Using Storytelling for Climate Justice: Recounting Climate Change Experiences in Elementary Classrooms

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 8:00 a.m. Four Seasons Ballroom 2-3
  In Roundtable Session: Examining School and Neighborhood Environments: Storytelling, Urban Education, and Climate Justice (Table 11)

Abstract

Many children experience climate disasters and injustices as climate change (CC) impacts exacerbate. However, though children construct scientific knowledge based on prior experience, elementary curriculum usually avoids CC. This present study investigates upper-elementary students’ engagement with CC experiences in four classrooms. Students from an area impacted by CC hazards used storytelling to express their experiences. They used their voices to describe various events, responses, and emotions through their stories: most often describing mobility and uncertainty. Students engaged with and built on one another’s stories. During the rich dialogue, teachers noted unusual engagement of students. This study reveals that storytelling in formal settings can be one avenue for recognitive climate justice.

Authors

• Shweta Lahiri, University of Georgia

• Hong H. Tran, Purdue University

• Xinyu He, University of Georgia

• Emily Adah Miller, University of Georgia

• Yuxi Huang, University of California - Irvine

• Joe DeLuca, University of Georgia

• Erin E. Hamel, University of Georgia

• Tingting Li, Washington State University

• Peng He, Washington State University

• Julie A. Luft, University of Georgia

• Kenny Oni, University of Georgia

• Ajay Sharma, University of Georgia