NW 04/07/30: In/exclusion, Migration and Sustainability

Network
NW 04 Inclusive Education

Title
In/exclusion, Migration and Sustainability

Abstract
There is a growing recognition that different cultural and social groups experience the impacts of environmental degradation in different ways, with marginalised and disadvantaged groups often suffering a greater intensity and disproportional impact of negative outcomes. With this joint special call, we aim to bring together research on inclusive education, intercultural education and education for sustainable development to address environmental and societal crises beyond mainstream discourses. In doing so, this joint special call targets the various intersections between ex/inclusion, (forced) migration and sustainability that have been insufficiently addressed in both (global) education policy and education research.

The Call
With the 2030 Agenda (UN 2015), the global community has set itself 17 goals (Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs) for social, environmental and economic development. For educational research on the intersections of inclusion, (forced) migration and sustainability, SDG 4 is particularly relevant. It states, “that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development” (highlighted by authors). This points to various intersections between ex/inclusion, (forced) migration and sustainability that have so far been insufficiently addressed both in (global) education policies (UNESCO 2020) and educational research (e.g. Børhaug 2021; Catarci 2021), as well as in their complexity and intersection (for intersectionality as critical method see Davis/Lutz 2023). The question of who needs to be involved in planning climate action remains superficial, while increasingly popular terms like “inclusion” and “sustainability” with their broad and open definitions leaving room for interpretation (Heigl et al. 2022). (Re-)Emerging concepts such as eco-ableism and environmental humanities (Ray/Sibara 2017), climate migration (Bettini et al. 2017) play an important role in revealing meaning and knowledge to support societal transformation.

With this joint special call, we aim to bring together research on inclusive education, intercultural education and education for sustainable development to address environmental and societal crises beyond mainstream discourses. We welcome contributions focussing on formal, non-formal and informal learning in different settings, such as family, school, workplace, neighbourhood and other communities, and that seek to

• theorise sustainability in education in the context of (forced) migration and inclusion;
• provide insights into different pedagogical practices at the intersection of (forced) migration, inclusion and sustainability through empirical (case) studies;
• develop methodologies for researching the intersection of sustainability, disability and racism in education (e.g. postcolonial, disability studies, environmental justice education and (post-)environmental humanities, critical race studies, arts-based approaches);
• decolonise sustainability in inclusive and intercultural education;
• understand configurations of competences, dispositions, skills and attributes for sustainability in pluralistic societies and e.g. uncover the characteristics of their acquisition or explore innovative methods and learning tools for their acquisition;
• unravel complex intersections of environmental injustices, and how these influences and are impacted by education in a range of different settings; and
• document accounts of inclusive environmental activism through different media including the arts, social media and other means.

By bringing together current research from three EERA networks, we will elide a transdisciplinary perspective on sustainable, inclusive and intercultural education, practices across diverse learning environments. The joint sessions will invite reflection on educational findings in relation to sustainability, migration and inclusion from a global perspective. This may contribute to a common framework with which we can support educators and policymakers to implement socio-culturally-informed sustaining curricula and pedagogy in diverse contexts within Europe and beyond.

Contributions to this call may be considered for publication, for example in a special issue.

Contact Person(s)

• Elsa Lee (NW 30): eul20@cam.ac.uk
• Michelle Proyer (NW 04): michelle.proyer@univie.ac.at
• Barbara Pusch (NW 07): barbara.pusch@rptu.de
• Lisa Rosen (NW 07): lisa.rosen@rptu.de

References
Bettini, G., Nash, S. L., & Gioli, G. (2017). One step forward, two steps back? The fading contours of (in) justice in competing discourses on climate migration. The Geographical Journal, 183(4), 348-358.

Børhaug, Frédérique Brossard (2021). Missing links between intercultural education and anthropogenic climate change?, Intercultural Education, 32:4, 386-400. DOI: 10.1080/14675986.2021.1889984

Catarci, Marco (2021). Intercultural Education and Sustainable Development. A Crucial Nexus for Contribution to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Social Sciences 10: 24. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci10010024

Davis, K. & Lutz, H. (2023). Intersectionality as critical methods. Asking the other question. In K. Davis & H. Lutz (Ed.), The Routledge International Handbook of Intersectionality Studies, Routledge, pp. 222-234.

Heigl, J., Müller, M., Gotling, N., & Proyer, M. (2022). Justice, What a Dream!—Mapping Intersections of Sustainability and Inclusion. Sustainability, 14(9)

Ray, J. & Sibara, J. (Eds.) (2017). Disability Studies and the Environmental Humanities: Toward an Eco-crip Theory. University of Nebraska Press.

UN (2015). Transforming our world. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.  https://sdgs.un.org/sites/default/files/publications/21252030%20Agenda%20for%20Sustainable%20Development%20web.pdf.

UNESCO (2020). Education for sustainable development: a roadmap? https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000374802