Abstracts
Abstract
Environmental education looks to motivate and empower positive environmental actions that respect the complexity of natural systems. It follows that related educational research takes up a multiplicity of voices, and possibilities for exploring ecological curriculum and practice. Participatory action research (PAR) does this as it brings together theory, inquiry, and social justice, and PAR that includes children as researchers is transformative for both young researchers and the community. There is, however, limited research on the experiences of young learners in PAR in environmental education. This paper shares the reflections of the Eco Research Organization, a group of grade six researchers, and Susan Jagger, their adult co-researcher, on their engagement in PAR in a longitudinal study of their school garden and nature in their community.
Keywords:
- Action research,
- Children's participation,
- Ecological curriculum and research,
- Environmental education,
- School gardens
Download the article in PDF to read it.
Download
Appendices
Biographical notes
Eco Research Organization is a group of grade 6 students from a Toronto elementary school. They worked together with Susan Jagger in the 2022/2023 school year on environmental action projects related to their and their peers’ research on their school garden and nature in their community in the Empowering Young Citizens longitudinal study.
Dr. Susan Jagger is an Associate Professor in the School of Early Childhood Studies at Toronto Metropolitan University. Her research interests include environmental education, learning gardens, participatory research methods with children, and curriculum studies.
Bibliography
- Barratt, R., Barratt Hacking, E., & Scott, W. A. H. (2005). Listening to children (L2C): A collaborative school-based research project. Teaching Geography, 30(3), 137-141.
- Barratt, R., & Barratt Hacking, E. (2008). A clash of worlds: Children talking about their community experience in relation to the school curriculum. In A. Reid, B. B. Jensen, J. Nikel, & V. Simovska (Eds.), Participation and learning: Perspectives on education and the environment, health, and sustainability (pp. 285-298). Springer.
- Barratt Hacking, E., Cutter-Mackenzie, A., & Barratt, R. (2012). Children as active researchers: The potential of environmental education research involving children. In R. B. Stevenson, M. Brody, J. Dillon, & A. E. J. Wals (Eds.), International handbook of research on environmental education (pp. 438-458). Taylor & Francis.
- Blanchet-Cohen, N., & Di Mambro, G. (2015). Environmental education action research with immigrant children in schools: Space, audience, and influence. Action Research, 13(2), 123-140.
- Clark, J. (2004). Participatory research with children and young people: Philosophy, possibilities, and perils. Action Research Expeditions, 4, 1-18.
- Corsaro, W. A. (2005). The sociology of childhood (2nd ed.). Pine Forge Press.
- Creswell, J. W. (2008). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (3rd ed.). Pearson.
- Cutter-McKenzie, A., & Rousell, D. (2019). Education for what? Shaping the field of climate change education with children and young people as co-researchers. Children’s Geographies, 17(1), 90-104.
- Green, C. (2016). Sensory tours as a method for engaging children as active researchers: Exploring the use of wearable cameras in early childhood research. International Journal of Early Childhood, 48, 277-294.
- Green, C. (2017a). Children environmental identity development in an Alaskan Native rural context. International Journal of Early Childhood, 49, 303-319.
- Green, C. (2017b). Four methods of engaging young children as environmental education researchers. International Journal of Early Childhood Environmental Education, 5(1), 6-19.
- Hungerford, H. R., & Volk, T.L. (1990). Changing learner behaviour through environmental education. Journal of Environmental Education, 21(3), 8-21.
- Kellett, M. (2010). Small shoes, big steps! Empowering children as active researchers. American Journal of Community Psychology, 46(1-2), 195-203.
- Kellett, M. (2011). Empowering children and young people as researchers: Overcoming barriers and building capacity. Child Indicators Research, 4(2), 205-219.
- Kemmis, S., & McTaggart, R. (2005). Participatory action research. In N. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (3rd ed., pp. 559-603). Sage.
- Kirby, P. (1999). Involving young researchers. York Publishings.
- Kirby, P. (2001). Participatory research in schools. Forum, 43(2), 74-77.
- Kirby, P. (2002). Involving young people in research. In B. Franklin (Ed.), The new handbook of children’s rights: Comparative policy and practice (pp. 268-284). Routledge.
- Kohfeldt, D., Chhun, L., Grace, S., & Langhout, R. D. (2011). Youth empowerment in context: Exploring tensions in school-based yPAR. American Journal of Community Psychology, 47(1-2), 28-45.
- Langhout, R. D., & Thomas, E. (2010). Imagining participatory action research in collaboration with children: An introduction. American Journal of Community Psychology, 46, 60-66.
- Le Grange, L. (2009). Participation and participatory action research (PAR) in environmental education processes: For what people are empowered? Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 25, 3-14.
- Lloyd-Smith, M., & Tarr, J. (2000). Researching children’s perspectives: A sociological dimension. In A. Lewis & G. Lindsay (Eds.), Researching children’s perspectives (pp. 59-70). Open University Press.
- Lundy, L., McEvoy, L., & Byrne, B. (2011). Working with young children as co-researchers: An approach informed by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Early Education and Development, 22(5), 714-736.
- Mayall, B. (2000). The sociology of childhood in relation to children’s rights. International Journal of Children’s Rights, 8, 243-259.
- Mayall, B. (2002). Toward a sociology of childhood: Thinking from children’s lives. Open University Press.
- Mills, G. E. (2006). Action research: A guide for the teacher researcher (3rd ed.). Pearson.
- Mordock, K., & Krasny, M. E. (2001). Participatory action research: A theoretical and practical framework for environmental education. Journal of Environmental Education, 32(3), 15-20.
- Ozer, E. J., Ritterman, M. L., & Wanis, M. G. (2010). Participatory action research (PAR) in middle school: Opportunities, constraints, and key processes. American Journal of Community Psychology, 46(1-2), 152-166.
- Pascal, C., & Bertram, T. (2009). Listening to young citizens: The struggle to make real a participatory paradigm in research with young children. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 17(2), 249-262.
- Sobel, D. (2004). Place-based education: Connecting classrooms and communities. Orion Society.
- Stapp, W. (1969). The concept of environmental education. Environmental Education, 1(1), 30-31.
- Tanner, T., & Seballos, F. (2012). Action research with children: Lessons from tackling disasters and climate change. IDS Bulletin, 43(3), 59-70.
- Trott, C. (2019). Reshaping our world: Collaborating with children for community-based climate change action. Action Research, 17(1), 42-62.
- United Nations. (1989). Convention of the rights of the child. Retrieved from https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-rights-child