Conference Agenda

Learning a way out of socio-ecological problems is often seen as vital for transforming our society into a more sustainable direction (van Mierlo et al. 2020). There is a growing body of research literature on how learning processes may contribute to so-called ‘sustainability transitions’ (STs): profound and long-term transformations of non-sustainable structures, cultures, and practices into more sustainable alternatives (Köhler et al. 2019). A recent review of this literature shows, however, that ‘the complexity of the relationship between learning and transitions is not deeply analysed’ (Stam et al. 2023). This confirms earlier findings which revealed a poor conceptual and empirical underpinning of research on learning in STs. Van Mierlo and Beers (2020, p. 255) argue that well-established research fields related to learning which could provide valuable insights are ‘broadly ignored or loosely applied’. Van Poeck et al. (2020, p. 303) similarly report on conceptual haziness and a lack of ‘a clear, consistent understanding of the relation and distinction between “learning” and the changes in society that may be the result of it’. Van Mierlo et al. (2020, p. 253) edited a special issue on the topic and conclude that there is a need for conceptual work that goes ‘beyond a superficial use of notions such as social learning and double-loop learning’. Furthermore, they raise concerns about a weak empirical knowledge base which impedes progress in our understanding of learning in STs. Learning is often assumed to take place, the editors argue, but it is neither specified nor critically investigated. Van Poeck et al. (2020) also discuss how empirical research contributions often fail to convincingly reveal that, what, and how people are learning in practices striving for STs.

This paper aims to further explore – theoretically and empirically – how learning takes place in the context of ST initiatives. We do so with a focus on the occurrence of a pedagogical space and time within settings and initiatives that primarily have a political purpose of fostering social change. We theoretically conceptualise and empirically investigate the emergence of what Garrison (2010) calls ‘teachable moments’ and how these may be seized as unique pedagogical opportunities which may evolve into ‘educative moments’ (Garrison et al. 2015). Teachable moments are those moments when the participants are drawn into shared inquiry regarding some problematic situation and desire to explore possibilities together. In informal learning settings we call this ‘educable’ moments as there is no formal teaching at play. We investigate how such moments arise in ST initiatives and under which conditions they give rise to educative moments in which critical and creative inquiry results in imagining or developing novel possibilities for the future.

Through three case studies of a variety of initiatives aimed at fostering STs in the food, mobility, and energy system, we thus aim to contribute to strengthening the conceptual and empirical underpinning of research on learning in STs. On the one hand, we further conceptualise learning in STs by theorising how a pedagogical time and space within political settings of social change can be understood in terms of (not always predictable and plannable) educable moments which may or may not evolve in a shared inquiry into collective matters of concern and, eventually, educative moments where novel pathways for the future emerge. On the other hand, we create empirically grounded knowledge about how this takes place, conditions for it to happen, and how it can be facilitated.

In this paper, we address students' emotions in existential situations in climate change education (CCE) and present empirical research on how different didactic approaches affect experiencing, expressing and reflecting on these emotions and, by extension, learning about the existential challenge of climate change (CC).

Indeed, several studies highlight that CC can lead to existential experiences and associated emotions. For example, Bergdahl & Langmann (p. 407, 2022) state that "climate change is closely linked to the existential fear of losing something valuable and irreplaceable - here: planet earth as our only home - which generates feelings of worry, helplessness and hopelessness in both adults and children”. At the same time, several scholars have pointed out that we need to pay attention to these existential experiences and related emotions in climate education or to provide “an educational space and time for youth to confront and begin to deal with their own existential worries and concerns' (Todd, 2020: 1112) and “that emotions and existential questions must be taken into account, and when education about climate change proceeds, the educators must be sensitive to that which arises” (Pihkala, 2018, p. 560). Previous research (Verlie, 2019; Pihkala, 2018) provides insight into the emotions that climate change can evoke as well as into different approaches for educators to deal with these emotions (Ojala, 2016; Verlie, 2021). These approaches have been found to differ in the way they can either align more with a therapeutic pedagogy or with a critical affective pedagogy (Amsler, 2011). However, there is little or no research that focuses on developing detailed, precise didactic knowledge about how emotions in existential situations relate to the didactic work of the teacher nor how this didactic work affects students’ learning in relation to the existential challenge of climate change. It is precisely this kind of knowledge creation that this paper aims to contribute to. We do so by analysing a Master's course in English literature at a Belgian university, where the teacher deliberately sought to address the existential challenge of CC, while at the same time being very aware of the emotions that might arise among the students.

