Young Students' Meaning Making in an ESD School Practice

Author(s):

Annika Manni(presenting / submitting)Karin Sporre Christina Ottander

Conference:

ECER 2014

Network:

30. Environmental and Sustainability Education Research (ESER)

Format:

Paper

Session Information

30 SES 06 B, Outdoor Activities and the Concept of Nature

Paper Session

Time:

2014-09-03

15:30-17:00

Room:

B115 Sala de Aulas

Chair:

Elisabeth Barratt Hacking

Contribution

This paper presents the empirical results from a Case study on young students’ meaning making in a Swedish ESD (Education for sustainable development) school practice. Due to prior studies: 1, Mapping what young students understand and value regarding sustainable development (Manni, Sporre, & Ottander, 2013), and 2, Perceived learning experiences regarding ESD – within Swedish outdoor education traditions (Manni, Ottander, Sporre, & Parchmann, 2013) this case study sought to explore even deeper in what ways young students make meaning in sustainability issues. The results from those prior studies revealed variation of students’ understandings within as well as between ecologic, economic and social aspects of sustainable development. Furthermore, issues of sustainability evoke students’ emotional expressions as found integrated in their written answers of cognitive questions. Interestingly, complex relational understandings were to be found together with more firm value judgements in students’ answers. Results regarding experiences of learning activities showed that young Swedish students’ recognized and emphasized outdoor learning approaches in their school practices regarding ESD. Further that learning experiences of cognitive kinds correlated with more emotional experiences in a positive way. Since six different schools participated some school differences were shown gaining further interest in the situated importance of students’ experiencing and learning.

Continuing the exploration of young students’ learning experiences in ESD lead to a narrower but on the same time more comprehensive research approach than in the previous study where a questionnaire was used. Research questions that sought answers were related to the holistic process when learning, especially the positive integration of emotion and cognition seen through students’ reflections in the previous study. Ethical, emotional, and value laden perspectives of ESD learning have been put forward also in previous research; Three interrelated spheres of personal and social development initiated by Sauvé suggests to be useful dimensions when discussing and understanding the individual, the societal, and the environmental as interacting spheres in learning and valuing. This post-modern perspective view not only knowledge but also values as relative and situated (Sauve, 1999, p. 17). Other studies pointing at both cognitive and affective sides when learning about sustainability and the environment have been carried out with conclusions pointing at different directions. In a study exploring learning challenges in environmental education students’ negative emotional responses were seen as a hindrance of understanding the ecological content (Rickinson & Lundholm, 2008). In another study were the emotional impact seen as a motivator for conceptual understanding (Loughland, Reid, Walker, & Petocz, 2003). Another angle of emotions in ESD is shown in Maria Ojalas’ research (Ojala, 2005, 2012a, 2012b) where hope and worry regarding climate change is highlighted as important for both learning and actions. She states the importance of promoting hope when teaching children and younger students about climate change and sustainability issues. Wolff (2010) further argues that ethics in ESD is to be seen as a method or perspective not an aim. On the same ethical reasons Bob Jickling argue against normative approaches in ESD (Jickling, 1994) but in favor to the emotional impact for meaning making in environmental issues (Jickling & Paquet, 2005).

Method

A small scale case study in an ESD school practice was performed during a 4 month period of time in order to explore and enlighten a situated school practice within ESD. The participating school was recommended and asked to take part due to them having an ESD school profile. Within this school one small class in grade 6 volunteered to take part and the 12 year old students formed the group of focus. Observations on a daily basis initially took part for one month which together with field notes, logbook entries, and interviews with the principal, teachers, and students gave information about the situated background of this school practice. Then two themes of ESD related school work was chosen for closer study: 1, Outdoor activities focusing ecological aspects of sustainability and 2, An integrated group-work about food- the human- the environment. Intensive observations, field notes, and logbook entries together with interviews, written tests and evaluations were used to capture the processes of students meaning making in sustainability issues. A narrative approach inspired the analysis of this case methodologically (Connelly & Clandinin, 1990; Creswell, 2009; Merriam, 1988). Attention was paid to the importance of setting the scene of the case, further to students’ transactions when making meaning, and finally using theoretical lenses in analysing the story of meaning making this ESD case. The theoretical perspectives found relevant and valuable in planning, conducting and analysing this case study on young students’ meaning making in ESD are those where learning is defined as meaning making through situated experiences as argued in pragmatic and sociocultural theories (cf.Dewey, 1916; Dewey, 1934; Roth, 2009), and where emotions are seen as cognitive value judgements such as in neo- Aristotelian philosophies (cf. Nussbaum, 2001).

