Framing for sustainability: the impact of language choice on educational outcomes

Adrienne Cachelin () and Edward Ruddell

Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, 2013, vol. 3, issue 3, 306-315

Abstract: Because what people do is not based entirely on what they know, the way educators frame sustainability concepts is critical. Framing influences recognized antecedents of pro-environmental behavior such as attitudes, and traditional educational outcomes such as critical thinking. Yet, because commonly used frames are based in metaphors that tend to portray nature as resource and resist ecological complexities, sustainability educators may be undermining their own goals. This paper makes the case for a promising new construct synthesized from the education and attitude literature, called critical elaboration, and examines the impact of framing on this variable. College student participants read texts portraying humans as either a part of nature (systems metaphor) or apart from nature (non-systems metaphor) in either an active or passive voice, then responded using a thought-listing technique. Frames employing a systems metaphor rather than a non-systems metaphor elicited significantly more critical elaboration, as did frames that employed active voice. Data suggest that education for sustainability requires thoughtful consideration of metaphor underlying message frames. Copyright AESS 2013

Keywords: Sustainability education; Environmental education; Framing; Critical Thinking; Elaboration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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DOI: 10.1007/s13412-013-0131-2

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