Negotiating Common Goals Among Diverse Stakeholders: An Ethnography of the Czech Environmental Education’s Organisational Field

The development of environmental education (EE) goals has rarely been problematised. To shed light on this process, we focused on EE in the Czech Republic. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) play a key role there, facilitating the process in coordination with government institutions, schools and...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ivan Cuker, Martin Hájek
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press 2024-08-01
Series:Australian Journal of Environmental Education
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0814062624000351/type/journal_article
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849389976339349504
author Ivan Cuker
Martin Hájek
author_facet Ivan Cuker
Martin Hájek
author_sort Ivan Cuker
collection DOAJ
description The development of environmental education (EE) goals has rarely been problematised. To shed light on this process, we focused on EE in the Czech Republic. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) play a key role there, facilitating the process in coordination with government institutions, schools and for-profit companies. Drawing on three theoretical perspectives that explain the formation of organisational goals (consensus building, community of discourse and practice and governmentality), we examined how different stakeholders contribute to the definition of common goals for EE. Through ethnographic research in an NGO and at EE events, complemented by interviews with lecturers and leaders, our research revealed that despite the high diversity of stakeholder positions and interests, the organisational field of EE is highly inclusive and shows few internal conflicts. Using chosen theoretical perspectives, we explain how vaguely defined common goals and weak manifestations of conflict contribute to the sharing of knowledge, practices and ethical responsibilities in the EE field.
format Article
id doaj-art-a10a1549b78f431aba95e4c27585f1cd
institution Kabale University
issn 0814-0626
2049-775X
language English
publishDate 2024-08-01
publisher Cambridge University Press
record_format Article
series Australian Journal of Environmental Education
spelling doaj-art-a10a1549b78f431aba95e4c27585f1cd2025-08-20T03:41:47ZengCambridge University PressAustralian Journal of Environmental Education0814-06262049-775X2024-08-014070672110.1017/aee.2024.35Negotiating Common Goals Among Diverse Stakeholders: An Ethnography of the Czech Environmental Education’s Organisational FieldIvan Cuker0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5773-3510Martin Hájek1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9213-6404Institute of Sociological Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, Prague, Czech RepublicInstitute of Sociological Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, Prague, Czech RepublicThe development of environmental education (EE) goals has rarely been problematised. To shed light on this process, we focused on EE in the Czech Republic. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) play a key role there, facilitating the process in coordination with government institutions, schools and for-profit companies. Drawing on three theoretical perspectives that explain the formation of organisational goals (consensus building, community of discourse and practice and governmentality), we examined how different stakeholders contribute to the definition of common goals for EE. Through ethnographic research in an NGO and at EE events, complemented by interviews with lecturers and leaders, our research revealed that despite the high diversity of stakeholder positions and interests, the organisational field of EE is highly inclusive and shows few internal conflicts. Using chosen theoretical perspectives, we explain how vaguely defined common goals and weak manifestations of conflict contribute to the sharing of knowledge, practices and ethical responsibilities in the EE field.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0814062624000351/type/journal_articleCzech Republicenvironmental educationgoal negotiationnon-governmental organisationsorganisational field
spellingShingle Ivan Cuker
Martin Hájek
Negotiating Common Goals Among Diverse Stakeholders: An Ethnography of the Czech Environmental Education’s Organisational Field
Australian Journal of Environmental Education
Czech Republic
environmental education
goal negotiation
non-governmental organisations
organisational field
title Negotiating Common Goals Among Diverse Stakeholders: An Ethnography of the Czech Environmental Education’s Organisational Field
title_full Negotiating Common Goals Among Diverse Stakeholders: An Ethnography of the Czech Environmental Education’s Organisational Field
title_fullStr Negotiating Common Goals Among Diverse Stakeholders: An Ethnography of the Czech Environmental Education’s Organisational Field
title_full_unstemmed Negotiating Common Goals Among Diverse Stakeholders: An Ethnography of the Czech Environmental Education’s Organisational Field
title_short Negotiating Common Goals Among Diverse Stakeholders: An Ethnography of the Czech Environmental Education’s Organisational Field
title_sort negotiating common goals among diverse stakeholders an ethnography of the czech environmental education s organisational field
topic Czech Republic
environmental education
goal negotiation
non-governmental organisations
organisational field
url https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0814062624000351/type/journal_article
work_keys_str_mv AT ivancuker negotiatingcommongoalsamongdiversestakeholdersanethnographyoftheczechenvironmentaleducationsorganisationalfield
AT martinhajek negotiatingcommongoalsamongdiversestakeholdersanethnographyoftheczechenvironmentaleducationsorganisationalfield