Towards creating an inclusive community of researchers: the first three years of the North American Association for Environmental Education research symposium

Abstract

This article uses a series of interlinked, personal vignettes to discuss the first three years of the North American Association for Environmental Education research symposium, from the perspectives of the key organizers. Seven challenges in the field of environmental education research are identified in a recent historical context, and we illustrate how the symposium sought to address them. The challenges were, that: (i) environmental education research has been marginalized in some areas and not recognized in others; (ii) environmental education research and environmental education practice need to be brought closer together; (iii) environmental education research is still in early development of a professional perspective; (iv) environmental education research has to give a voice to early career scholars and graduate students; (v) environmental education research needs to enable discourse about both process and outcomes; (vi) environmental education researchers need social learning contexts to help develop professional identities and create more meaningful dialogue to address these challenges; and (vii) methodologies, theoretical frameworks and differences in beliefs in environmental education research need to be accommodated. The last challenge is seen as the most significant with which to continue to engage, in developing open, inclusive forums for researchers of environmental education.

Notes

1. Personal communication to Meyers, 2007.

2. Monroe offered two additional perspectives in her keynote presentation. First, that moving toward sustainability will require working with many different types of people, from engineers to architects to ecosystem scientists, who may be committed to changing public opinion but lack the insights and skills needed to be effective in the education/communication arena. Second, Monroe spoke to the importance of integrating education with public participation; she spoke to helping not only youth but also adults participate in environmental decision‐making by empowering them with information. She called for research on the interface between public participation and environmental education to help us understand how to do this better.