Democratic Engagement at Mountain View Science School

• In Event: Democratic Citizenship in Education Paper Session 3

Abstract

Mountain View Science School (MVSS) is a nonprofit corporation offering place-based, environmental education programs (Gruenewald, 2003a, 2003b; Hill & Brown, 2014; Sobel 2004). Programs are delivered to children and adults at two residential campuses. One of the campuses, the Canyon Campus, is a remote wilderness facility located within the boundaries of western national park. Following negotiation with MVSS leaders, data were collected in 2015 and 2016 (during sabbatical research) from faculty, staff, and students working in an environmental education graduate program at the Canyon Campus. The overarching research question was: How does MVSS encourage students to become more democratically engaged in their communities?

Author

• Clifford P. Harbour, University of North Texas