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While numerous academic disciplines in the social sciences and humanities study human–animal interactions, education remains behind the times, so to speak. What is obvious is overt anthropocentrism—the view that human beings are the center and most important species on Earth—that accounts for why we in education remain, to a large extent, unaffected by the increasing popularity of inquiry into human–animal relationships. It is not a stretch to suggest that most educationists believe that education concerns human beings only or that the experiences of human beings are somehow unrelated to, or should take precedence over, the experiences of non-human beings. Of course, there are educational scholars who challenge anthropocentrism by incorporating non-humans into their analysis of schooling for social and ecological justice (DeLeon, 2011; Dolby, 2012; Kahn, 2008, 2011; Martin, 2011; Martusewicz, Edmundson, & Lupinacci, 2015; Pedersen, 2009; Rice, 2013; Rowe, 2009, 2011, 2012). These notable exceptions, however, remain on the periphery of critical education scholarship that aims to interrogate and change systems of oppression, privilege, and domination. This chapter argues that animal oppression is deeply intertwined with various forms of human oppression and should therefore occupy some role in critical educational theory and practice.

DOI: 10.1057/9781137505255_3

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