Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-ndmmz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-09T18:41:45.416Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Connecting Social and Natural Ecologies Through a Curriculum of Giving for Student Wellbeing and Engagement

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 October 2018

Thomas W. Nielsen  and
Jennifer S. Ma
Thomas W. Nielsen
Affiliation:
Faculty of Education, University of Canberra, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Jennifer S. Ma*
Affiliation:
Centre for Mental Health Research, Research School of Population Health, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
*
Address for correspondence: Jennifer Ma, Centre for Mental Health Research, 63 Eggleston Road, The Australian National University, Canberra ACT 2601Australia. Email: jennifer.ma@anu.edu.au
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Using hermeneutic phenomenology to aid the reader ‘experience’ the data collected, this study reports on 18 college students, 4 staff members and the author's trip to a remote island on the Great Barrier Reef. It is a story of the (re)discovery of the social and natural ecologies that bind us together, and of how explicit teaching and learning about these ecologies can make a difference to young people's abilities to consciously be part of, contribute to, and sustain these ecologies. A grounded theory of five dimensions of giving (to self, others, communities, environment, and the whole) is offered as a beginning framework from which to imbue teaching and learning with meaning and social concern.

Keywords

ecologygivinggrounded theorywellbeingphenomenology
Type
Feature Articles
Information
Australian Journal of Environmental Education , Volume 34 , Issue 3 , November 2018 , pp. 215 - 227
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bailey, A., & Russell, K. (2010). A way to wisdom through service and relationships. Journal of Experiential Education, 32, 317–321.Google Scholar
Baumann, D.J., Cialdini, R.B., & Kendrick, D.T. (1981). Altruism as hedonism: Helping and self-gratification as equivalent responses. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 40, 1039–1046. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.40.6.1039Google Scholar
Beightol, J., Jevertson, J., Carter, S., Gray, S., & Gass, M. (2012). Adventure education and resilience enhancement. Journal of Experiential Education, 35, 307–325.Google Scholar
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Brown, S.L. (2003). An altruistic reanalysis of the social support hypothesis: The health benefits of giving. New Directions for Philanthropic Fundraising, 42, 49–57.Google Scholar
Brown, S.L., Nesse, R.M., Vinokur, A.D., & Smith, D.M. (2003). Providing social support may be more beneficial than receiving it: Results from a prospective study of mortality. Psychological Science, 14, 320–327.Google Scholar
Connell, S., Flen, J., Sykes, H., & Yencken, D. (2014). Young people and the environment in Australia: Beliefs, knowledge, commitment and educational implications. Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 30, 78–87. doi:10.1017/aee.2014.28Google Scholar
Curriculum Corporation. (2006). Implementing the national framework for values education in Australian schools: Report of the values education good practice schools project — stage 1. Canberra, Australia: Commonwealth of Australia.Google Scholar
Curriculum Corporation. (2008). At the heart of what we do: Values education at the centre of schooling — The final report of the values education good practice schools project — stage 2. Canberra, Australia: Commonwealth of Australia.Google Scholar
Cutter-Mackenzie, A. (2014). Where are children and young people in environmental education research? Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 30, 103–105. doi:10.1017/aee.2014.32Google Scholar
Cutter-Mackenzie, A., & Smith, R. (2003). Ecological literacy: The ‘missing paradigm’ in environmental education (part one). Environmental Education Research, 9, 497–524.Google Scholar
Education Services Australia. (2010). Giving voice to the impacts of values education: The final report of the values in action schools project. Melbourne, Australia: Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.Google Scholar
Heimlich, J.E., & Ardoin, N.M. (2008). Understanding behavior to understand behavior change: A literature review. Environmental Education Research, 14, 215–237.Google Scholar
Helliwell, J., Layard, R., & Sachs, J. (2012). World happiness report. Columbia University, NY: Earth Institute.Google Scholar
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (2014). Climate change 2014: Synthesis report of the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (AR5). Geneva, Switzerland: Author.Google Scholar