With this research, we are particularly interested in uncovering and understanding how different didactic approaches influence experiencing, expressing and reflecting on emotions and through this learning regarding the existential challenge of climate change. Thus, we gain further insight into how teachers can deal ethically and pedagogically with emotions in the context of CCE and how we can better understand the risks and opportunities of emotions emerging in the CCE classroom.

The theoretical framework underpinning our study is transactional didactic theory (Östman et al. 2019, a, b) based on the pragmatist work of John Dewey. This theory understands learning as being incited by a 'problematic situation', for instance through encountering existential anxiety or dilemmas, or alternative perspectives on what life is, what it means to live, and how to live well that one has never considered before. This triggers an 'inquiry' that can result in new knowledge, skills, values and beliefs. The transactional theory of teaching, then, focuses on how teachers' actions in, both, the preparation and implementation of lessons affect the encounters that take place and what students learn from them. This is grasped in terms of the scripting of purposes and roles, the staging of a learning environment (objects of attention and activities), and the performance of interventions that help to guide students' learning.

Within this paper, we consider hope through two key aspects of the TPACK framework. Firstly, how the role of technology in the TPACK framework intersects with hope for a sustainable future, and how may hope and hopeful practices play a role in the learning design. And, secondly, the role of context and how, and in what ways do teachers focus on hopefulness (hope elements) in the TPACK framework in response to building capacity and resilience towards a sustainable and hopeful future? This paper forms part of a larger doctoral thesis project on hope and hopeful practices in the classroom in response to climate issues.

Education for social change is largely based on hope, with hope and education inspiring each other. Paulo Freire states that “Without hope there is no way we can even start to think about education” (2007, p.87). In positioning teachers as active respondents, a core component of their work is as learning designers, in which teachers turn to the use of models or frameworks for designing curriculum and making pedagogical decisions. One such framework is the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework (Mishra & Koehler, 2006). Based on Shulman’s Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK), the TPACK framework seeks to capture the essential elements of teacher knowledge required by teachers for the effective integration of technology in teaching whilst addressing the complex and situated nature of this knowledge. The three primary forms of knowledge that intersect each other are content, pedagogical and technological. As a framework, it has much to offer to the discussion of technology integration at multiple levels including, theoretical, pedagogical and methodological. Whilst TPACK has been predominately used for learning design, in response to climate related issues this paper considers how the TPACK model fits with educating for a sustainable future. Significant environmental events can be unpredictable, they often cause disruption, uncertainty and instability. The complexity to be discussed here is in the form of the intersection of hope, hopeful practices in education and in understanding how it may fit into curriculum and pedagogies. In the rapidly changing socio-environmental landscape we have seen, at extraordinary rates, socio-ecological crises, such as floods, wildfires and heatwaves across the globe. With eco-anxiety increasing and the wellbeing of our young people being a concern, it is timely to look at this model with a new set of eyes to see what it has to offer in way of dealing with the unprecedented climate uncertainties young people are facing.

In the face of current climate uncertainty, teachers have a multi-faceted and challenging role of educating and caring for the whole student. Exacerbated by successive extreme weather events and natural disasters, there is growing evidence linking mental health and climate change with it being reported that students are experiencing greater levels of environment related stress and anxiety. Along with stress and anxiety frequently comes the feeling of despair. Hope is often discussed in terms of its binary opposite, despair. At the essence, hope is something that is universally experienced by everyone and can be found in a multitude of arenas, for example in sport, religion, the media, technology, medicine, politics, education. Snyder et al (2017) simply describes hope as “the belief that one can find pathways to desired goals and become motivated to use those pathways” (p. 28). We often look to the feeling of being hopeful to draw on resilience in the face of adversity. Our contribution to the ongoing narrative of eco-anxiety is to discuss the conditions of TPACK as a possibility for more hopeful teaching practices for a sustainable future.