Co-Creating K-12 Ecologically Minded Professional Development Programming
By Sarah Bexell
Photo by Austin Distel via Unsplash
The field of humane education was utilized to support this initiative with its use of a critical pedagogy founded on the recognition of the interconnectedness of the wellbeing of humans, other species, and nature and the importance of empowering learners to actively participate in addressing the most pressing social justice issues of our times. It equips educators to support students to examine what is happening on Earth, from human oppression to animal exploitation and ecological degradation. Further, it is designed to provide students with concrete knowledge, awareness, and critical and systems thinking skills so that they can make humane and regenerative decisions and be active in creating a healthy world.
In a study on the state of humane education in the United States that surveyed 828 K-12 staff, 96% of respondents reported they would support use of humane education in their school (Bexell et al.,2020). However, public school staff are stretched thin so the adoption of an additional subject is not appropriate. Humane education represents a promising approach because it can be implemented as an overarching paradigm embedded within existing curriculum, a strategy described as a complimentary curriculum approach. Moroye (2009) describes complimentary curriculum as an interplay between the experiences of students, teachers, parents, administrators, policymakers, and other stakeholders. This process of education involves the knowledge, pedagogical premises, and practices of cultural, linguistic, sociopolitical and geographical contexts that all influence what is conveyed in the classroom. Within this context, the complimentary curriculum is situated in the experiences and examples that teachers provide while executing required federal and state curricula.
This project culminated in a 1/2 day workshop for DPS teachers. This work continues to today with an upcoming 2-day training in regenerative education being offered to DU faculty and staff in June 2025.