Teaching systems thinking to protect wildlife: a pilot study in West Bengal’s secondary schools

Conventional school curricula fragment knowledge into siloed subjects and rely on rote learning, leaving students ill-equipped to address complex socio-ecological issues such as human-elephant conflict. We tested the hypothesis that a topic-based curriculum—grounded in nine ecological principles—could enhance eco-literacy, empathy, and creative problem-solving among secondary students. Between October 2022 and February 2024, our multidisciplinary team co-created the Elephants and People unit and implemented it across three sequential phases: (1) a three-day teachers’ training workshop (for 38 teachers from 18 schools) employing slow pedagogy, Appreciative Inquiry, backcasting, World Café dialogues, experiential outdoor games, and daily benchmarking; (2) teacher-led classroom implementation in five human-elephant-conflict-zone schools, organizing nature immersion, journaling, screening Asian Elephants 101 film series (subtitled in local language), and action research; and (3) an advanced curriculum design workshop for teachers, producing locally tailored, interdisciplinary units grounded in systems thinking. Benchmarking scores rose from a median of 2–3/10 to 7–8/10, reflecting significant gains in teacher confidence and knowledge. Classroom observations revealed 83% of participating schools and 77% of teachers fully adopted the pedagogy. Student reflections and essays showed increased empathy and innovative ideas for coexistence. This research could help create a paradigm shift in curriculum design—from fragmented, anthropocentric content to holistic, eco-centric learning—inspiring pro-conservation attitudes, restoring students’ innate creativity, and deepening their sense of interdependence with nature. Scaling this framework through multidisciplinary curriculum integration and systems thinking workshops for teachers offers a promising path to transform education into a catalyst for sustainable human-wildlife coexistence.

1 Literature review

India supports over 60% of the world’s remaining Asian elephants, and 60–80% of their habitats lie outside protected areas (Menon et al., 2017). In biodiversity-rich but fragmented landscapes like West Bengal, elephants frequently move through tea plantations and croplands, leading to severe human-elephant conflict, including casualties, crop damage, and elephant deaths (Roy et al., 2009). Conservation in these shared spaces demands community engagement that aligns both human well-being and elephant survival. Education, particularly of future community leaders—school children—is a powerful tool to inspire co-existence and long-term ecological stewardship (Ballouard et al., 2011).

Human-elephant conflict (HEC) in West Bengal is intensifying due to rapid human population growth, reckless land use, and expanding infrastructures such as railways and roadways that bisect crucial forest corridors in the northern part of the state (Chowdhury, 2024). Forest-dependent communities often enter these fragmented habitats to collect resources, while agricultural expansion along forest fringes draws elephants—especially solitary bulls—into human settlements. Although climate change exacerbates habitat degradation, human encroachment is a primary driver of displacement of elephant populations and the associated rise in human-elephant conflict (Shaffer et al., 2019). The repercussions are devastating for both elephants and people: farmers frequently erect illegal high-voltage electric fences, causing fatal electrocutions, while local residents—particularly tribal communities—may panic during sudden encounters, triggering defensive attacks by elephants, resulting in tragedy (The Hindu, 2019). An estimated 10–15 elephants and approximately 25 humans are killed annually in West Bengal due to human-elephant conflict related to various threats (Down To Earth, 2024).

Current approaches to human-elephant conflict include on-site deterrents, elephant translocations, or monetary compensation for losses (Shaffer et al., 2019). However, these interventions address only the symptoms of a deeper problem: an anthropocentric approach to conservation (Rizzolo and Bradshaw, 2019). A transformative approach could lay in the education system, where eco-centric, multidisciplinary curricula incorporating films, nature immersion, participatory learning, and storytelling could rekindle students’ reverence for nature. By reconnecting people with the natural world, this model seeks not only to prevent conflict but to heal the ruptured bonds between species. Further, as a phenomenon that shows great temporal and spatial variability, human-elephant conflict is best addressed by a dynamic approach that can incorporate complex social and ecological systems, and the ways in which elephant behavior and human attitudes intersect within context-specific feedback loops (Malley and Gorenflo, 2023).

Systems theory in environmental education offers a powerful framework for understanding the interdependence of ecological, social, and cultural systems, helping learners see environmental issues not as isolated events, but as complex, dynamic relationships shaped by feedback loops, patterns, and multiple perspectives (Capra and Luisi, 2014; Meadows, 2008). Rooted in holistic thinking, it fosters ecological literacy, systems thinking, and ethical reflection, equipping learners to recognize leverage points for change, build resilience, and navigate uncertainty (Sterling, 2003; Sterling, 2010; Walker and Salt, 2006). By integrating interdisciplinary knowledge with experiential and place-based learning, systems theory promotes transformative education that engages the head, hands, and heart—cultivating empathy, critical thinking, and a sense of agency in confronting global challenges like biodiversity loss and climate change (Orr, 1992; Orr, 1991; Orr 1994; Shankar, 2010; Tilbury, 1995). Supported by the National Geographic Society, this approach prepares learners to move from awareness to action, inspiring hope and meaningful participation in sustainability efforts (Meadows, 1999; Blenkinsop et al., 2009).

