MA Environmental Education and Communication Theses

Bud to blossom : an intuitive, auto-phenomenological inquiry into maturation and transformation through vision fasting

Young, Jason

This thesis examines the effect of a vision fast experience on worldview from an auto-phenomenological perspective. Using an intuitive inquiry methodology, the study is conducted through five iterative cycles of hermeneutic ...

Low-impact development : citizen chronicles from the urban underground

Yamaguchi, Marc Joseph

The participants in this study were property owners who volunteered for involvement in a residential low-impact development (LID) initiative located in Toronto, Canada. The LID entailed the installation of rain gardens for ...

Sense of place in the city : using photo voice to uncover meaningful places by newcomers of ethnic minority

Asghar, Waheema

This study used photo voice to enlist Bangladeshi participants in identifying places that are meaningful to them as newcomer ethnic minorities in the City of Toronto. Four themes—First Experiences, Belongingness, Diversity, ...

Inuvialuktun words for a changing climate

ADAMS, SHEENA E

I conducted a qualitative research study using collaborative storytelling and conversation, Indigenous Research Methodology and Grounded Theory, through the lens of decolonization and reconciliation, to answer the question: ...

Teachers' perceptions and experiences of live dives in the classroom

Holsworth, Julie

Interviews were conducted with eight middle school teachers who participated, along with their students, in live-streamed scuba dives, known as “live dives”. Teachers ranked student engagement as their most important ...

Social Mobilization for Climate Action

Hedley, Andrea Nicole

This research addressed the need for society to collectively mobilize citizens to respond to climate change, a body of research referred to as social mobilization for climate action. I explored the practical applications ...

Stories of Arctic wonder :  exploring transformative environmental education

Wyatt, Sarah Lilith Smith

This paper explores the experience of ten Canadian youth participants from the 2009 Arctic expedition with Students on Ice, an environmental education organization with a mandate of transformation. Through semi-structured ...

Having a laugh? the role of humour in adolescents’ climate change communication

Bangsund, Ashley

This mixed methods study was guided by the research question: How does the use of humour in secondary students’ communications about climate change relate to their feelings and actions towards climate change? It used an ...

ʈiič-mɑɫ-ɴi : sharing drowning prevention with Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations

Carswell, Emily Dawn

The Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations traditional territory borders the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. This case study describes how the knowledge, traditional practices, and cultural wisdom of ...

Climate change from the inside out : cultivating a perspective of belonging

Wallace, Kimberly Jean

Environmental issues, such as climate change, may be exacerbated by humans’ habitual reactions to stress and discomfort. This thesis describes how a practice of mindfulness, an illumination of held assumptions and beliefs, ...

Learning to teach in unfamiliar lands : a wandering educator's autoethnography on the influence of place

Lorusso, Nicole Christal

Using reflexive narrative autoethnography, I explored the influence of living and teaching in unfamiliar places on ecologically-minded teachers. I collected data through personal reflections and interviews with four teachers ...

Giving students voices : a design for a youth leadership program at a British Columbia high school

Calman, Shelby

The research project described in this thesis entailed the development of a conceptual design for a youth leadership program intended for implementation in an urban British Columbia public secondary school (grades 8-12). ...

Nature through the lens the phenomenological experience of photography with nature

McLeod, Shannon

This thesis explores the question, “What is the phenomenological experience of photography with nature?” Upon observing patrons at a regional park who appeared to be experiencing nature through their cameras, I became ...

“There’s a lot of deep:” exploring worldviews, emotions, and denial around political action for climate change

Knapp, Ashley

This study explores the cognitive and emotional complications – worldviews, denial, and emotional responses – that prevent concerned citizens from engaging collectively for structural solutions to climate change. Using ...

Seasonal nature discovery field trips : a platform for social learning between a non-profit organisation and local primary schools

Adams, Jessica

Employing a social learning framework in a phenomenological inquiry, this study investigated the potential for environmental education (EE) in primary schools through a field trip-based program. Interviews and focus groups ...

Inquiry of perception : grade seven students express their views of self in relation to more-than-human-life

Hollingsworth, Pamela Louise

This research was conducted over the course of several weeks late in the 2016-2017 school year at Highlands Elementary School in the Edgemont Village community of North Vancouver, British Columbia. I took my grade seven ...

Water literacy in Central and Southern Alberta : how five watershed education programs foster a relationship between humans and the land/water they depend on

Mackenzie, Crystal

Alberta is the driest province in Canada; however, residents do not often recognize the relationship between their own water uses and the health of the watershed they reside in. Therefore, there is a recognised need for ...