Using reflection to support environmental identity development in the classroom context

Abstract

As environmental and sustainability issues are becoming embedded in the school curriculum, there is a need to understand how environmental identity develops within the complex social structure of the classroom. Reflection is a potentially valuable classroom process to consider as it intersects student learning, identity work, and agency. This embedded qualitative case study explored how three elementary students from a school in British Columbia, Canada, reflected on their experiences during an in-school program focused on the issue of marine pollution. Analysis of student focus group transcripts and journal entries found evidence of inquiry reflection, emotional reflection, and critical reflection on the facilitated environmental action. These appeared to play different roles in supporting a student’s ability to connect their experiences in the program to the curriculum and/or their developing environmental identities. An individually reflective lens, however, taken by students to critically self-reflect on how their own actions might contribute to the issue of marine pollution appeared to be challenging for them. Five strategies are offered to educators to support the design of activities that might foster environmental identity development (EID) in the classroom through inquiry reflection, emotional reflection, critical reflection, and self-reflection.

Keywords:

• Agency
• education
• environmental identity
• identity
• reflection
• sustainability

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Nanaimo Science and Sustainability Society (Ns3) for allowing us to study one of their valuable educational offerings, and the grade six students that shared their reflections.

Notes

1 All school, teacher, and student identities are pseudonyms.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Wendy Simms

Wendy Simms is a faculty member at Vancouver Island University (VIU) in Nanaimo, British Columbia where she is involved in diverse science outreach initiatives. She recently completed her Ed.D. from the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary. Her research focuses on citizen science initiatives within a classroom setting, with an emphasis on design of learning environments that foster identity exploration and development.

Marie-Claire Shanahan

Marie-Claire is an Associate Professor of Science in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary and former Research Chair in Science Education and Public Engagement. Her research focuses on personal interactions between insiders and outsiders in science contexts. She examines student-teacher interactions and their impact on student identity development including motivation and interest in pursuing careers and further studies in science.