This study is of particular relevance to India, the world’s most densely populated country, occupying only about 2.4 percent of the world’s land area while supporting approximately 18 percent of its population (Worldometer, 2025). However, apart from a single study conducted by Disha India (elaborated below), most systems thinking research related to education has been conducted in North America and Europe. There has been limited attention to applying these approaches within India’s unique cultural and ecological context—a country with a significant elephant population, resulting in spatial and cultural dynamics distinct from regions like Europe (Wilson et al., 2013; Majumder, 2022).

Through ground research the research team identified a fundamental disconnect in the Indian education system: a reliance on mechanistic, siloed learning that suppresses systems thinking and disconnects students from their ecological surroundings. While a number of educational innovations have emerged across India, Disha India Education Foundation remains the only organization known to have implemented a systems-thinking model at scale within Indian schools. To date, approximately 700 teachers have been trained in Disha’s model. In comparison, India has a total of 150,452 secondary schools and 142,398 higher secondary schools, staffed by 1,620,001 secondary and 2,701,507 higher secondary teachers (Ezyschooling, 2022). In response, the team developed a holistic, topic-based curriculum rooted in ecological principles and systems thinking to restore this lost connection.

The main research question addressed was: How can topic-based, eco-centric education help students in human-elephant conflict zones see the bigger picture and think in more connected, systems-oriented ways? As part of this question, the project aimed to address three sub-questions:

a) How does designing curriculum around local issues—by teachers themselves—help students understand how nature, people, and wildlife are all interconnected?

b) What are practical ways to turn key ecological ideas like interdependence, feedback, adaptation, and emergence into learning outcomes that can be seen, experienced, and measured in the classroom?

c) How does learning through an eco-centric curriculum affect students’ attitudes, empathy, and ability to come up with real-world solutions for living alongside wildlife like elephants?

By embedding ecological principles into student-centered, place-based learning, the project aims to offer a replicable model for shifting from anthropocentric to eco-centric worldviews—essential for navigating the challenges of coexistence in increasingly shared landscapes.

2 Methodology

The research team developed a holistic, topic-based curriculum rooted in ecological principles and systems thinking to in response to the above-mentioned research questions (Ecological Principles and Education - Appendix A). Lead investigator SI, in collaboration with scientific advisor LI and elephant ecologist AK, led an interdisciplinary initiative to address the escalating conservation crisis posed by human-elephant conflict (HEC) in India. The development and implementation of the Elephants and People model curriculum unit was supported by a robust team on the ground, including a coordinator who contacted high school administrators, and teachers. The teachers’ development workshops were grounded in a transdisciplinary and systems-based approach, incorporating principles of eco-centric curriculum design, systems thinking, Appreciative Inquiry (AI), World Café, slow pedagogy, and backcasting (see Supplementary Material for more information). These methodologies informed both the creation of the curriculum unit and the delivery of capacity-building workshops in the human-elephant conflict (HEC)–prone districts of Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar in the northern region of West Bengal (Figure 1: Map of Northern West Bengal). As part of this curriculum, the lead investigator (SI) integrated her Asian Elephants 101 short film series (Iyer, 2022), a visual storytelling tool that transcended data-driven presentations. These films illuminated the severity of the crisis unfolding across elephant range states, while also portraying the deep emotional lives and familial bonds of elephants. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mxe4Z7P74vs&t=1s; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzvRTY9e0d8).

Figure 1

Figure 1. Map of Northern West Bengal.

The curriculum drew from LI’s Eco-centric Educational Framework (2020), interwoven with nine ecological principles of sustainable living systems: interdependence, community, diversity, feedback, cycling, adaptation, energy flow, emergence, and the idea that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts (Meadows, 2015). The team designed learning experiences that explored these principles through the lens of elephants as a keystone species (ElephantVoices, 2020), enabling participants to grasp the complex, dynamic relationships within their ecosystems. Another project member (AK) contributed his field expertise on elephant behavior, habitat usage, and the nuances related to HEC, ensuring that the curriculum remained scientifically grounded and locally relevant.

Interactive workshops like The Elephant Café used systems mapping, storytelling, and case studies to help participants trace root causes of conflict and explore the interdependence between humans and elephants. These workshops also created safe spaces for dialogue and collective problem-solving, engaging teachers as facilitators of change and students as emerging eco-leaders.

