Elementary Students’ Perceptions of Their School Learning Experiences:

Children’s Connections with Nature and Indigenous Ways of Knowing

Authors

  • Jodi Streelasky

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7721/chilyoutenvi.27.1.0047

Keywords:

primary students, children's perspective, place-based education, Indigenous knowledge, multimodal texts, outdoor school

Abstract

Providing opportunities for primary students to share their perspectives on their school experiences and environments aligns with a methodological and pedagogical approach that values students’ interests, understandings of the world, and knowledge. In this study, multimodal methods were used by 35 culturally and linguistically diverse students to represent their valued experiences in a Canadian urban school context, including their experiences at an Outdoor School located on Indigenous land in a mountainous, forested region. Data from the two-year study revealed the significant role the outdoors played in the participants’ school experiences, and the importance students placed on their local spaces. This research also addresses the potential impact that student voice can have on existing and future curriculum.

Published

2022-10-05