COS 13-3 - Using Personal Meaning Mapping to uncover the impacts of environmental identities and worldviews (EID), and cultural-historical contexts on people’s perceptions on local marine issues

Abstract: Environmental identity and worldview (EIW) are critical to promoting environmental stewardship and science learning. Yet, both remain understudied. This study targets adolescents from three countries (America, Brazil, and Taiwan) to test what factors shape one’s EIW and explore how EIW affects learning regarding critical environmental issues in free-choice learning (FCL) settings and adolescents’ cognitive development. The EIW is analyzed by survey using existing scales, while engagement and learning are analyzed through qualitative approaches – personal meaning mapping (PMM) and interviews.

The results show that study participants develop their EIW in their daily life including in their neighborhoods, at school, and at family events. FCL experiences, such as through camping, walking in national parks, and visiting museums, have connected these adolescents with the environment in different ways. To be more specific, the PMM and the following interview results show that those who have positive nature experiences (early childhood experiences with family in particular) would be more willing to participate in pro-environmental activities and learning in FCL settings. Additionally, environmental education (EE) could further refine one’s EIW in different kinds of ways. The statistical results also align with the qualitative analysis of PMMs, and there is a significant difference between participants from urban and rural areas. Finally, the ways in which adolescents report connecting with the ocean demonstrate that having a higher EIW does not always equal enjoying time spent in nature or having awareness on local ecological issues.

My presentation will discuss learning of different marine issues in several ways and facilitate ESA participants to brainstorm how to improve ecological issue communication while paying attention to Inclusivity and social justice in STEM FCL. Above all, I would share the affordances, constraints, and rubrics for measuring scores for quantitative analysis for the measurement tool, PMM. Despite some inherent limitations, the PMM methodology enabled important insights that enhanced the understanding of the effects of FCL on ecology and environmental issues. PMM was designed to assess learning specifically in FCL contexts using a more relativist-constructivist approach, and it can be analyzed both in quantitative and qualitative data analysis. Finally, PMM is not only a data collection tool but also a tool for learners to recall previous experiences with nature.

Overall, this study has practical implications for the development of environmental education and policies that promote environmental stewardship and inclusivity in FCL contexts.