The project advanced beyond traditional environmental messaging, which often relies on guilt or deficit narratives. In environmental communication, deficit narratives—also known as the information deficit model—assume that public inaction or skepticism stems from a lack of knowledge, and that merely providing accurate information will lead to behavior change (Suldovsky, 2017). This one-way, expert-to-public model has been widely criticized for oversimplifying public attitudes, disregarding cultural values and emotional drivers, and even reinforcing polarization and mistrust. Studies suggest that deficit-based messaging often fails to motivate real change and can alienate communities by positioning them as “empty vessels” rather than empowered participants in environmental discourse (Pouliot and Godbout, 2014). As an alternative, this project relied on systems thinking which viewed teachers, students and elephants as embedded within the same social-ecological web, and facilitated examinations of these connections in an experiential manner.

Subsequently, the team facilitated the implementation of the Elephants and People curriculum unit in higher secondary schools across Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar districts. This pilot program empowered teachers to deliver content that was both emotionally impactful and scientifically rigorous, fostering agency and hope, while encouraging students to become eco-ambassadors and to initiate community action projects. These included cultivating elephant-repellent crops, promoting alternative livelihoods, and repurposing elephant dung as fertilizer—a practical example of ecological cycling (Chapin et al., 2011). Team members, SI and AK, also educated students about the deployment of the EleSense early-warning system to reduce train-elephant collisions, a common negative consequence of shared elephant-human space.

Finally, teachers received guidance in designing their own curriculum units, incorporating the nine ecological principles and methodologies they had explored during the first Teacher Development Workshop, and subsequently implemented these programs in their classrooms.

2.1 Benchmarking as a quantitative and qualitative self evaluation tool

Benchmarking emerged as a vital pedagogical and evaluative strategy throughout the professional development workshop, serving as a participatory self-assessment tool that enabled educators to monitor their conceptual growth in real time. Conducted at key intervals—specifically at the outset of each day and again toward its conclusion—this reflective exercise invited participants to position themselves along a numerical scale of 0–10 (with ‘0’ being poor and ‘10’ being excellent), based on their perceived knowledge of elephant ecology, behavior, and human-elephant interactions.

This dynamic process fostered both introspection and dialogue, allowing participants to visualize their learning trajectories and derive a tangible sense of progress. It not only catalyzed deeper engagement but also reinforced motivation by making learning visible and personal. By positioning students as changemakers and teachers as co-designers of curriculum, the initiative bridged ecological science with cultural context and civic engagement (Samson, 2015; Taylor and Bovill, 2018).

2.2 Research framework

The research is rooted in systems thinking and the Eco-centric Curriculum Framework (Ireland, 2020) - (Figure 2), which integrates ecological principles into pedagogical design. The framework encourages topic-based rather than siloed subject-based learning, reflecting the complexity and interdependence of socio-ecological systems. Education is seen not just as content delivery but as a transformative process that fosters empathy, compassion, critical thinking, and community-driven problem-solving. The project operationalizes these goals through structured teacher training, curriculum co-creation, and classroom implementation focused on elephants as keystone species and symbols of ecological interdependence.

Figure 2

Figure 2. Eco-centric educational framework.

2.3 Conceptual model/framework and operationalization of key concepts

At the heart of the conceptual model is the elephant—as a culturally revered yet ecologically imperiled species (Varma et al., 2008; Sukumar, 2003)—serving as the anchor for exploring complex adaptive systems. The model incorporates four interconnected spheres: people, plants, animals, and elements—all grounded in nine ecological principles (Meadows, 2015).

To translate abstract concepts into observable outcomes, the study uses:

• Operational indicators of empathy and ecological literacy, measured through pre/post surveys, reflective journaling, and participatory assessments (e.g., storytelling, artwork, and role-play).

• Teacher capacity, assessed through self-benchmarking tools, unit design quality, and classroom delivery efficacy.

• Community relevance, measured by the integration of local socio-ecological issues into student projects and curriculum content.

• Curriculum impact, evaluated using indicators such as shifts in perception, increased awareness, and willingness to act for conservation.

2.4 Curriculum design and educational media integration

The model unit was crafted through a series of collaborative brainstorming sessions among SI, AK, and LI, with the intention of creating a learning module grounded in ecological principles and cultural relevance. A central element of the curriculum was the integration of the Asian Elephants 101 film series, produced and directed by SI with funding from the National Geographic Society (NGS). These short films used compelling imagery, emotional narratives, and accessible language to deepen the emotional engagement and cognitive understanding of both educators and students. Subtitled in Hindi and Bangla languages, the films enhanced accessibility and helped foster empathy by portraying the familial and emotional bonds among elephants, their ecological significance to the survival of all species, including humans, as well as the grave threats they face, drawing powerful parallels to human communities.

2.5 Participant recruitment and community relevance

Participants included two teachers from each of 20 higher secondary schools across the districts of Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar. Schools were strategically selected based on their proximity to known elephant movement corridors and the presence of high percentages of tribal populations—communities often most affected by HEC and also holding potential to become key agents of coexistence. Permissions and participant lists were obtained through collaboration with District Inspectors of Secondary Education.

