Educating in and for degrowth: training future generations to prevent environmental collapse

Abstract

This research has been developed through a literature review on the importance of and current approach in the education system to the present environmental and ecosystemic crisis and the training of future generations in degrowth in the Spanish education system. To this end, a systematic literature review (SLR) has been carried out following the standards of the PRISMA declaration. In total, 40 articles published between January 2005 and March 2024 were selected from the following databases: Scopus, Dialnet,Web of Science and Scielo. The findings show it is a relevant topic in school education as a concern, but it is not reflected in educational practice; that it has been incorporated into the curriculum, but sporadically, decontextualised and more focused on ‘sustainable development’; also, it lacks critical questioning of the unlimited growth and consumption model that capitalism entails. The study concludes that it is crucial to incorporate degrowth in a transversal way in education at all schooling levels, and to reform the curricula of the faculties of education in all universities so that the pedagogy of degrowth is a priority in the training of future teachers.