An ecological overview of a career in environmental education
field of education. Those connections
led to the publication of the
Instructional Strategy Series, developed
in partnership with Saskatchewan
Professional Development Unit (SPDU).
As a faculty member since 1979,
Dr. Paul Hart has witnessed 38
years of the Faculty's 53-year history.
His association with the University
extends longer because he was also
an undergraduate student at the
U of R, achieving his Honours BSc
in Biology, and a B.Ed. Then, after
teaching a couple of years, (Moose Jaw
Central Collegiate and Regina Grant
Road School) he did his M.Ed. at the
University of Regina.
Environmental Education has been
the passion and focus of Hart's career.
As the first Canadian to do a PhD
in Environmental Education (SFU),
Hart has done much to contribute
to the development of the field of
environmental education. Hart says his,
"entire career has focused on human
identity and environment education,
and to finding educational ways to
challenge taken-for-granted beliefs and
values." Hart's multiple publications and
awards bear this out.
As a biologist, it is not surprising that
Hart describes his career progression
in ecological terms: "Everything is
connected to everything else. One
thing led to the next: from local to
provincial, to the national, and then to
international work."
His local work included his 8-year
role as Director of Saskatchewan
Instructional Development and
Research Unit (SIDRU). From this
role, Hart learned much from the staff
about the time and effort involved
in publishing research. He applied
business skills learned from his
father to develop research contracts,
and thereby enjoyed the success of
building a strong financial base for the
unit. Through this role, he made new
connections with stakeholders in the
With experience writing grants
developed through his work in SIDRU,
Hart began to receive SSHRC grants in
which he was Principle Investogator:
three, 3-year grants in succession (and
he was a researcher on several others).
With the grants, work began to flow
"from multiple directions"; for instance,
he was invited by SSHRC to sit on
Adjudication Committee 12 (psychology
and education grants), which he did
for three years, and chaired for two
years. Hart also sat on the boards
of several environmental education
journals, and eventually took on the
role of Executive Editor with the Journal
of Environmental Education (JEE). In the
beginning, research in environmental
education was quantitative, but
Hart and his colleagues argued
that "for the kind of pedagogy in
which environmental education was
engaged—interdisciplinary work—the
action research collaborative relational
epistemological model" was better
suited to the questions being asked
in the field. Qualitative methods were
eventually accepted in environmental
education research.
Hart retired in June 2017, but he says
not much has changed since retiring:
He is still on 15 graduate student
committees; he continues to do
research seminars with grad students
in Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand,
and China; he is a section editor for
the methodology section of a new
handbook on ChildhoodNature; and as
one of the Editors of JEE, he is writing
an historical piece for the upcoming
50th anniversary.
His advice to the Faculty is to keep a
balance between theory and practice,
and to "be careful who you put on
search committees; it's crucial. Hire the
best people you can."
By Shuana Niessen
As a founder of the now federally
funded EECOM, Hart was invited to do
international work with UNESCO, which
included trips to Malta, Eygpt, Japan,
and Korea. After UNESCO, Environment
Canada invited Hart along with several
others to write a document the Minister
would take to the UN Johannesburg
conference.
D r. P a u l H a r t
Provincial connections also developed
out of his SIDRU role. One of the
highlights for Hart was his work with
the Ministry of Education. "I was
seconded to write the background
papers for the new K -12 Saskatchewan
science education curriculum, and
this became the framework for the
pan-Canadian science education
curriculum." But one of his most
significant accomplishments, he says,
"was having environmental education
institutionalized into the core program
in our Faculty."
Hart emphasizes relationships and
connections as key to successful
academic careers. He mentions as
significant his relationships with
the five faculty who were in science
education with him in the early years
such as Evelyn Jonescu, and colleagues
such as the late Lyle Benko and Brian
Selinger as well as his relationships
with Biology department faculty such
as Dave Shepard, George Mitchell,
and Roy Cullimore. He has also
enjoyed developing relationships with
undergraduate and graduate students.
While a faculty member, he supervised
interns and enjoyed hearing from
them about how the Faculty could
improve their internship experience
through practical education. Attending
environmental education and research
conferences led to international
connections and work with key thinkers
in the field, such as Charles Hopkins,
Milt McClaren, and the late Bill Stapp.
He was invited by Bill Stapp to be
on the board for the expansion of
the North American Environmental
Education Association, which then
included Canada and Mexico.
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