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A Youth Forum on Sustainability Meets The Human Factor: Challenging Cultural Narratives in Schools and Museums

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Abstract

In the context of recent debates regarding the role of schools and museums in addressing socio-scientific issues, we examined the experiences of participants in a high school Youth Forum on Sustainability, an action-oriented approach to sustainability education developed by Learning for a Sustainable Future and offered by the Royal Saskatchewan Museum. Our goals were to inquire into participants’ experiences and to explore how museums might engage high school students in complex issues related to sustainability, using discourse analysis. Our reading of the data suggests that the dominant cultural narratives of schools and museums helped to shape participants’ experiences in the forum, including their interactions with museum displays that touched on sustainability issues.

Résumé

Dans le contexte des récents débats sur le rôle de l’école et des musées dans les questions socioscientifiques, nous avons analysé les expériences des élèves d’une école secondaire ayant participé à un Forum jeunesse sur le développement durable, grâce à une approche éducative centrée sur Taction et mise au point dans le cadre de l’organisation L’éducation au service de la Terre, offert par le Musée royal de la Saskatchewan. Nos objectifs étaient d’étudier, grâce à l’analyse du discours, les expériences des élèves participants et de déterminer les façons dont les musées peuvent éveiller l’intérêt d’étudiants du secondaire pour les questions complexes liées au développement durable. Notre interprétation des données indique que les récits narratifs culturels dominants des écoles et des musées contribuent à modeler les expériences vécues par les participants au Forum, y compris leur façon d’interagir avec les expositions touchant aux questions de développement durable.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Regina, Canada

    M. J. Barrett

  2. Royal Saskatchewan Museum, Canada

    Glenn C. Sutter

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  1. M. J. Barrett
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  2. Glenn C. Sutter
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Barrett, M.J., Sutter, G.C. A Youth Forum on Sustainability Meets The Human Factor: Challenging Cultural Narratives in Schools and Museums. Can J Sci Math Techn 6, 9–23 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1080/14926150609556685

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