Environment, Ecology and Sustainability
Our research explores urgent questions about the natural world, and the relationship between the human and the more-than-human. We are developing innovative and creative responses to the challenges of environmental change.
Global education for sustainability in Liverpool and beyond - Prof. Philip Bamber & Dr Rob Booth
Liverpool Hope University and Liverpool World Centre have built a long-standing partnership promoting understanding of global, social, and environmental justice through education. Liverpool World Centre, a not-for-profit civil society organisation, works across diverse educational and community settings to advance global learning and inspire positive social change through innovative pedagogies. Its mission aligns closely with Liverpool Hope University’s commitment to tackling social injustice.
This shared vision led to the creation of Wider Perspectives in Education, a compulsory component of the undergraduate Primary Teaching degree at Liverpool Hope. The module encourages critical reflection on education’s role in addressing social, moral, and global issues, supported by innovative placements in schools and community organisations across the region. Over the past 15 years, more than 3,000 trainee teachers have taken part, working with over 250 partner schools and civil society organisations. Recent placements have focused particularly on climate change and sustainability education (CCSE).
The partnership’s influence extends from local community projects to national and international collaborations across the UK and Europe. Research by Liverpool Hope academics, together with insights from Wider Perspectives in Education, has shaped professional development for teacher educators through the British Council’s Connecting Classrooms for Global Learning programme. Most recently, colleagues from across the University (from Philosophy, Psychology, Initial Teacher Education, and Education) have developed innovative methodologies to research teacher views on CCSE led by Professor Phil Bamber. This research builds on the critique of environmental policy from the perspective of critical environmental philosophy by Dr Robert Booth. The research team hosted both the Universities’ Council for the Education of Teachers (UCET) CCSE Forum and, in collaboration with Liverpool World Centre, the annual Teacher Education for Equity and Sustainability Network conference, consolidating Liverpool Hope’s leadership in research and education for social and environmental justice.
