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Submission Type

Special Issue (Contemplative K-12 Classroom for Wisdom and Peace)

Abstract

In the face of intersecting ecological crises and persistent gender inequality, this paper explores how dominant norms of masculinity—marked by control, detachment, conquest, and other ideals rooted in Western, hegemonic paradigms—contribute to environmental degradation. Drawing on ecofeminist theory, Australian Indigenous pedagogies, and contemplative education, we examine how relational, place-based approaches may offer transformative alternatives for boys in schooling contexts. Central to this inquiry is the Learning from Country framework, which positions land as teacher and emphasizes practices of deep listening, reciprocity, and ethical engagement with the more-than-human world.

We argue that this pedagogical approach challenges dominant masculinities by fostering care and interconnectedness. Through a classroom-based vignette from a Grade 1 setting in Metropolitan Sydney, which is situated on the ancestral lands of the Dharug People, we illustrate how subtle shifts in pedagogy—such as foraging for natural art materials and ritualized return to place—can create meaningful opportunities for boys to engage in relational learning. These moments are framed not only as ecologically responsive, but as spiritually and ethically significant, echoing recent calls for the cultivation of ecological virtues and interiority in education. By weaving together theoretical analysis and lived experience, this paper highlights how educators can play a critical role in supporting boys to resist masculinist norms and instead inhabit more relational and sustainable ways of being.

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