Abstract
This chapter explores environmental education (EE) as a praxis of environmental reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities in Canada. Through a critical review of ecojustice education literature, the authors examine both its potential and its limitations in supporting Indigenous education. Drawing on qualitative findings from teacher candidates participating in a voluntary practicum in an Indigenous community, the chapter highlights the inadequacies of current teacher education programs in addressing reconciliation. It concludes with recommendations for EE scholars seeking to integrate principles of environmental reconciliation into their teaching and research practices.
Keywords: Environmental education (EE); environmental reconciliation; Indigenous education; ecojustice education; teacher education; Reconciliation in education; Indigenous–non-Indigenous relations; practicum experience; decolonizing education; place-based learning
Core Idea: Ecojustice education may be problematic from an Indigenous perspective due to its roots in Eurocentric philosophical traditions.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67732-3_2
Reference: Butler, J. K., Ng-A-Fook, N., Forte, R., McFadden, F., & Reis, G. (2018). Understanding ecojustice education as a praxis of environmental reconciliation: Teacher education, Indigenous knowledges, and relationality (Issue November 2017, pp. 19–31). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67732-3_2