Convergence and Divergence: A Rejoinder to John Huckle

Abstract

I am pleased with John Huckle's reply to my position paper. I appreciate his work and I share most of his/her theoretical proposal. With John Fien, Ian Robottom, Annette Greenall and others who contributed, each in his/her own way, to develop the socially critical environmental education current, he is one of the authors who enriches the reading program of my graduate students. I agree that the inputs of the critical theory, reviewed in light of a constructive postmodern thought, give an essential dimension to environmental education: that of a critical appraisal of the interrelated social, environmental and educational aspects of phenomenons and issues of our lives, in the perspective of personal and social transformations towards optimal environmental relationships. Without this critical stance, environmental education would lose most of its relevance. And it is precisely this critical standpoint that underlies the discussions of this colloquium. It is a matter of challenging old and new orthodoxies while inviting us, each one starting from his own referential framework, to go further . . . clarifying, consolidating, enriching or changing our initial positions.