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Church Involvement in Education for Sustainability: Using Participatory Action Research to Design a Faith-Based Education for Sustainability Programme in a Christian Community, New Zealand

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posted on 2021-11-03, 19:53 authored by Gong, Xiaoming

This study develops and analyses a faith-based education for sustainability (EFS) programme as a means of addressing the issue of climate change in an urban Christian community - St John's in the City, Presbyterian Church, Wellington, New Zealand. It also, explores a participatory design and practice process for an adult-focused community EFS programme within a Christian context. The outcome of the study may serve as a model of adult-focused community of EFS which can be used by other faith-based communities in New Zealand. 


The critical approach, which is considered as an important approach to EFS, aims to achieve social change by fostering critical thinking in relation to sustainable issues. However, the so-called rhetoric-reality gap of critical approach causes difficulty for practicing the approach. As such, it was hoped that this study, informed by Freirian critical pedagogy, bridges the 'rhetoric-reality' gap of the critical approach in EFS practice.


The methodology of this research - participatory action research (PAR) - aims to empower participants by involving them as co-researchers in the research process. Combined with group discussion and in-depth individual interview, participatory method - diagramming was used as the main research method. The PAR methodology was proved effective for the faith-based EFS programme design and it was also represented a democratic EFS process in itself. Therefore, it informed the subsequent practice of the St John's programme that was designed by this research as an action research (AR) project and also functioned as a dialogical education programme. In the St John's programme, the participants as discursive subjects would gain freedom to critically enquire their relationships with God's world and with each other and would be facilitated to take realistic actions on sustainable issues associated with climate change through the critical enquiry.

History

Copyright Date

2007-01-01

Date of Award

2007-01-01

Publisher

Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

Rights License

Author Retains Copyright

Degree Discipline

Environmental Studies

Degree Grantor

Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

Degree Level

Masters

Degree Name

Master of Environmental Studies

Victoria University of Wellington Item Type

Awarded Research Masters Thesis

Language

en_NZ

Victoria University of Wellington School

School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences

Advisors

Weaver, Sean; Kindon, Sara