Term of Award

Winter 2025

Degree Name

Doctor of Education in Curriculum Studies (Ed.D.)

Document Type and Release Option

Dissertation (open access)

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Department

College of Education

Committee Chair

Delores Liston

Committee Member 1

John Weaver

Committee Member 2

Ming Fang He

Committee Member 3

Amanda L. Townley

Abstract

This dissertation examines the potential of speculative essays as pedagogical tools to inspire K-12 educators to integrate climate justice education within their classrooms, utilizing the framework of Global Citizenship Education (GCE). While climate change is often presented in schools as a scientific or technical issue, the literature on environmental justice demonstrates that climate change is inextricably linked to systemic inequities rooted in race, gender, colonialism, and economic oppression (Bullard, 2000; Shiva, 1988; Whyte, 2017). Yet educators frequently lack accessible, integrative frameworks for addressing these intersections in their teaching without overhauling existing curricula. This study addresses that gap by triangulating ecopedagogy, ecofeminism, climate justice education (CJE), and GCE to establish a comprehensive theoretical foundation for climate justice pedagogy. Drawing from ecopedagogy’s emphasis on Freirean praxis (Freire, 1970; Kahn, 2010), ecofeminism’s critique of patriarchal and ecological domination (Merchant, 1980; Warren, 1997; Gaard, 1993; Shiva, 1988), and CJE’s activist commitments to addressing disproportionate climate burdens on marginalized communities (Anderson, 2012; Osorio, 2021), this study situates GCE as a pragmatic bridge for operationalizing justice-centered pedagogy within existing K-12 frameworks (UNESCO, 2015). In addition, place-based and outdoor pedagogies (Gruenewald, 2003; Sobel, 2004) provide the methodological grounding to root global issues in students’ lived environments, while Donna Haraway’s (2016) theorization of speculative writing underscores the power of storytelling to generate imaginative frameworks for alternative futures.

The dissertation employs speculative essays both as an analytic and pedagogical method, illustrating how educators might envision classrooms where racial, gender, Indigenous, and economic justice are integral to climate education. Through these narratives, the study demonstrates how teachers can draw on existing GCE competencies, such as critical thinking, ethical reasoning, and intercultural understanding, while engaging students in justice-centered inquiry and action. Ultimately, this project argues that speculative essays, when grounded in the triangulated frameworks of ecopedagogy, ecofeminism, CJE, and GCE, offer educators a powerful means to bridge theory and practice. It not only equips students to understand the systemic nature of climate injustice but also inspires them to imagine, and enact, equitable and sustainable futures.

OCLC Number

1561114049

Research Data and Supplementary Material

No

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