Abstract
This dissertation argues that formal and informal environmental education largely misrepresents the causes of environmental crises by depoliticizing contemporary environmental struggles and debates. The research begins with a history of environmental education and how media portrays environmental issues. The first part of the study considers the relationships between the political economy and cultural politics of knowledge making institutions about the environment. It critically analyzes representations of science and nature from the Shell Corporation’s K12 energy curriculum and the climate change exhibit located at the Harvard Museum of Natural History. The second part of the study learns from international comparisons in environmental pedagogy. A case study is conducted on the Finnish educational system to examine an example of science education for sustainable development. As well, this study analyzes the benefits of utilizing an ecopedagogy to alleviate the planets growing ecocrisis.