Utilization of a novel pedagogical framework to create and implement an environmental justice strategies undergraduate course: a case study

Environmental justice is integral to a holistic liberal arts education, particularly as equity, inclusion, and cross-cultural competencies have become increasingly valued in our society. Universities, in particular, can play a significant role in the dismantlement of structural inequities through, as a matter of course, equipping students with a foundational understanding of strategies to effectuate environmental justice. The case study detailed herein recounts the creation, implementation, and efficacy of an experimental pedagogy, systems analysis and practice (SAP), a framework which combines elements of participatory learning, critical literacy, and systems thinking. The SAP framework was integral to the design of a new undergraduate environmental justice course at the University of North Carolina Wilmington during the 2022 spring semester. The “environmental justice strategies” course was well-received with regard to both course content and pedagogical approach, as evidenced by student course evaluation data. Given a voluntary course evaluation response rate of 68.75%, students rated the overall course as 4.91/5.00. Qualitative data indicated a high-degree of commonality amongst student sentiment regarding concerns that their university had not offered the course prior to spring 2022, as well as insistence the course should be part of the environmental science and university core curriculum, as opposed to an elective. While these data only speak to the inaugural 2022 course launch, information gleaned from student feedback to the SAP framework within the context of an environmental justice course could serve diversity, equity, and inclusion course initiatives at other undergraduate-serving institutions.