Teaching and acting for sustainability in the Anthropocene

Navigating complexity and tensions through critical and constructive hope

Abstract

This critical review examines both the challenges and opportunities of teaching and acting for sustainability within the complex framework of the Anthropocene. Considering the various perspectives on sustainability, this article discusses how to address it in education. This involves adopting a critical approach, moving beyond development-centric perspectives, incorporating posthumanist theories and a situated perspective, while remaining mindful of the planetary scale. In this sense, the Anthropocene narrative can be presented as both a crisis and an opportunity: it compels us to rethink research, education, and the relationship between nature and humanity, all through the lens of complexity and tension rather than control and absolute truths. Therefore, drawing on critical and transformative pedagogies, this article explores how education, particularly within the field of Didactics of Social Studies, but with a necessary interdisciplinary focus, can foster critical thinking, empowerment, action, and agency in students. Furthermore, the responsibility of education to transcend institutional boundaries is emphasized, promoting projects that have an impact on the community and society. The essential role of action and critical and constructive hope in teaching critical sustainability is also highlighted. This hope is not a naive optimism, but rather a hope achieved through a dynamic process that connects reflection with action and focuses on enabling students to imagine and work towards a sustainable alternative for the future. Overall, this critical review offers a conceptual framework for rethinking sustainability in the Anthropocene, exploring pathways to develop students’ agency and to promote transformative social and ecological change through action.