A Spectrum of Inclusion: Climate and Environmental Justice Teaching in a Technical Context

Abstract

Although a substantial body of research has examined how sustainability is integrated into higher education curricula, relatively few studies have explored how instructors incorporate climate and environmental justice (CEJ) content and pedagogies across disciplines. Emerging scholarship has begun to address how interdisciplinary environmental and sustainability (IES) programs and institutional sustainability requirements include environmental justice (EJ) course content. Yet when CEJ knowledge is not broadly embedded across disciplines by IES faculty or institutional leaders, the resulting curricular gaps often exclude the content, practices, and lived experiences of those most affected by global environmental and climate challenges. This exclusion, especially common in STEM-focused areas, can have significant consequences for underrepresented students. This study investigates these dynamics within a STEM institutional context, examining how faculty and instructors incorporated CEJ content and pedagogy across 11 courses at a four-year, private, technical institution. Using a case-study approach and multiple data sources, the study identifies four clusters within a spectrum of CEJ inclusion, each characterized by distinct experiential pedagogies such as community engagement, transdisciplinary methods, and the use of diverse epistemologies. The findings also reveal that CEJ content was most often integrated into STEM courses through collaboration with the social sciences and humanities. Based on these results, the authors offer recommendations for instructors and campus leaders, including improving CEJ visibility in course catalogs, strengthening CEJ integration within STEM and computer science, expanding initiatives and training focused on community engagement, and formally recognizing the contributions of community partners through instructional titles.

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