Dimensions and Conditions of the Development of a Sense of Empowerment in a Whole School Approach

Abstract

AbstractEducating youth is an essential way to deal with climate change (Kwauk, Roadblocks to quality education in a time of climate change. Center for Universal Education, 2020). A transformative and sociocritical epistemological and pedagogical approach (Jickling & Wals, Curriculum and environmental education: Perspectives, priorities and challenges. Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group, 2018) supports the idea that youth must be recognized as full-fledged actors in the resolution of the climate crisis. Doing so is essential to develop their sense of empowerment. However, the notion of “sense of empowerment” has not been conceptualized yet in the scientific literature on education. The capability approach (Sen, Commodities and capabilities. North Holland, 1985a) underscores the relevance of taking into consideration different types of freedoms that youth need to be given. In the doctoral thesis underpinning this chapter, we used a qualitative methodology to interview youth in the province of Québec (Canada). In this chapter, we illustrate how youth express what is needed to reinforce their sense of empowerment when it comes to climate change and how this sense is consistent with a whole school approach (WSA).