"We're Fighting for Our Lives": Centering Affective, Collective and Systemic Approaches to Climate Justice Education as a Youth Mental Health Imperative

Autor/in	Vamvalis, Maria
Titel	"We're Fighting for Our Lives": Centering Affective, Collective and Systemic Approaches to Climate Justice Education as a Youth Mental Health Imperative
Quelle	In: Research in Education, 117 (2023) 1, S.88-112 (25 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Vamvalis, Maria)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0034-5237
DOI	10.1177/00345237231160090
Schlagwörter	Climate; Mental Health; Activism; Foreign Countries; Social Problems; Psychological Patterns; Environmental Education; College Students; High School Students; Student Attitudes; Canada + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Klima; Psychohygiene; Aktivismus; Politischer Protest; Ausland; Social problem; Soziales Problem; Umweltbildung; Umwelterziehung; Umweltpädagogik; Collegestudent; High school; High schools; Student; Students; Oberschule; Schüler; Schülerin; Studentin; Schülerverhalten; Kanada
Abstract	Young people's ongoing, necessary confrontation with painful and distressing realities exacerbated by ecological precarity in diverse contexts has profound implications for formal education systems. Additionally, educational policy in many contexts has been slow to respond to the urgency of addressing climate change, nor has most policy robustly conceptualized a vision for climate justice education. Centering the voices of three young climate justice activists (ages 16-20) in Canada through a qualitative study, this paper explores possible educational responses that recognize the embodied consequences of climate injustice and inaction on youth mental health and well-being. Through their encounters with activism in collective, justice-centered movements, these young people articulate how their commitments to creating more life-affirming and equitable realities by challenging current economic and political structures and discourses are integral dimensions of their efforts to be and feel well (hopeful and purposeful) in a context of pronounced uncertainty and distress. Despite these possibilities, youth participants describe the overwhelming and complex emotions they are grappling with as they face dispiriting projections for the future. These growing challenges are an opportunity to reconsider common "apolitical" and individualized approaches to citizenship, climate and environmental education. Findings suggest that supporting youth to act thoughtfully and impactfully in transforming cultural, economic and political structures and systems that reproduce harm can be a way to nurture meaning, purpose and hope. Additionally, youth participants advocate for integrating robust resources and support within formal education institutions to assist in collectively processing the emotional and psychological impacts of climate injustice. At the same time, findings suggest that the participating youth did not yet integrate conceptions of ecological interrelationship or interconnection in their approaches, offering possible avenues for further pedagogical development. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01