Date of Award

2022

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

School of Education

Abstract

This intrinsic multiple case study examined secondary- and university-level educators’ experiences teaching with Healing Earth, a curriculum developed by the International Jesuit Ecology Project at Loyola University Chicago, which merges scientific, social, spiritual, and ethical analyses of pressing ecological issues. Based on the conceptual framework of integral ecology, Healing Earth is a response to Pope Francis’s (2015a) call for “a new way of thinking about human beings, life, society and our relationship with nature” (§215).

This study primarily consisted of in-depth interviews with educators who have used Healing Earth in a variety of secondary and post-secondary Catholic educational contexts. A preliminary survey, which was completed by 12 educators, generated additional data. Six themes emerged in the data analysis: community and collaboration, engagement across diverse contexts, spiritual ecology in a Catholic context, perceiving Earth’s intrinsic value, generating hope, and taking action. The findings offer insight into challenges, opportunities, and hope for a courageous, truthful, spiritually and ethically grounded approach to teaching ecology in a time of crisis.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

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