Climate Justice With Youth: Co-Designing and Researching Arts-Integrated Climate Change Resiliency Curriculum in K–12 Education

• In Event: Saturday Roundtable Session 9:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Climate Justice, Youth, and Drama in Education (Table 4)

Abstract

For young people and their relationship with the environment, the entanglement of culture, well-being, and aspiration creates complexity and anxiety (Hickman et al., 2021). Arts-based environmental justice methods argue for youth-led practices that engage listening and connection to imagine possible environmental futures (Gallagher et al., 2022). This study describes a professional learning project for K-12 educators and university faculty/students focused on the development of arts-integrated youth participatory action research (Cammorata & Fine, 2008) curriculum. Findings show that the arts begin to unsettle the nature/culture divide while making space for affective connection, so that participants’ curiosities, inquiries and theorizations can inhabit and hold the messiness of curriculum redesign and climate justice. Data are drawn from quantitative, qualitative, and arts-based approaches.

Authors

• Katie Dawson, University of Texas at Austin

• Lara Dossett, University of Texas at Austin

• Ryan A. Mata, University of Minnesota

• Stephanie W. Cawthon, University of Texas at Austin