Friendship and environmental politics in childhood

Abstract

A variety of scholarship across disciplines suggests that an environmental ethic begins in childhood. However, few studies have been conducted with children to learn more about the factors that contribute to an environmental ethic. This paper aims to investigate children's pre-reflexive political engagements with their physical environment in an effort to learn more about the development of an environmental ethic. Through an ethnographic study with children aged 9–11 in rural New Zealand, analysis shows that children's relationship with their environment is substantially influenced by their social relationships with friends and family. Therefore, this paper argues that to reach a better understanding of the development of children's environmental politics, more research is needed to explore the politics of friendship.

Notes

The author received clearance to conduct this research through the University of Washington ethics board (IRB No. 31622). All names are pseudonyms to protect the anonymity of the small town and the research participants who participated in the study.