Eco-justice research with children: Challenges and possibilities

A STEAM+ Brownbag Event: Participatory Action Research (PAR) with Children provides an opportunity for students to be given agency to take charge of their own research and learning.

Thursday, Nov. 28 
1-2 pm 
Education Library (Duncan McArthur Hall) or online

Presented by: 

Holly Crump (Queen's), Susan Jagger (Toronto Metropolitan University), Chris Carlton (Queen's), Ian Matheson (Queen's), and Nenad Radakovic (Queen's) 

In this brownbag, we will report on the preliminary findings of the qualitative study of grade 5 and 6 students’ engagement with PAR. We show how PAR can be used to address the principles of the eco-justice education. We identify three inextricably linked themes: motivations for engagement, decision-making in participatory research, and power dynamics and structure and show their significance for eco-justice education. Engaging students in PAR provides a means to enact justice in the classroom. Through this work, students are able to connect the fight for ecological justice with broader struggles for liberation.