KidsMatter. (2017). About KidsMatter. Retrieved from https://http://www.kidsmatter.edu.au/about-kidsmatterGoogle Scholar
Midlarsky, E. (1991). Helping as coping. n Clark, M.S. (Ed.), Review of personality and social psychology, Vol. 12. Prosocial behavior (pp. 238–264). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Mindfulness in Schools Project. (2017). About us. Retrieved October 25, 2017, from https://mindfulnessinschools.org/about/about-us/Google Scholar
Nagel, M. (2005). Constructing apathy: How environmentalism and environmental education may be fostering ‘learned hopelessness’ in children. Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 21, 71–80.Google Scholar
Nielsen, T.W. (2011). A curriculum of giving for student wellbeing and achievement — ‘How to wear leather sandals on a rough surface’. In Wright, D., Camden-Pratt, C., & Hill, S. (Eds.), Social ecology: Applying ecological understanding to our lives and our planet (pp. 151–164). Stroud, UK: Hawthorn Press.Google Scholar
Nielsen, T.W.(2014). Finding the keys to meaningful living: Beyond being sad and happy is to love. In Batthyany, A. & Russo-Netzer, P. (Eds.), Meaning in positive and existential psychology (pp. 81–93). New York, NY: Springer.Google Scholar
Nielsen, T.W., & Ma, J. (2016). Investigating meaningful happiness and wellbeing in college students through a ‘curriculum of giving’ outdoor education program. International Education Research, 4, 1–13. doi: 10.12735/ier.v4n2p01Google Scholar
Overholt, J.R., & Ewert, A. (2015). Gender matters: Exploring the process of developing resilience through outdoor adventure. Journal of Experiential Education, 38, 41–55.Google Scholar
Passarelli, A., Hall, E., & Anderson, M. (2010). A strengths-based approach to outdoor and adventure education: Possibilities for personal growth. Journal of Experiential Education, 33, 120–135.Google Scholar
Payne, P. (2014). Childrens’ conceptions of nature. Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 30, 68–75. doi:10.1017/aee.2014.26Google Scholar
Post, S. (2005). Altruism, happiness, and health: It's good to be good. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 12, 66–77.Google Scholar
Post, S., & Neimark, J. (2007). Why good things happen to good people: The exciting new research that proves the link between doing good and living a longer, healthier, happier life. New York, NY: Broadway Books.Google Scholar
Robottom, I.M. (1984). Why not education for the environment? Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 1, 11–13.Google Scholar
Schwartz, C.E., Keyl, P.M., Marcum, J.P., & Bode, R. (2009). Helping others shows differential benefits on health and well-being for male and female teens. The Journal of Happiness Studies, 10, 431–448. doi:10.1007/s10902-008-9098-1Google Scholar
Seligman, M.E.P.(2002). Authentic happiness: Using the new positive psychology to realise your potential for lasting fulfillment. New York, NY: Free Press.Google Scholar
Sheldon, K.M., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2004). Achieving sustainable new happiness: Prospects, practices, and prescriptions. In Linley, A. & Joseph, S. (Eds.), Positive psychology in practice (pp. 127–145). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Slemp, G.R., Chin, T., Kern, M.L., Siokou, C., Loton, D., Oades, L.G., . . . Waters, L. (2017). Positive education in Australia: Practice, measurement, and future directions. In Frydenberg, E., Martin, A.J., & Collie, R.J. (Eds.), Social and emotional learning in Australia and the Asia-Pacific (pp. 101–122). Singapore: Springer.Google Scholar
Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1997). Grounded theory in practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Strife, S. (2010). Reflecting on environmental education: Where is our place in the green movement? The Journal of Environmental Education, 41, 179–191. doi:10.1080/00958960903295233Google Scholar
Tilbury, D., Coleman, V., & Garlick, D. (2005). A national review of environmental education and its contribution to sustainability in Australia: School education. Sydney, Australia: Australian Research Institute in Education for Sustainability (ARIES) for the Department of the Environment and Heritage.Google Scholar
van Manen, M. (2016). Researching lived experience, second edition: Human science for an action sensitive pedagogy (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.Google Scholar
VIA Institute on Character. (2017). VIA character strengths in positive education (and children/youth). Retrieved 25 October, 2017, from https://http://www.viacharacter.org/www/Research/VIA-Character-Strengths-in-Positive-Education-and-Children-YouthGoogle Scholar