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Redesigning Political Economy: The Promise and Peril of a Green New Deal for Energy
Abstract
This paper considers the opportunity embedded in global energy transitions to rethink and reorganize key aspects of global political economy. It uses the shift from oil to solar as the world's principle primary source of energy to illuminate that what is at stake is not just where we get our energy but how we weave our energy systems into larger political and economic orders -- and that we have important design options with respect to how we envision the future of energy-based political economies.
... The mounting evidence of climate change and its attendant negative impacts on both people 35 and the planet underscores the need to prioritize the implementation of effective classroom instruction related to renewable energy systems that are necessary to support global energy transitions for a sustainable future (Abramsky, 2010;Bridge et al., 2018;Miller, 2022). Specifically, solar energy harnessed through photovoltaic systems is one of the most costefficient and environmentally sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels (IEA, 2020;Pasqualetti, 40 2021;Plumer, 2020) with the potential to reduce water scarcity, increase health outcomes, curb pollution, and reduce energy injustice (Wiser et al., 2016). ...
... There is an imminent need to prepare the next generation of K-12 students to propel 555 renewable energy systems, like solar energy, forward (NRC, 2012) to remediate climate change through post-carbon energy transitions for a sustainable future in which PV technologies are likely to figure prominently (Miller, 2022). Early introduction to engineering and science pathways is critical to promote interest and potential entry into PV science and engineering careers (Ing et al., 2014). ...
... Large-scale, comprehensive social and cultural transformations are vital to avert climate catastrophe and address environmental crises; technological innovation alone will not suffice (Hammond 2020;IPCC 2022;Komatsu et al. 2022;UNICEF 2021). For instance, there is a need to transform the social structures, political economies, and cultural imaginations of industrial societies from carbon-based to renewable energy cultures (Miller 2022). Moreover, it is crucial to shift the over-reliance of societies on dominating and centralized technological solutions to a variety of inclusive, interconnected social and technological frameworks to tackle pressing sustainability issues effectively (Jasanoff 2015). ...
This conceptual manuscript presents a novel framework for positioning K-12 students as agentic learners taking action for sustainability through real work with real consequences. Drawing on our collective experience in K-12 and higher education STEM and sustainability teaching–learning environments as well as scholars from wide-ranging fields (i.e., transformative learning; environmental, science, and sustainability education), we introduce the action-oriented pedagogies (AOP) framework, which aims to inspire optimism in our collective ability to address interlocking sustainability crises and contribute to the advancement of cultural and social shifts necessary to achieve more ecologically attuned and socially just futures. After defining AOP, three necessary educational shifts to advance sustainability education are identified, along with their relationship to three key attributes of AOP: (a) imagining preferred futures where ecological and social justice prevail, (b) planning co-produced impact, and (c) taking agentic action. Finally, we present a cyclical model for enacting AOP in formal K-12 classrooms. Arguing that AOP can be a source of hope and agency for school-aged children and youth, we illustrate ways teachers can enact pedagogies that position students as agentic learners and actors, engaging alongside them in meaningful efforts to advance sustainability through real work with real consequences across multiple spheres of influence.
... International Journal of STEM Education (2023) 10:50 of societies sustained by renewable energy sources (Abramsky, 2010;Bridge et al., 2018;Pasqualetti, 2021). Any future mix of sustainable energy generation will likely include a substantial global investment in solar technologies (Miller, 2022;Jaxa-Rozen & Trutnevyete, 2021). These global considerations are already creating a greater need for STEM workforces with PV knowledge and skills (Kurtz et al., 2020;Kwatra & Steiner, 2022;SOLA, 2021;US Department of Energy, 2016). ...
Background
Small-group discussions are well established as an effective pedagogical tool to promote student learning in STEM classrooms. However, there are a variety of factors that influence how and to what extent K-12 teachers use small-group discussions in their classrooms, including both their own STEM content knowledge and their perceived ability to facilitate discussions. We designed the present study to specifically target these two factors in the context of photovoltaics, an interdisciplinary field at the intersection of all STEM disciplines with potential to yield widespread benefits related to the use of solar technologies as a sustainable, renewable energy source. Teachers engaged in a series of small-group discussions based on photovoltaic source material (e.g., scientific articles) to build both their STEM content knowledge and capability with discussions, promoting their potential to design and deliver STEM instruction in their own classrooms using small-group discussion.
Results
Overall, teachers productively engaged in rich STEM talk as they spent most of the time in the discussion asking authentic questions about photovoltaic topics in alignment with a variety of science and engineering disciplinary core ideas, responding to the questions with rich, elaborative talk, and taking on ownership of the discussions. Teachers also evidenced increases in their photovoltaic knowledge and their perceived capability to facilitate discussions. Finally, most teachers’ end-of-program lesson plans included the use of small-group discussions, and a subsample of teachers who completed a follow-up interview one year after the summer program reported greater enactment of discussion in their STEM classrooms.
Conclusion
Our manuscript forwards an important contribution that draws from a practice-based approach to professional development in a way that not only better prepares teachers on what to teach (i.e., through enhanced PV content knowledge), but it also supports their ability to implement this instruction into their classrooms more effectively (i.e., though the use of small-group discussion). As such, this manuscript illustrates an innovative pedagogical approach for potential use in supporting teacher education and informs ways to enable teachers to build enhanced curricula for their STEM students.
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