2.6 Phase 1: curriculum development and initial workshops

Over four months, our team finalized the “Elephants and People” unit, which was then introduced to 38 teachers implemented by SI and AK during a three-day workshop in February 2023. The sessions, held in ecologically rich regions of Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar, emphasized the nine ecological principles defined in Ireland’s Eco-centric Educational Framework (2020). Through interactive discussions, outdoor activities, and nature immersion, teachers were equipped with tools to design interdisciplinary and systems-based curriculum units. The gender ratio was 30% female and 70% male, as teachers were nominated by their institutions.

A six-day cumulative training titled The Elephant Café followed, where participants explored how to apply the curriculum design concepts through systems thinking (Clark, 1997). The Elephant Café created a safe space for collective sensemaking, modeling World Café dialogues and Appreciative Inquiry, fostering reflective conversations to surface locally resonant solutions.

2.7 Phase 2: classroom implementation and evaluation

Starting in June 2023, teachers implemented the Elephants and People curriculum in their classrooms with support from the NGS team. Two-day sessions for students in grades 10 to 12 featured thematic modules on elephant ecology, wildlife-human interactions, and sustainable solutions. Evaluation methods included teacher and student documentation, benchmarking exercises, and reflective journaling. The curriculum expanded beyond the original five schools to include a sixth, unplanned school whose headmaster demonstrated exceptional interest, citing the school’s location along a major elephant migratory route.

2.8 Phase 3: advanced curriculum design and professional development

In February 2024, a final workshop was conducted for 19 teachers from 11 schools—8 returning from earlier phases and 11 new participants. Facilitated by team member LI, this phase emphasized advanced curriculum development, equipping educators to create multi-subject, ecology-based units tailored to their local contexts. Participation from school leadership, including headmasters and teacher-in-charges, was encouraged to support long-term sustainability.

Daily benchmarking activities provided real-time feedback on knowledge gains. Team member SI conducted school visits to strengthen rapport and ensure administrative alignment, while district officials were invited to observe and endorse the training.

2.9 Pedagogical strategies and curriculum delivery

The curriculum was delivered through a blend of traditional and non-traditional pedagogies:

• Backcasting and Appreciative Inquiry: Participants envisioned a future of peaceful coexistence and worked backward to identify current gaps and innovative solutions.

• World Café (Figure 3): Facilitated rotating dialogues, encouraged cross pollination and ownership of ideas, thus cultivating and harvesting collective insights.

• Experiential Learning: Kolb’s cycle of experience, reflection, conceptualization, and experimentation informed activities such as nature walks, group projects, and role plays. (Table 1: Experiential Activity)

• Nature Immersion and Slow Pedagogy: Time was built int sessions for observation, journaling, and reflective conversations.

• Student-Teacher Action Research: Participants conducted small-scale research projects and presented findings.

• Feedback and Spiral Learning: Ecological concepts were introduced, revisited, and deepened through iterative cycles of learning.

Figure 3

Figure 3. World cafe model. www.theworldcafe.com.

Figure 4

Figure 4. Score range of teachers. Benchmarking, an interactive self evaluation activity, played a key role in tracking the participants' progress throughout the workshop. Conducted at critical intervals, this approach allowed participants to visibly recognize and reflect on their growth, enhancing their sense of achievement and motivation. BM1- benchmark on the first day of Phase 1. BM2-benchmark on the final day of Phase 2. BM3 - Benchmark on the final day of Phase 3.

Table 1

Table 1. A brief explanation of the experiential activities.

Curriculum Modules/Thematic units included in Appendix B:

• Elephants and Elements: Connections to earth, water, air, and fire

• Elephants and Plants: Ecological roles in seed dispersal and forest regeneration

• Elephants and Animals: Species interdependence within shared ecosystems

• Elephants and Human Communities: Exploring similarities in community structures

• Elephants and People: Crafting solutions for coexistence

Each module guided learners to uncover local relevance and inspired both teachers and students to co-create solutions aligned with ecological principles.

3 Results

Despite the logistical complexities inherent to working in remote areas, the initiative yielded numerous tangible successes that affirm both its efficacy and adaptability for other species in any ecosystem.

3.1 Exceptional student and teacher engagement

In spite of initial infrastructural and logistical challenges, the levels of engagement from both students and teachers exceeded expectations. This was made possible by our deliberate selection of committed educators and institutions, and our consistent presence in the schools from the outset. It was the first time such a pedagogical approach had been attempted in this region, and our dedicated in-person support ensured strong foundational partnerships and adaptive learning environments.

