The Politics of Environmental Education Centres

This book juxtaposes a representation of environmental education centres around the globe with centres within the New South Wales Department of Education in Australia. As terminology shifted from nature study and conservation education to environmental education then “environmental and sustainability education” within “sustainable development” the centres embodied and encompassed this evolution. The book traces the centres’ journeys through the phenomenon of the 1970s growth in socially conscious governance, to 1980s-1990s public managerialism, to the tightening tentacles of capitalism. The complexity of education as a socio-political endeavour is made explicit. Themes including the changing dynamics of caring for the environment, and bureaucratic and political manoeuvring, in addition to the effects of activism and globalisation are viewed through a centre lens as the centres survive and thrive in ever increasing neoliberal times. The book will appeal to teachers, academics and bureaucrats interested in the history and politics of environmental education.