Looking for hopeful purpose in England's environmental education policy: An analysis of the National Education Nature Park

Abstract

The intertwined crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental degradation represent profound global challenges. Education holds a unique role in enabling all young people to navigate uncertainty, participate meaningfully in decision-making and contribute to more just and sustainable ways of living. In 2022, the Department for Education in England published a sustainability and climate change strategy which included the National Education Nature Park (NENP) programme. Using Carol Bacchi's ‘What's the Problem Represented to Be?’ (WPR) approach, we examined the first two years of the implementation of the NENP, analysing published materials (n = 20) to consider how the purposes of Environmental Education are understood, constructed and implemented. We identified three broad themes: (1) Science and/or STEM knowledge and skills are fundamental to engagement with nature, (2) Measurement is the ‘signature pedagogy’ of the NENP and (3) Nature Connectedness is broadly understood as individual and linked to personal wellbeing. These framings remain largely aligned with a neoliberal, measurement-driven logic that privileges scientific knowledge and quantifiable outcomes over broader educational purposes. However, there is much to be hopeful about. The whole-setting approach embedded in the NENP offers valuable scope for cultural and pedagogical change, and the planned broadening of curriculum-linked resources is promising as it signals a movement beyond a STEM-dominated model. Furthermore, the professional learning structures afforded by the NENP represent a significant foundation for strengthening teacher confidence, skills and capacity across phases and disciplines. These are hopeful possibilities for strengthening school-based Environmental Education in England.