Environmental literacy, ecological literacy, ecoliteracy: What do we mean and how did we get here?

McBride, B. B. et al. (2013) ‘Environmental literacy, ecological literacy, ecoliteracy: What do we mean and how did we get here?’, Ecosphere, 4 (5), pp. 1–20.

Abstract:

Numerous scholars have argued that the terms environmental literacy, ecological literacy, and ecoliteracy have been used in so many different ways and/or are so all-encompassing that they have very little useful meaning. However, despite the seemingly arbitrary and, at times, indiscriminate use of these terms, tremendous efforts have in fact been made to explicitly define and delineate the essential components of environmental literacy, ecological literacy, and ecoliteracy, and to firmly anchor their characterizations in deep theoretical and philosophical foundations. A driving purpose behind these ongoing conversations has been to advance complete, pedagogy-guiding, and broadly applicable frameworks for these ideals, allowing for standards and assessments of educational achievement to be set. In this manuscript, we review a diversity of perspectives related to the often nuanced differences and similarities of these terms.

“The most widely accepted meaning of environmental literacy is that it comprises an awareness of and concern about the environment and its associated problems, as well as the knowledge, skills, and motivations to work toward solutions of current problems and the prevention of new ones.”

“Characterization of ecological literacy within the field of ecology has evolved considerably […], focusing on the key ecological knowledge necessary for informed decision-making, acquired through scientific inquiry and systems thinking.”

“The term ecoliteracy was first published 16 years ago by Capra (1997)[…]. Drawing heavily on the work of Orr (1992), Capra and others in the broader humanities have advanced ecoliteracy, with a focus on the creation of sustainable human communities and society”.