Environmental Education for buen vivir: a documentary analysis from global frameworks, latin american contributions, and Nicaraguan guidelines
Keywords:
Environmental justice, popular education, educational transformation, environmental thought, critical pedagogyAbstract
This academic essay examines the current state of environmental education (EE), its historical-conceptual evolution, and its articulation with contemporary challenges in Latin America and Nicaragua. The objective was to analyze the current construction of the concept of environmental education, identifying its tensions, regional contributions, and possibilities for application in educational, university, and social contexts. Methodologically, a search and selection of international framework documents, Latin American academic literature, and national normative and strategic instruments related to environment, education, sustainability, and human development were carried out. Subsequently, a critical and interpretive analysis of the sources was conducted through synthesis and documentary triangulation matrices, supported by a flipped classroom dynamic that allowed prior reading, collective discussion, and contrast of approaches. Finally, global, Latin American, and Nicaraguan frameworks were compared to derive a conceptual synthesis. The analysis reveals persistent tensions in environmental education: on the one hand, its reduction to awareness-raising processes and changes in individual habits; and, on the other hand, its excessive expansion to encompass development problems, which makes its delimitation, application, and evaluation difficult. As a result, “environmental education for buen vivir” is proposed as a planned, critical, permanent, and interdisciplinary educational process, developed in formal, non-formal, and informal settings, aimed at building a socio-ecological culture in favor of biodiversity and fairer relationships between society and nature. This proposal is based on three pillars: ecological integrity, socio-environmental justice, and coresponsibility. Finally, the need to integrate environmental education transversally and evaluate its impact through evidence of change in practices, norms, and institutional culture is emphasized.
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