Expected Outcomes

The investigated school practice proved to have traditions in ESD, and some teachers with extra interest for teaching sustainable issues. The tentative preliminary results reveal democratic approaches regarding students’ involvement in their school activities, and students’ active participation. In the outdoor activities the students were given responsibility and opportunities of practical investigations, e.g. transactions with the environment, which were highly appreciated in their meaning making processes. In the thematic groupwork meaning makings were seen through group discussions, e.g. transactions with peers, often initiated by everyday news such as internet sites or newspaper articles someone shared with the others. Both of the school activities in the study created different opportunities for students meaning making in ESD in which emotional aspects of the meaning making processes were shown.

References

Connelly, F. Michael, & Clandinin, D. Jean. (1990). Stories of Experience and Narrative Inquiry. Educational Researcher, 19(5), 2-14. Creswell, John W. (2009). Research Design, Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches (Third Edition ed.): Sage Publications. Dewey, John. (1916). Democracy and Education, An Introduction to the Philosophy of Education (1966 ed.): The Free Press. Dewey, John. (1934). Art as experience: Perigee books. Jickling, Bob. (1994). Why I Don't Want My Children to Be Educated for Sustainable Development. Trumpeter, 11(3), 114-116. Jickling, Bob, & Paquet, Paul C. (2005). Wolf Stories: Reflections on Science, Ethics, and Epistemology. Environmental Ethics, 27(2), 115-134. Loughland, Tony, Reid, Anna, Walker, Kimberly A, & Petocz, Peter. (2003). Factors Influencing Young People's Conceptions of Environment. Environmental Education Research, 9(1), 3-19. Manni, Annika, Ottander, Christina , Sporre, Karin , & Parchmann, Ilka. (2013). Perceived learning experiences regarding Education for sustainable development – within Swedish outdoor education traditions. NorDiNa, 9(2), 187-205. Manni, Annika, Sporre, Karin, & Ottander, Christina. (2013). Mapping What Young Students Understand and Value regarding Sustainable Development. International electronic Journal of Environmantal Education, 3(1), 17-35. Merriam, Sharan. B. (1988). Case Study Research in Education - a qualitative approach. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Nussbaum, Martha C. (2001). Upheavals of Thought: The Intelligence of Emotions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Ojala, Maria. (2005). Adolescents' Worries about Environmental Risks: Subjective Well-being, Values, and Existential Dimensions. Journal of Youth Studies, 8(3), 331-347. doi: 10.1080/13676260500261934 Ojala, Maria. (2012a). Hope and climate change: The importance of hope for environmental engagement among young people. Environmental Education Research, 18(5), 625-642. doi: 10.1080/13504622.2011.637157 Ojala, Maria. (2012b). How do children cope with global climate change? Coping strategies, engagement, and well-being. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 32(3), 225-233. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2012.02.004 Rickinson, Mark, & Lundholm, Cecilia. (2008). Exploring students' learning challenges in environmental education. Cambridge Journal of Education, 38(3), 341-353. Roth, Wolff-Michael. (2009). On Activism and Teaching. Journal for Activist Science & Technology Education, 1(2). Sauve, Lucie. (1999). Environmental Education between Modernity and Postmodernity: Searching for an Integrating Educational Framework. Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, 4, 9-35.

Author Information

Annika Manni (presenting / submitting)

Umeå University

Science and Mathematics Education

Umeå

Karin Sporre

Umeå University, Sweden

Christina Ottander