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Teachers’ perspectives on environmental education in multicultural contexts: Towards culturally-responsive environmental education

Title:

Teachers’ perspectives on environmental education in multicultural contexts: Towards culturally-responsive environmental education

Blanchet-Cohen, Natasha and Reilly, Rosemary C. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7274-4488 (2013) Teachers’ perspectives on environmental education in multicultural contexts: Towards culturally-responsive environmental education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 36 . pp. 12-22. ISSN 0742-051X

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Abstract

This inquiry explores teachers’ perspectives on enacting environmental education in a Québec urban locale with high student diversity. Participating in focus groups and interviews, teachers from three schools discussed their experiences incorporating environmental education into their multiculturally-diverse classrooms. Challenges included value clashes, a lack of common lived experiences, and reconciling contradictory educational perspectives and political policies, which often placed teachers in paradoxical positions. Findings suggest moving toward practices of culturally-responsive environmental education that demand more than awareness but include interactive dialogue. Teachers need support from beyond the classroom and the capacity to develop curriculum facilitating the inclusion of students’ culture.

Divisions:Concordia University > Faculty of Arts and Science > Applied Human Sciences
Concordia University > Research Units > Centre for Human Relations and Community Studies
Item Type:Article
Refereed:Yes
Authors:Blanchet-Cohen, Natasha and Reilly, Rosemary C.
Journal or Publication:Teaching and Teacher Education
Date:2013
Funders:
  • Ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport, Québec
  • Center for Human Relations and Community Studies, Concordia University
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):10.1016/j.tate.2013.07.001
Keywords:Multiculturally-diverse contexts, teacher perspectives, environmental education, culturally-responsive curriculum, curriculum development
ID Code:977690
Deposited By: Rosemary Reilly
Deposited On:09 Sep 2013 13:21
Last Modified:07 Dec 2020 20:42
Additional Information:Parts of this paper were presented at the American Educational Research Association in Vancouver, BC in April 2012. We would also like to thank Violaine Pronovost from Vrac Environnement and Giulietta di Mambro for support in coding.

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