Case study
Details of task: This task asks you to explore the issues associated with transforming practice (including the practice of thinking!) through deepening education and sustainability in a particular context. In this ‘case study’, you are able to focus on an area of interest in EfS and research your specific interest.
Below are some ideas to start your thinking. You may have a different idea – great! There will be opportunities to discuss your ideas and help with your planning. Your report could be strongly focused on pedagogical practice, for instance, you may want to research if environmental issues could be taught from an arts perspective rather than a science perspective. What would change? What becomes possible? Or, even more exciting perhaps, is is possible to include both perspectives alongside each other?
What capabilities do learners need to face uncertain futures, and how can EfS help to develop new capabilities and new pedagogies?
Or: you may want to research literature on a specific aspect of EfS. For instance, what is meant by ‘ecopedagogies’ or ‘natureculture’ and who writes about this? From which academic disciplines come the strongest arguments? How is education responding to new concepts? Your ‘case study’ can be a literature review.
Or: you may want to do a study on your own everyday practices. How often do you walk or bike to work? What is the infrastructure in your area like, what are the council policies that support (or not) walking, biking and public transport? What happens if you walk to work? Is that possible? What would make it possible? What needs to happen to transform your everyday experience? What can you do? Your ‘case study’ may focus on local policies and your own (learning) experience while researching public transport issues.
Or: how do young children learn about ‘nature’? Is nature romanticised in children’s books? Can you find children’s books that introduce diverse views of nature? Are young children overprotected from ‘big issues’ that will shape their lives? Are there historical reasons for this phenomenon? Are all children (over)protected? Can you find books/films/games for children that complicate, rather than simplify, ‘nature experiences’? Your ‘case study’ may focus on children’s books or a film to analyse ideas of nature.
Or: you may want to research food. Where does it come from, how much is wasted, where does the waste go? How much energy goes into ‘meat production’? How sustainable are Australian food production/consumption practices? Your case study could focus on an urban food garden, or on sustainable farming practices.
Or: you may have experienced effects of climate change, possibly in Australia or in other parts of the world. How are local and indigenous communities affected, and how can we support communities to develop resilience and to learn to live better with their environments?
Whatever you choose, make sure you find academic research literature to support your analysis. Academic research is always embedded in the wider research community – this is what makes your case convincing and gives it academic integrity. This is makes it research: it is not just an opinion because you can argue your case in light of relevant research literature.
The following is a step-by-step guide for those who prefer to write this way. There are other ways of presenting your report but this may be helpful in a general sense:
a) Rationale: Describe the case by drawing out its context, tell the story of the case and give it a title that hints at a key issue in the case (up to 1000 words approx). What would this look like if you applied this step to the examples above?
b) Research and literature review: Explore and analyse the case (in 2500 words approx) so that you are able to:
● Identify the key issues that you see emerge in your case from a range of perspectives. What are some of the perspectives you may want to consider? Think back to the interdisciplinary aspect of EfS – would geography be useful? Or history? Or education? There are many different views of EfS in education itself.
● Review relevant literature around your focus area and read actively (write notes as you read). How does the literature relate to
some of the concepts that we have studied in the unit so far? Is there something in the first assignment that might help you take ideas further in this assignment?
c) Implications: Highlight the possibilities for transformative change (in 400 words approx) that you see emerge as you explore the issue/case. What would you see as ‘blue sky’ possibilities? What are the biggest challenges to change? Based on the dot points above, conclude with what you now consider to be specific possibilities for deepening education for sustainability in your particular case/context (100 words approx). Make sure you double check referencing, spelling and aim for good writing (paragraphs help a lot with the overall structure). Consider sub-headings, too, and finally give your report a title (now that you know for sure what your case is about. You have done the research!).
(i) A single ‘case’ may be framed in various ways for Assignment 2. We practise this using examples.
The following steps will be a useful framework for Assignment 2 regardless of what ‘case’ you have chosen.
STEP 1: Rationale
Why is X a good ‘case’? To answer this question, you need to link X to a bigger issue/concept in ESE that you have learnt in this unit. Articles and other supporting literature often include more than one big issue/concept. What are they? Why are they important? Which are/is most important to your case?
STEP 2: Literature Review
Pick one big issue/concept that you have identified in STEP 1. From the reference list, select at least five journal articles or books that can be used to elaborate the issue/concept. What are they? How do the five references inform the issue/concept? What are their key arguments?
STEP 3: Implications
What do you want to say about the issue/concept in the article? How does the ‘case’ of X contribute to the development of an perspective on the issue/concept? What is the limitation of the ‘case’ for the issue/concept?