Paradigms and Possibilities of Futures-Thinking Within Sustainability Education

Abstract

Sustainability has an inherent focus on the future, and because of that, futures-thinking has been proposed as a key competence that sustainability education students and change makers should have and develop. This research problematized paradigms and possibilities of futures-thinking within sustainability education and examined sustainability educators’ conceptualizations of futures-thinking and their perspectives related to teaching it. Utilizing a conceptual analysis of futures-thinking literature and a qualitative survey and interviews with sustainability educators teaching at higher education institutions, key insights were identified related to 1) dominant paradigms within sustainability education’s futures-thinking competency and possible alternatives; 2) various orientations within the futures-thinking definitions and conceptualizations of sustainability practitioners; and 3) experiences and needs shared by sustainability educators regarding their teaching of futures-thinking. While sustainability education is often considered inherently positive with good aspirations, there are concerns that dominant discourses of sustainability and sustainable futures reproduce harmful and extractive narratives and structures of modernity/coloniality. This research takes those critiques into consideration as it explores complex and critical findings and ideas related to sustainability education and futures-thinking competence.