Education, Community Engagement and Sustainable Development - Negotiating Environmental Knowledge in Monteverde, Costa Rica

A growing body of research has given critical attention to diverse theories and practices of environmental education, and its potential contribution to addressing pressing global issues such as sustainable development and climate change. While much of this work has focused on perspectives and practices in Europe and North America, this book explores environmental learning within formal education, in programmes by non-governmental organisations, and in public education spaces in Monteverde, Costa Rica. The discussion also highlights the need for more research to understand the broader social and economic interactions between such efforts and the communities in which they are located.

Nicole Blum is a Lecturer in the Development Education Research Centre at the Institute of Education, University of London (UK). Since completing her PhD (Anthropology) at the University of Sussex in 2006, she has been actively engaged in research on environmental education and education for sustainable development, educational responses to climate change, and internationalization and global learning in higher education. Her work also includes an interest in the ethnography of education, the anthropology of development, access to and participation in education, and Education for All. In addition to teaching on an online MA programme in Development Education, she is also currently coordinating a research project which aims to develop and evaluate methods to embed learning about global and development issues within undergraduate courses in pharmacy, veterinary science, and human health. Over the course of her career she has worked and conducted research in Costa Rica, Guatemala, India, the United States and the United Kingdom.