Recent International Developments in Professional Development in Environmental Education: Reflections and Issues

Abstract

This article considers two recent international research projects in environmental education. Each project adopts a participatory research-based approach to professional development. Principal outcomes of each project include case studies of environmental education practice in particular settings—development of these case studies is their ultimate aim. These projects will be juxtaposed with other approaches in which participatory and action research is but one step in the further process of wider international dissemination, adaptations, and adoption. The article thus draws attention to the interplay of contextuality and universality, and the role of participatory research in this tension.