Learning to care: a focus for values in health and environmental education

Health and environmental education seek to address the living conditions and lifestyle choices that lead to health and environmental problems by motivating and teaching students how to participate in the reconstruction of themselves and society in accordance with ecological values and the democratic values of social and economic justice. While an ethic of care unites health and environmental education in this endeavour, liberal and conservative educational practices in the area of values education are dominated by discourses of values relativity and neutrality. This paper seeks to provide a case for teachers adopting a committed stance in teaching young people an ethic of care so that they may participate in the personal and social changes needed to advance the transition towards a healthy and sustainable world. In particular, it draws upon insights from the literature of environmental values education, which is characterized by intense debates between those of liberal and committed persuasions, to explore the ethical and pedagogical issues involved in teaching for an ethic of care in both health and environmental education.