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Evaluating education for sustainable development (ESD): using Ecocentric and Anthropocentric Attitudes toward the Sustainable Development (EAATSD) scale

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Abstract

With the emergence of education for sustainable development (ESD), robust literature on ethics and ESD has emerged; however, ecocentric perspective developed within environmental ethics is marginalized in current ESDebate. The questions discussed in this article are as follows: Why is the distinction between anthropocentric and ecocentric view of environment salient to ESD? How can this distinction be operationalized and measured? Until now, little has been done to address complement quantitative studies of environmental attitudes by qualitative studies, exploring the sociocultural context in which ecocentric or anthropocentric attitudes are being formed. Neither of existing scales engaged with the interface between environmental ethics and sustainable development. This article will discuss ESD in the context of environmental ethics and present the results of the case study conducted with the Dutch Bachelor-level students. Results of qualitative evaluation of the scale measuring ecocentric and anthropocentric attitudes will be presented, and the new Ecocentric and Anthropocentric Attitudes toward the Sustainable Development (EAATSD) scale will be proposed.

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Notes

  1. For example, Jickling (1992:6) states, without further elaborating ‘I would like my children to… realize that there is a debate going on between a variety of stances, between adherents of an ecocentric worldview and those who adhere to an anthropocentric worldview. I want my children to be able to participate intelligently in that debate’.

  2. As many educational curriculum may be subject to corporate ‘sponsorship’ and the market-oriented beneficiaries (Crossley and Watson 2003; Jickling and Wals 2007), and education is increasingly seen as a provider of graduates with the transferable competencies enabling students to operate in the global economy (Wesselink and Wals 2011), the question of who develops national-level ESD curriculum becomes quite complex. It is not so much the question of whether EE has ‘taken over’ ESD and banished ecocentric perspectives, but rather a question of shift in education in general reflecting a change in political climate which seems to marginalizing the importance and intrinsic value of nature and environment. While it may be argued that ESD is ‘inspired’ by international initiatives such as the UNESCO, as well as the work of charitable NGO’s (Blum 2009), its financers at the national levels could be government ministries concerned with ‘development’, as well as ‘commercial partners’ involved in development enterprise through their trade operations.

  3. Indeed, racism in this view might be no more salient than conflicts between different subspecies of hyenas, and sexism could be compared to concerns about the slaughter of praying mantis male by post-coital female. As Paul Watson (http://www.ecospherics.net/pages/wonw.htm) has pointed out, racism and sexism are not relevant to the survival of the biosphere, while speciesism does indeed endanger the teleological centers of life of other species. In fact, issues concerned with sexism and racism are rarely as extreme as the very physical survival of individuals or subspecies, which is the case in anthropogenically induced species’ extinctions.

  4. There are notable exceptions to anthropocentric bias in ESD. One initiative that has been developed during the DESD that shows that these generalizations do not hold is a special issue of The Journal of Education for Sustainable Development the Earth Charter (Volume 4, Number 2, 2010), do emphasized ecological values and ethics and included articles referencing non-anthropocentric views of biodiversity (e.g. Sarabhai 2010). In this special issue, Kim (2010:307) discusses the ESD program inspired by the Earth Charter principles of Florida Gulf Coast University: “Here, humanities education becomes eco-education through exploring the relationships of humans not only to their internal worlds but also to their external worlds. In the course, students and instructors explore traditional definitions of ethics and sustainability, which sets the stage for engaging with the Earth Charter and thinking beyond anthropocentric views. The study of literary words through the lens of the Earth Charter allows students the opportunity to broaden their listening to include the forgotten voices of the natural world and of our elders.”

  5. In view of these findings, originally two studies were reported by Thompson and Barton (1994) to develop the Ecocentric and Anthropocentric Attitudes towards the Environment scale (EAATE) will need to be further tested. The study was conducted at the Logan International Airport in Boston.  One hundred and twenty-nine respondents (58 females and 51 male) completed the questionnaires, ranging in age from 19 to 82. In study 1, Cronbach’s alpha ranged from .58 to .83 (Ecocentrism = .63; Anthropocentrism = .58; and Environmental Apathy = .83).  In study 2, Cronbach’s alpha ranged from .67 to .78 (Ecocentrism = .78; Anthropocentrism = .67; and Environmental Apathy = .82).

  6. Some students who were generally sympathetic to ecocentrism actually preferred zoos—since they have never been to wildlife reserves.

  7. Generally, ecocentrically inclined students preferred not to go camping unless financially necessitated. This may have to do with the fact that Dutch camping implies groomed caravan parks with neither of the typical wilderness activities, such as open fires or fishing allowed.

  8. Anthropocentrically inclined students reported that they sometimes enjoyed being in nature.

  9. Belief in resilience of nature and its strength was not necessarily seen as undermining ecocentric values.

  10. Students indicated that disregarding of their values and orientations, some animals, like monkeys, did seem human to them.

  11. Similarly, anthropocentrically inclined students still felt that humans are part of the ecosystem.

  12. Question ‘I’m opposed to programs to preserve wilderness, reduce pollution and conserve resources’ involves both anthropocentric and ecocentric questions.

  13. Item 19 One of the most important reasons to keep lakes and rivers clean is so that people have a place to enjoy water sports has been changed to The most important reason to keep lakes and rivers clean is so that people have a place to have drinking water.

  14. I actually think that all 20 statements are anthropocentric one way or another: They are either supporting or given pleasure/succor to humans, and I wonder what sort of 'eco-centricity' this is, given that the ecocentric statements are so reasonable. Why, for example, there were no statements that are so ecocentric that they place humans at a disadvantage? Examples would be:     

    • All testing of medicines on animals is morally wrong, even though it saves lives.

    • Human vaccination programs should stop because of their effects on other species.

     

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  1. The Hague University of Applied Science, The Hague, The Netherlands

    Helen Kopnina

  2. Barentszstraat 144, 1013 NS, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Helen Kopnina

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Kopnina, H. Evaluating education for sustainable development (ESD): using Ecocentric and Anthropocentric Attitudes toward the Sustainable Development (EAATSD) scale. Environ Dev Sustain 15, 607–623 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-012-9395-z

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