute 2009). NASA tells us that the ten warmest
years on record all occur within the 12-year period 1997–2008 (Goddard 2009). I am
not advocating that educators should teach from a crisis mode, but it is long past time
to begin educating a generation of students on how to live in a world of ecological
scarcity and to help them learn how to create a more sustainable society.

More Examples of EcoJustice Education in Practice

Martusewicz, Lupinacci, and Schnakenberg focus primarily on schooling, but
learning is broader than schooling. Museums and other institutions of informal
education could play a prominent role in ecojustice education, both for students and
in professional development for teachers. Science learning in informal settings can
complement classroom science goals and encourage connections with the local
community (Bell et al. 2009).