3.2 Shifting pedagogical paradigms through teacher development

The Phase 1 teachers’ workshop catalyzed a shift from rigid, subject-based instruction to creative, experiential learning. In a context where traditional didactic methods dominate—especially within government schools in marginalized areas—teachers embraced new methodologies with an openness that was both encouraging and essential. This shift was particularly impactful for first-generation learners, empowering them through more relatable and student-centered educational experiences. Our pilot study also demonstrated ways to turn key ecological ideas like interdependence, feedback, diversity, adaptation, and emergence into learning outcomes that can be seen, felt, measured and expressed in the classroom. The curriculum took these abstract notions and made them tangible through experiential activities such as the Spider-Web and the Habitat Loss game (Table 1). This allowed students to directly and actively experience these concepts rather than learn about them as passive observers.

3.3 Widespread buy-in from schools and educators

Of the 18 participating schools, 15 (83.3%) actively implemented the curriculum. Similarly, 30 out of 39 teachers (76.9%) embraced the new approach. Notably, those educators who were less receptive were in schools where administrative support was also lacking. The workshop’s use of locally relevant examples and systems thinking helped drive home the importance of coexistence with elephants, fostering greater buy-in and deeper engagement.

3.4 Collaborative planning and teacher autonomy

Teachers were fully involved in co-designing the implementation process. Their insights helped us provide effective support while preserving their pedagogical autonomy. Our team only stepped in when guidance was needed, ensuring that interventions remained supportive rather than prescriptive. This participatory planning created a sense of ownership and accountability among the educators. One teacher suggested “When more teachers are involved, the message can reach many more students. We need to integrate environmental studies into the curriculum and hold more frequent sessions—not just once a year—so that we stay connected to the program and share more with our students.”

3.5 Student reflections and systems thinking

Students’ reflections were often rooted in personal experiences, which they skillfully linked to workshop content. The curriculum successfully fostered systems thinking among students, while teachers moved beyond rigid disciplinary boundaries to implement integrative, topic-based learning modules.

For instance, students participated in a nature immersion activity by the Kuji-diana River, fully engaging their senses—feeling the water, sitting on the grass, and observing their surroundings, as teachers guided their focus on touch, smell, sight, and sound. Back in the classroom, students reflected on their experiences, with one realizing her own backyard was more beautiful than crowded tourist spots and another admitting she had never truly noticed her local environment before.

In another school, following an outdoor interdependence game that illustrated key ecological principles, students returned to the classroom eager to ask questions and reflected on the nature immersion experience, expressing how it deepened their sensory connection to the environment and inspired them to act more responsibly, especially in managing waste.

Overall, student reflections (Table 2) demonstrated several themes. The first was increased empathy for elephants. Student reflections portrayed elephants as complex, sentient beings with rich psychological lives that are both unique and similar to humans. For example, one student wrote, “We learned that female elephants live in close herds and protect their young ones. They must always be stressed, worrying about their calves, especially since humans have taken over their migration paths.” Another student reflected, “I see them differently now. Elephants are just like us—they are trying to survive and care for their families.”

Table 2

Table 2. Student and teacher reactions.

A second theme that emerged was the interdependence of humans and wildlife in a connected system. For example, one student wrote, “Observing unplanned roads and railway projects blocking elephant routes made me realize how human development affects wildlife. This workshop helped me understand that protecting nature is not just for animals, but also for our own survival.” Another reflected, “The game was so much fun, but it also made me realize how everything is connected—humans, animals, and forests. If one part collapses, the whole system suffers.”

A third theme was increased attention to and appreciation for one’s own local environment. For example, one student noted, “My family often travels to expensive, overcrowded tourist places that are full of trash. But today I realized that the beauty around me is far better than those popular sites—we already have such rich surroundings in our own backyard.” Another added, “I live near this river, but I had never really looked at it or felt it this way before. It was like seeing my home for the first time.”

3.6 Impact of multimedia as a pedagogical tool

• The use of multimedia—especially the Asian Elephants 101 docu-series produced by SI, funded by the National Geographic Society—enhanced engagement. The films provided a multisensory introduction to complex topics like elephant behavior, communication, habitat loss, and human-elephant conflict. They were also time-saving for teachers and engaging for students, many of whom demonstrated a sense of awe, empathy, and reverence for elephants. One student reflected, “We have seen elephants many times, but until now, I had never thought about what they might feel or how they see us.”

3.7 Introduction to journaling and group discussions

Teachers successfully introduced reflective journaling and group discussions as new pedagogical tools. Written reflections revealed deeper insights and individuality compared to verbal responses, a distinction that even students acknowledged. These practices contributed to critical thinking and self-expression.

3.8 Enthusiastic participation in experiential activities

Hands-on activities such as Nature Immersion, the Interdependence, and Habitat Loss games energized the classroom and maintained student interest. The natural setting of the Eastern Himalayas provided an ideal backdrop for these activities, helping students connect theoretical knowledge to lived experiences. Students expressed that outdoor sessions were invigorating and broke the monotony of conventional classroom learning. One student said: “It was a nice escape into open space, away from the congested classroom.” Another added, “When I paid attention with all my senses, even the little things like ants in the grass or the breeze on my face made me feel more alive.”

