Teaching social ecology

Ecological understanding is a consequence of deeply engaged learning. Can it be taught, or more accurately, can circumstances be constructed that contribute to its emergence? In this chapter I discuss such circumstances and describe approaches to teaching social ecology around the world. My aim is to offer both global and local perspectives, eventually focusing on social ecology as process of learning in which the “perspective of the participant” is central (along with the social ecology of that participant). I examine the development of Social Ecology at Western Sydney University, its contexts and the ways in which it has and can be differentiated over time and place. “Story” has been central to this work and examples of ways in which students have worked with story to explore their social-ecological understanding are included. I discuss the function of this study and its impact upon those who participate in it, not least those of us who identify as educators whose learning provides and enables much needed leadership in this area.