Ecological art pedagogy: co-creation for ecological transformation

Abstract

This research aims to investigate the pedagogical outcomes derived from the implementation of an environmental and art-based project within an after-school art programme. The study involved 18 participants between the ages of 9 and 13. Employing an art-based research approach integrated with phenomenology, the investigation sought to elucidate the participants' emotional connections to the environment while evaluating the development of their environmentally conscious behaviours. The data were garnered through various means, including artistic works utilised in the learning process, reflective journals, worksheets, a researcher's journal, and focus group interviews, and analyzed using an inductive approach. The research findings highlighted that ecological art inquiries exerted a significant impact on enhancing the students' knowledge pertaining to the environment and notably fostering heightened environmental awareness. Additionally, the extracurricular activities undertaken by the students in non-classroom settings played a pivotal role in creating collective environmental consciousness, fostering a desire to participate in creative actions, questioning the nature-human relationship, developing empathy for other living beings, and making them realise that remedies for the planet's future well-being reside intrinsically within themselves.