3.9 Whole-class engagement through creative facilitation

Even when logistical constraints allowed only a subset of students to directly participate in the games, teachers skillfully engaged entire classes. In the Habitat Loss game, for instance, by using symbolic gestures and interactive storytelling, teachers ensured that even students observing the activities remained intellectually and emotionally invested in the activity. As the sheet on which selected students were standing (representing habitat) was constantly folded, portraying the shrinking forests, both the participants and observants were viscerally stressed, pushing each other, competing for space to balance themselves.

3.10 Quantifiable progress through benchmarking

The self-evaluation benchmarking tool provided clear, quantifiable insights into the participants’ learning trajectories. Conducted at strategic intervals, it fostered reflection, reinforced self-efficacy, and validated the program’s educational impact. Benchmarking scores rose from a median of 2–3/10 to 7–8/10, reflecting significant gains in teacher confidence and knowledge. Classroom observations revealed 83% of participating schools and 77% of teachers fully adopted the pedagogy. (Figure 4: Score Range of Teachers).

3.11 Integration of interdisciplinary learning

Teachers overcame the significant challenge of breaking away from rigid subject silos, successfully integrating science, geography, language, and ethics into a cohesive module. Their creative approaches to teaching about elephants through multiple disciplines underscored the potential for systemic educational reform in rural contexts as well as the challenges. For example, one teacher noted, “Students must be involved in programs like this. What they learn here, they can share with their friends and even encourage them to get involved too. The ITC (Integrated Teaching Curriculum) is truly unique and impactful at the grassroots level. However, we lack the tools to monitor the program’s impact effectively. I believe door-to-door campaigns could enhance community engagement.”

3.12 Boosted teacher morale through student excellence

The exceptional performance of students—especially those recognized for insightful questions and reflections—boosted teacher morale and reaffirmed their faith in the new methods. For many educators, witnessing the intellectual and emotional depth of their students’ engagement was a source of pride and motivation. For example, one teacher noted, “The interactive multimedia and games increased student participation, even among those who were previously disengaged. I was so impressed that I’m considering expanding the program to lower grades, though time and resource constraints are a challenge.” Another commented, “This was a truly unique workshop—unlike anything we teachers had experienced before. For the first time at the school level, we had the opportunity to engage so closely with wildlife through films and discussions. We learned so much, especially about the lives of elephants, and this workshop gave us a deeper appreciation of their world.”

The results offered us insights on the distribution of self-assessed scores of students across three consecutive days in a total of six schools in the Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar districts (Table 3 - Score Range of Students). Notably, participants from Alipurduar initially reported slightly higher baseline scores, plausibly due to their proximity to Jaldapara National Park and frequent encounters with elephants in surrounding fragmented forest landscapes. Despite this initial advantage, participants from Jalpaiguri demonstrated more pronounced improvement over the course of the workshop. This suggests that, while prior exposure to elephants may inform familiarity, the depth of engagement and openness to learning play a critical role in knowledge acquisition and pedagogical transformation.

Table 3

Table 3. Score range of three self-evaluation benchmarking activities.

4 Discussion

Teaching Systems Thinking to Protect Wildlife: A pilot study in West Bengal's secondary schools project in Northern West Bengal aimed to reimagine environmental education through experiential, interdisciplinary, and participatory learning. A transition to an ecological education model—one that embraces the principles of systems thinking, interdependence, community, cycles, feedback, adaptation, emergence, and the recognition that “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts”—offers a hopeful and practical alternative to the siloed educational model that seems to create a profound disconnect with nature. Students learned about nine ecological principles through various activities, including for instance, interdependencies through the Spider Web game, feedback loops through the Habitat Loss game, and interconnections through nature immersion (refer to Appendix A). Such a model not only contextualizes knowledge but also makes it meaningful. It fosters creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration, equipping students with the tools to navigate and solve the complex challenges of our time.

For teachers, this model holds the potential to rekindle a passion for learning and teaching. When supported by school administrators, educators can co-create locally relevant, interdisciplinary curriculum units that resonate with the students’ lived experiences. Through Phase 3 of this project, we attempted to operationalize these insights—scaling the initiative through collaborative teacher networks, regional workshops, and the broader application of the Eco-centric Curriculum Design Framework.

