ERIC Number: EJ1402454
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0095-8964
EISSN: EISSN-1940-1892
Available Date: N/A
"Are These Girl Ladybugs or Boy Ladybugs?": An Exploratory Study on Gender in Nature-Based Education
Decker, Abigail M.; Morrison, Scott A.
Journal of Environmental Education, v54 n5 p325-340 2023
In this exploratory study, we examined the ways gender is communicated, experienced, and constructed in nature-based education (NBE), which involved 30 h of fieldwork at one private outdoor preschool and two public elementary school garden clubs. In our analysis of the data, we found four sites where gender socialization happens in NBE: materials, spaces, conversations, and educators. While gender may be communicated, experienced, and constructed differently outside because there tends to be fewer gender-coded human-made objects, we argue that environmental educators must be intentional and explicit about curating and maintaining a gender decoded learning space. To decode gender, environmental educators must realize that gender is being constructed by and for children as well as the ways in which it is communicated and experienced. Moreover, they must be able to foster healthy understandings of gender beyond the binary. Ultimately, environmental educators must sustain a culture of gender inclusivity and affirmation long-term.
Descriptors: Sex, Environmental Education, Private Schools, Preschools, Public Schools, Elementary School Students, Student Attitudes, Sex Role
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Preschool Education; Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A