Education and the Anthropocene

The Anthropocene marks an epoch of unprecedented planetary disruption, driven by human activity. Traditional schooling systems, rooted in disciplinary silos, industrial logic, and anthropocentric assumptions, are ill-equipped to prepare learners for uncertain, interdependent futures. This program brings together academic researchers, teachers, policy influencers, and community members to co-design new models of education grounded in sustainability, critical and creative thinking, systems thinking, and relational pedagogies. Hence, the focus of the program, anchored in the unique local context of NSW, while drawing on international theory and practice, is to develop cutting edge educational innovation for future-inspired planetary wellbeing.

The term, Anthropocene, was introduced to a global audience by Paul Crutzen in 2000 by his publication in the journal Nature. Crutzen was an atmospheric chemist, who won the Nobel prize for his work, and was one of the first to go beyond the chemistry and physics of the release of greenhouse gases, to recognise that the transformative nature of the contemporary industrial situation could mean naming a new geological age after human activity (the Anthropos).Since that time interest in the term, Anthropocene, has exponentially grown. A database search on current publications including the Anthropocene in their titles rendered 474,000 results. However, education has been slow to act and incorporate the findings of the many studies into the nature of the Anthropocene into its practises, including journals dedicated exclusively to its explanation such as: The Anthropocene Review. Hence, the national/international significance of the program lies in following the publications of researchers such as Annette Gough, Marie Brennan, Delphi Carstens, Jane Gilbert and Lesley Le Grange, and critically examining how findings from Anthropocene research can be implemented in learning practices.

In 2025, the ‘Education in the Anthropocene’ program has organized an international colloquium with the University of Shiraz, Iran, and invited Professor Claire Colebrook to speak about Art as Education in the Anthropocene (A Pedagogy of Chaos).

Team members

Associate Professor David R. Cole (Program Leader)

Dr Eva Vass (Program Deputy Leader)

Dr Susan Germein

Ms Jen Dollin (WSU Head of Sustainability)