Topic-based, eco-centric education enabled students in human-elephant conflict zones to grasp the bigger picture by connecting ecological concepts to lived experiences, as evidenced by increased systems thinking and interconnected reflections in student essays and classroom discussions:

a) When teachers designed curriculum units around locally relevant issues like human-elephant conflict, students were able to see the direct relationship between environmental dynamics and their own lives, which fostered a clearer understanding of the interdependence between humans, wildlife, and ecosystems. Teachers responded viscerally, realizing for the first time that elephants are not so different from humans—social, intelligent, and emotionally complex beings. This emotional resonance catalyzed a profound shift in perception, laying the groundwork for empathy-based conservation education.

b) Abstract ecological principles such as interdependence, feedback, adaptation, and emergence were translated into experiential pedagogies such as nature immersion, reflective journaling, film screenings and participatory games, allowing students to observe and internalize these concepts through real-time, measurable activities.

c) Learning through the eco-centric curriculum led to measurable shifts in student empathy and attitudes toward elephants, with students proposing thoughtful coexistence strategies and expressing greater emotional resonance with wildlife, demonstrating enhanced pro-conservation thinking.

This initiative represents the first program of its kind in West Bengal, a state that houses approximately 105.6 million people and hosts over 10,000 secondary and higher secondary schools, collectively educating approximately 2.76 million students (World Population Review, 2025; Ministry of Education, 2024). These figures underscore the immense potential to scale this eco-centric, systems-based educational framework across the country. With millions of students and educators yet to be reached, the opportunity to embed holistic, place-based curricula like Elephants and People is both timely and transformational.

Our findings affirm and expand upon current literature in both environmental education and conservation that underscore the transformative potential of experiential, place-based, and systems-oriented pedagogy (Sterling et al., 2017; Ardoin et al., 2020). As in other studies emphasizing empathy-building and locally grounded learning, students demonstrated measurable gains in ecological literacy, systems thinking, and pro-conservation attitudes (Monroe et al., 2019). However, this study offers several novel contributions that advance the field.

First, the integration of short, emotionally resonant films—specifically the Asian Elephants 101 series—proved central to cultivating awe, empathy, and emotional connection. These multisensory narratives enabled students to viscerally encounter the majesty and vulnerability of elephants, transforming abstract ecological principles into lived, felt experiences. The films served as powerful cognitive and affective entry points, especially for first-generation learners from marginalized communities.

Second, our model shifted conservation education from the margins of formal schooling into the core curriculum, grounded in systems thinking and ecological principles. The combination of slow pedagogy, backcasting, and daily benchmarking created dynamic feedback loops that empowered teachers and students to co-create knowledge and envision coexistence futures.

Together, these findings challenge dominant education and conservation paradigms that rely on didactic instruction, information transfer, or deficit-based messaging (Suldovsky, 2017; Sterling, 2003). Instead, we demonstrate that awe-inspired, story-driven, interdisciplinary learning can reawaken creativity, deepen interdependence, and catalyze meaningful pro-environmental reflection.

The implementation of the Protecting Wildlife by Integrating Systems Thinking Principles in West Bengal Secondary School Curricula presented a range of obstacles that highlight the systemic limitations of the current education structure in India’s remote regions. Despite the overwhelming enthusiasm shown by many teachers and students, the timing of the rollout posed immediate logistical challenges. School calendars were congested with examinations, long summer holidays, and local elections. Teachers struggled to balance these existing commitments with the new initiative, making it difficult to prioritize lesson preparation or secure administrative support. In some cases, school leaders perceived this project as an additional burden rather than an opportunity, discouraging further participation.

This lack of institutional support was compounded by the disengagement of a minority of teachers. Nine out of thirty-nine educators resisted the curriculum’s implementation, reflecting broader issues within the educational culture—particularly the resistance to new pedagogies and interdisciplinary methods. In large classrooms, often holding more than 100 students, teachers faced challenges such as power outages, limited infrastructure, and inadequate assistance from colleagues. These practical difficulties were exacerbated by deeper pedagogical hurdles. For example, some educators were apprehensive about ecological concepts and scientific terminologies, fearing that young or first-generation learners could feel intimidated. We learned that scientific terms needed to be made more relatable and digestible for children to understand the underlying principles without feeling alienated by jargon.

One specific area for improvement, identified through teacher interviews, was the language of narration presented in the audio-visual materials. The docu-series used in the workshops, while powerful and resonant, was narrated in English with subtitles in local language (Bangla), which students at the back of large classrooms were unable to read – an unforeseen challenge. Teachers expressed that narrating these resources in regional language would significantly improve comprehension and engagement.

Beneath these operational challenges lies a more entrenched systemic issue: the rigid, fragmented structure of the traditional education system itself. Globally, especially in the underdeveloped nations, classrooms are often steeped in a mechanistic, industrial-age paradigm of education, where subjects are compartmentalized and taught in isolation (Orr, 1992). This approach discourages holistic understanding, stifles creative expression, and reinforces linear thinking. The dominance of rote learning and standardized testing undermines students’ ability to engage in divergent thinking—the very ability to generate multiple solutions, which is essential for both personal growth and societal transformation.

