Activating teacher candidates in community-wide environmental education: The Pathway to Stewardship and Kinship Project

Abstract

To create a truly regenerative future, simply reforming teacher education to prioritize Environmental and Sustainability Education (ESE) will not create the wide-ranging changes in the education system needed to meet the environmental challenges facing humanity. Instead, a holistic strategy involving community collaboration with teacher education stands a better chance of achieving this. This article provides an overview of a community-wide project to foster environmental stewardship in students from K to 12. This collective impact model approach will create a climate that supports student teachers in their efforts to improve their practice in ESE. We argue that student teachers who learn to collaborate with their community as a source of expertise and encouragement are more likely to create positive and lasting change in ESE.