Environmental Studies Faculty and Staff Publications

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Winter 2011

Keywords

Socio-ecological model, Greenwashing, Ecosystem domain, Reform

Abstract

Socio-ecological models contribute to the understanding of how context influences human development and construction of worldviews. However, the claim that socio-ecological models represent the “true” influencers of an individual might be a misrepresentation of the complexity of whole ecological systems. This paper explores the possibility of adapting the use of the “socio-ecological model” to better represent the ecological influencers, rather than the primary focus of human and social factors. With reference to the new trends in environmental education, this paper explores the definitions of ecologically-based language, outlines the current domain of socio-ecological models, and proposes a re-orientation of socio-ecological models to “eco-sociological models.” The conclusion provides five ways to incorporate a more ecologically-based approach to understanding contextual influencers and a rework of Bronfenbrenner’s socio-ecological model as an eco-sociological model. were recommended.

Publication Title

Human Ecology Review

Volume

18

Issue

2

Required Publisher's Statement

Human Ecology Review is an open access publication associated with the Society for Human Ecology.

Subjects - Topical (LCSH)

Human ecology; Environmental education

Genre/Form

articles

Type

Text

Language

English

Format

application/pdf

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