Environmental and Sustainability Education in the Benelux Region

in Environmental Education Research (in press), (Special Issue),

Environmental and sustainability education in the Benelux countries: Research, policy and practices at the intersection of education and societal transformation

in Environmental Education Research (2018), 24(Special Issue9-10), 1234-1250

As an introductory article of a Special Issue on Environmental and Sustainability Education (ESE) in the Benelux region, this paper provides an overview of ESE research, policy and practice in Belgium ... [more ▼]

As an introductory article of a Special Issue on Environmental and Sustainability Education (ESE) in the Benelux region, this paper provides an overview of ESE research, policy and practice in Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg. It discusses the different contributions in this collection with regard to how the central theme of this issue, the relation between education and societal transformation, is approached in each paper. The main characteristics of the ESE research fields in the Benelux are described in general terms, and placed within the context of how ESE policy and practice are organised in these countries. Next, different conceptualisations of the relation between educational and political spaces reflected in the collection are discussed and the varied contributions to this issue are positioned in relation to three distinguished traditions of approaching the place of democracy in ESE. The authors conclude with commenting on how this relates to different approaches to the research-policy-practice interface. [less ▲]

Learning to confront complexity: What roles can a computer-based problem-solving scenario play?

in Environmental Education Research (2017)

This paper gives an example of how computer-based problem-solving scenarios can be embedded in a course on sustainability, in order to illustrate the highly versatile way in which such scenarios can be ... [more ▼]

This paper gives an example of how computer-based problem-solving scenarios can be embedded in a course on sustainability, in order to illustrate the highly versatile way in which such scenarios can be used to structure and evaluate learning on complexity on an individual level, as well as learning in diverse groups. After defining criteria, a computer-based problem-solving scenario has to meet in order to be useful for training competencies associated with confronting complexity, the application of one specific scenario, the Genetics Lab, is empirically evaluated on base of three student cohorts. Results suggest that existing approaches to sustainability education can be substantially complemented by computer-based problem-solving scenarios, offering genuine learning opportunities and deepening and personalizing the comprehension of known phenomena in complex problem-solving. The paper closes by offering lessons learned from the presented approach and gives advice and outlook on future applications of such scenarios in sustainability education. [less ▲]