UCLA

This case study examines college student ecoliteracy, a measure of ecological awareness and understanding, as influenced by a year-long course on food systems and related environmental issues. Food: A Lens for the Environment and Sustainability is part of the UCLA Cluster Program, a three-quarter lecture, lab, and seminar series that satisfies several of the College’s General Education requirements, including scientific inquiry and writing. The study follows twenty students through the program, relying on data collected through in-depth interviews, document analysis of course materials and assignments, and fieldnotes from my experiences as a participant-observer and one of the instructors of the course. This project evaluates the utility of food as an entry-point for broader conversations of ecology and sustainability. I identify the ways in which college students integrate ecoliteracy into their perspectives and habits, and I explore the educational and contextual barriers that inhibit or mitigate this type of development. Many of the student narratives center around relational understandings of environmental issues, navigating the complexities of food choices, and their experiences applying new socioecological knowledge into their established social and cultural contexts. The purpose of this project is twofold: first, to make the theoretical argument for ecoliteracy as a fundamental intention of higher education, and second, to provide institutions and educators with recommendations for transformative ecopedagogical practices.