Résumés
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
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Parties annexes
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.
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