What does nature mean to you? A photo analysis of urban middle school students’ perceptions of nature

Abstract

In the present study, we explore the perceptions of urban middle school students’ representations of nature using participatory photography and their nature connectedness. Preadolescents (N = 108, 6th grade, age 11–13) were asked to take a photo of what nature is to them and write a short description of what is in the image. In a mixed method study applying the ‘Inclusion of Nature in Self’ (INS) scale, we investigated (1) what are middle school students’ perceptions of nature as evidenced through their own photography, (2) what are the differences between students who are more connected with nature and those who are less connected and (3) how can photography be used as a tool to investigate students’ perceptions of nature? Students’ nature perceptions were diverse, with a majority showing plants and urban nature. Students mentioned positive emotions and aesthetic aspects of nature. Students who scored higher on the INS, defined as more connected to nature, photographed a greater diversity of phenomena and geographies, many outside of urban areas. Participatory photography proved to be an excellent choice for an inclusive data collection method in Education for Sustainable Development, especially for students with reading or writing difficulties or language barriers.

Keywords:

• Nature perceptions
• middle school students
• participatory photography
• education for sustainable development
• connectedness with nature

Acknowledgments

The authors are very grateful to all participating students and teachers for their time and engagement in this study. Without them, this study would not have been possible. We would like to thank Dr. Corey J. Knox for her proofreading and excellent ideas, which have contributed significantly to the improvement of this manuscript. We thank Alexander Bader, Stephan Huynh and Daniel Opavsky who helped with data analysis. We also thank Dr. Alexander Georg Büssing for helpful comments on an earlier version of this manuscript.

Ethical approval

For this study, ethical approval was not required. The sample was informed in advance that participation is voluntarily, and that data collection takes place anonymously. According to Austrian law, approval of an ethics committee was not necessary as this study did not involve patients, was non-invasive, and participation was voluntary and anonymous.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.

Disclosure statement

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.