“Because if we wouldn't imagine, we’ll all be extinct”: Communities and Contestations in Imaginative Placemaking

• In Event: Personal / Emotional Relevance in Student Science Learning

Abstract

This paper proposes a framework for imaginative placemaking as a practice that supports youth in negotiating dominant ideologies in science education. Using data from an AR-urban design project, we analyze how middle school youth’s visions for a thriving community are shaped by ideological contestations--specifically related to safety, beauty, and sustainability. This analysis provides a new lens for understanding how youths’ meanings of socioecological thriving is constrained by dominant ideologies. We conclude by arguing that science education must actively support youth in addressing these tensions to foster collective hope, agency, and transformation.

Authors

• Hannah H. Ziegler, Vanderbilt University

• Heidi Carlone, Vanderbilt University

• Lauren Connelly, Vanderbilt University