Program on the Environment

By prioritizing the just political representation of all people, environmental justice (EJ) addresses disproportionate environmental and health hazards directed to marginalized, low-income, and colored communities, therefore creating more equitable, sustainable, and resilient societies. The reach of the EJ movement to our young generations, however, is limited by the lack of an EJ-based curriculum within pre-college classroom settings. The objective of this study was to understand the role of EJ in high school classrooms, as well as the experienced drawbacks for educators regarding EJ curriculum implementation. To meet the objective, I utilized feedback derived from interviews that were conducted alongside Basilica Bio with current public high school educators. Additionally, I developed a literature review to further analyze EJ curriculum implementation strategies, highlighting ways to support teachers interested in EJ education. The misalignment in priorities and values of educational decision-makers at a district, state, and national level is noted as a primary disturbance for EJ-based curriculum development and implementation. The inaccessibility to understanding community-driving forces, like environmental justice, is an injustice to our students, as they are our future community leaders and environmental stewards.