In light of these challenges, the feedback gathered from teachers has provided a clear path forward. Many suggested that the project should be fully integrated into the official school syllabus, rather than existing as an optional add-on. Embedding the unit in formal education would enable more sustained engagement and allow the teachers the time needed to delve deeper into each topic. It was also recommended that future workshops include school administrators from the outset, fostering a shared vision and collective responsibility. By bringing in the heads of institutions during Phase 3, we could address their concerns and increase institutional buy-in.

Further, teachers called for more inclusive and language-friendly content, along with printed booklets for students that could serve as take-home resources. These would provide visual and narrative reinforcement outside the classroom. For large class sizes, educators recommended group facilitation training—especially around using student leaders to manage simultaneous activities across different clusters. Peer-led learning could serve as a highly effective method in such contexts, allowing every student a chance to participate meaningfully despite structural constraints.

Ultimately, these insights point to the need for a paradigm shift in how education is conceptualized and delivered. Moving beyond the “be less bad” mindset that dominates much of environmental education, we must empower students to become proactive agents of positive change. Guilt-driven narratives can demoralize young minds; instead, students can be taught to understand their inherent interdependence with the natural world and to see themselves as capable of healing and regenerating it.

In doing so, we took one step closer to cultivating a generation that does not merely learn about sustainability but lives it—nurtured by a system that sees education as a living, evolving, interconnected process, rather than a static delivery of fragmented knowledge.

The team demonstrated that transformative conservation outcomes are possible when communities are equipped not only with knowledge but also with empathy and tools to act. Education, in this model, functioned not as an ancillary tool but as a central strategy for fostering peaceful human-elephant coexistence in the Anthropocene.

5 Conclusion

The methodology behind this project exemplifies a dynamic, participatory model of conservation education rooted in empathy, systems thinking, and cultural relevance. By integrating film, experiential learning, and interdisciplinary pedagogy, the initiative fostered a deep and enduring connection between people and elephants, offering a replicable model for human-wildlife coexistence education across the Global South.

Data availability statement

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.

Ethics statement

The studies involving humans were approved by Dr. Ahashanul Karim, DI of Schools (Secondary Education), Alipurduar, West Bengal. The studies were conducted in accordance with the local legislation and institutional requirements. Prior to implementation, we discussed the research with the DI of Secondary Schools and agreed there were no potential risks to students for participating in the research. Further, students’ names and identifying information have not been included in the manuscript.

Author contributions

SI: Supervision, Investigation, Writing – review & editing, Funding acquisition, Conceptualization, Project administration, Writing – original draft, Resources, Methodology. AK: Supervision, Conceptualization, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Writing – original draft. LI: Visualization, Writing – original draft, Methodology, Conceptualization, Supervision, Resources. JR: Resources, Writing – review & editing, Supervision, Validation, Conceptualization. SS: Writing – original draft, Data curation, Project administration, Supervision.

Funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research and/or publication of this article. This research was made possible through the generous support of the National Geographic Society, whose funding and trust in our mission enabled the design and implementation of this interdisciplinary educational initiative in northern West Bengal. We also acknowledge that Voices for Asian Elephants Society made the publication of this research possible.

Acknowledgments

The author(s) also acknowledge Voice for Asian Elephants Society for funding the publication of this research paper. We are deeply appreciative of the higher secondary students, teachers, headmasters, and school administrators who participated in the project. Their openness, adaptability, and commitment to exploring new pedagogical approaches played a pivotal role in the success of this study. A special thanks to Dr. Ahashanul Karim, DI of Schools (Secondary Education) for supporting this novel initiative in Alipurduar. We recognize Shalvi Suman, local coordinator and administrator, facilitating critical stakeholder meetings under challenging circumstances—including outreach to teachers/school administrators and obtaining permissions from the Director of Education, West Bengal. We also acknowledge the young twin sisters, Purba and Purna Paul, for their volunteer support in documenting and transcribing interview data and providing time-coded transcripts for audiovisual production. We thank Pritama Dutta for editing a short documentary film of Phases 2 and 3, and Shalvi Suman for editing the Phase 1 segment.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Generative AI statement

The author(s) declare that Generative AI was used in the creation of this manuscript. We acknowledge the use of ChatGPT to help with proper flow of the narrative, word count adjustments (where needed), transitions and grammar accuracy, and few citations. However, the entire research was extracted from the 140 page document, comprising Phases 1, 2 and 3 submitted to the National Geographic Society. The instructions given to ChatGPT for each section were: 1. Ensure a smooth transition between paragraphs. 2. Rectify spelling and grammatical errors for publication in a peer reviewed journal. 3. Adjust the word count to (###), ensuring that it is contextual 4. Provide Chicago style citation for…

Any alternative text (alt text) provided alongside figures in this article has been generated by Frontiers with the support of artificial intelligence and reasonable efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, including review by the authors wherever possible. If you identify any issues, please contact us.

Publisher’s note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Supplementary material

The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fetho.2025.1693306/full#supplementary-material.

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