A Lefebvrian Lens on a Transdisciplinary Field School Experience in the Amazon Rain Forest of Colombia

• In Event: 15.059 - Fairmont Royal York Roundtable Session One
  In Roundtable Session: 15.059-5 - A Statewide Collaboration for Integrating Education for Sustainability Into Teacher Preparation

Abstract

This paper discusses a study of undergraduate students' perspectives on their experience of a transdisciplinary field school in the Amazon Rainforest of Colombia. The intent of the research was to examine how this short-term international experience contributes to a full-spectrum education, and provides purposeful, meaningful, and contextually grounded transformative learning by exploring the practices of experiential education within a non-formal and cross-cultural context. For the study, an analytical framework that conceptualized the field school in terms of ‘life spaces’ was developed through an interpretation of Henri Lefebvre's (1991) triad of social space. The goal was to comprehensively document student experiences, and present a rich, nuanced, and informative picture of the various perspectives, experiences, and stories as shared by the participants.

Authors

• Lucie Gagne, Kwantlen Polytechnic University

• David B. Zandvliet, Simon Fraser University