"If Not Me, Then Who?”: On the Reimagination of Transformative Environmental Education through Youth Participatory Action Research

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 1:45 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Youth Leadership and Action

Abstract

This study explores how young environmentalists (aged 13 – 18) envision transformative environmental education (tEE) that reflects their lived experiences, emotional realities, and systemic awareness. Drawing on Youth Participatory Action Research, 16 youth collaboratively identified key priorities for tEE. Their insights highlight the need to cultivate ecological agency, engage emotional complexity (e.g., eco-anxiety and hope), and address structural environmental challenges with pragmatic optimism. In contrast to traditional environmental education shaped by neoliberal frameworks, these youth-centered insights call for a paradigm shift toward participatory, emotionally honest, and justice-oriented learning. By positioning youth as co-researchers and experts, this study highlights the urgency and potential of educational approaches that nurture personal empowerment while addressing structural environmental challenges and the co-creation of more livable futures.

Authors

• Emmeline Hoogland, Simon Fraser University

• Serena Yan-Zhi Chin, University of British Columbia

• Engida Hailye Gebre, Simon Fraser University