Hidden from View: Ecological Crisis and the Dominant Social Paradigm in Teacher Preparation

This research explores my social studies teacher educator practice and my attempts to teach about environmental sustainability. The research questions were: How can I get involved in the environmental sustainability movement on my campus as a teacher educator? What obstacles do I face? What actions do I take? Two differing cultural paradigms, with distinct considerations of human-to-land relationships, provide conceptual frames. Through self-study I reflected upon and analyzed my teaching practice from 2019-2022. Data sources include journals, field notes, course-related materials, and formal writings. Findings suggest a dominant social paradigm of industrialized societies presented obstacles while teaching about a land-based cultural paradigm guided my actions. Implications arise for a reconceptualization of relational teacher preparation to include non-human relationships.