Is degrowth education an alternative in the minds of educators in the face of the serious eco-social crisis and global warming?

Abstract

The aim of this research is to find out whether education students and professionals are aware of the seriousness of climate change and the environmental crisis and whether they receive training to deal with it in their professional future. More specifically, this study aims to analyze if they are aware of the degrowth proposal and consider they should train themselves and future generations in it to tackle this ecosystemic crisis profoundly. The methodology used was qualitative, through focused semi-structured in-depth interviews. The results of the data analysis, carried out with Atlas.ti, are structured around four dimensions: (a) Climate change, sustainability-consumption-social implications, (b) Growth, degrowth, collapse, (c) Personal attitudes towards caring for the planet and (d) Educating/training for degrowth. It is concluded that there is a general awareness concerning degrowth as a relevant issue and a possible alternative, but this is not applied in educational and curricular practice. The need to review the initial training plans for future teachers to introduce these elements is discussed. A limitation of this study is the scarcity of literature on degrowth in education and the need to expand the research sample in order to generalize the findings obtained in the research.