Connecting stories, environment, and culture: An ecological journey from China to Canada and back again
Date
2019-02-07
Authors
Li, Xiaonuo
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Abstract
Environmental education is crucial to the present and the future of the planet. This study incorporated ecological and cultural thinking into the context of curriculum planning. In this study, I explored theories in environmental education, ecological and systems thinking, and ecojustice education across many research studies. My project shows how culture influences, ways of environmental learning and teaching, and provides Chinese and western Canadian examples. Through personal stories and the use of autoethnography, I examined my embedded cultural perceptions of and my relationship with the natural environment. In doing so, I discovered how ecologically destructive thinking and behaviours are culturally embedded and the importance for educators to be responsive in how to address these cultural patterns in their teaching practices. Inspired by the insights that emerged for me through connecting my stories to the environment and culture, I provide examples to provoke teachers who teach young children to learn about living as a responsibility of being part of the world at large – that is, natural and cultural ecologies.
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Keywords
Stories, Environmental education, Culture, Ecological thinking