The ultimate learning outcome of transformative sustainability education: A case for ecocentric dispositions

Transformative sustainability education can empower us to change the dominant human story – a story that features societies working against nature – to one where all humans and the natural world coexist in a deep relationship. In this conceptual paper, we argue that key sustainability competencies , the cherished ‘learning outcomes’ of sustainability education (which focus on knowledge and skills development), disregard important moral qualities (such as values and commitments) that drive sustainability activism. We put forth a holistic set of learning outcomes that better align with the objectives of transformative sustainability education. We then propose that these outcomes can be encapsulated in and recognized through an ‘ecocentric disposition’, making nurturing such a disposition the ultimate ambition of transformative sustainability education. The term ‘ecocentric’ derives from ecocentrism, an environmental ethic maintaining that the natural world has intrinsic value despite its usefulness to humans. We define ecocentric disposition as a tendency or a pattern of behaviour linked to nurturing the well-being of every being (plants, animals, minerals, etc.) on the planet. An illustrative case study of a teacher education course entitled Education, Schools, and Social Institutions at the University of British Columbia serves to highlight the curriculum and pedagogies that align with both transformative sustainability education and urban political ecology to nurture an ecocentric disposition in students. The significance of this conceptual paper relates to how ecocentric dispositions possess the power to support the infrastructure of care and facilitate the sociocultural transformations we urgently require. It contributes to an actively developing embodied urban political ecology that highlights more-than-human ontologies, advocating for an approach that helps people see cities as ‘second nature’. Ultimately, this paper symbolizes the value of interdisciplinary dialogue in urban political ecology.