"I am not a greenie, but": negotiating a cultural discourse

Whitehouse, Hilary;Evans, Neus

Abstract

A cultural discourse is not usually considered to be a barrier to the implementation of sustainability in schools. A study conducted in four different state primary schools in regional Queensland, found leading environmental educators did not wish to be identified as 'greenies'. 'Greenie' is a highly recognisable and well-used community discourse in regional Australia. The social appellation is shorthand for environmentalist and its use is divided almost irreconcilably between pejorative and non-pejorative attributions. To be at variance with dominant social and cultural practices and disorder an established status quo in order to transform schooling, teachers and principals must also indicate they know how to get the ordering right. This is why study participants maintain they are not 'greenies' while they implement state recognised sustainability initiatives at school. This paper considers the pejorative aspect of a cultural discourse as a possible barrier to the wider uptake of sustainability in schools in regional Australia.

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Australian Journal of Environmental Education

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0814-0626

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Australian Association for Environmental Education

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