ANI |
Updated: May 18, 2021 17:55 IST
The importance of environmental education cannot be overstated. In a study conducted by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, low-income urban youth in the US who received Photovoice educational intervention saw greater improvements in STEM-capacity scores and environmental awareness scores, as compared to a control group who didn’t receive the intervention. The data suggests that Photovoice activities could be useful in enhancing learning outcomes.
Photovoice is an innovative approach that uses community members’ knowledge and perspective to address knowledge gaps in academia, research, and policy-making. It involves taking photos on a given topic in combination with narrative discussions in a focus group setting. In this study, Sprague and his colleagues assigned 335 low-income, St. Louis Public School students aged 9 to 15 to one of two intervention groups, a Photovoice environmental education intervention group or a traditional intervention group without a Photovoice activity, and evaluated outcomes among a control group of youth who did not participate in either intervention.
The results of the study showed that both STEM-capacity and environmental awareness for the Photovoice intervention group were significantly higher than that of the control group of youth who did not participate in the intervention. The researchers also highlighted the environmental justice issue, with low-income and minority students having less access to nature and greenspace than their high-income or White counterparts.
The study concludes that Photovoice could be an effective leadership development tool for youth, empowering them and their community to generate change. While larger intervention studies are needed to confirm the benefits of Photovoice in environmental education, researchers believe that focused-based environmental education could potentially halt or slow human-driven climate change, biodiversity loss, overuse of natural resources, environmental health disparities, deforestation, and other human-caused environmental issues.
Given these findings, it is imperative to provide equal opportunities for environmental education to people of all backgrounds regardless of income, race, or socioeconomic status. As Sprague pointed out, Photovoice may be the key to making this happen.
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Researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health conducted a study that suggests low-income, urban youth in the US who participated in Photovoice educational intervention experienced greater improvements in STEM-capacity scores and environmental awareness scores as compared to a control group. The findings underline Photovoice’s potential to enhance learning outcomes among students. Photovoice, which uses community members’ knowledge and perspective to address knowledge gaps in research, academia, and policymaking, has been proven to be an effective tool in improving environmental awareness among young people. By assigning 335 low-income St. Louis Public School students to either a Photovoice environmental education intervention group or a traditional intervention group without a Photovoice activity, Sprague and his colleagues evaluated outcomes among a control group of youth who did not participate in either intervention. The results showed that both STEM-capacity and environmental awareness for the Photovoice intervention group were significantly higher than that of the control group of youth who did not participate in the intervention. The researchers highlighted the environmental justice issue, emphasizing that low-income and minority students often have less access to nature and greenspace than their high-income or White counterparts. The study concludes that Photovoice could be an effective leadership development tool for youth, empowering them and their community to generate change. As previous studies have also shown a positive correlation between nature-connectivity and social connectedness, Sprague recommends larger intervention studies to confirm the benefits of Photovoice in Environmental Education. This could hold the key to halting or slowing human-driven climate change, biodiversity loss, overuse of natural resources, environmental health disparities, and other human-caused environmental issues. Investing in equal opportunities for environmental education for all backgrounds remains crucial. Consequently, Photovoice presents a promising approach to democratizing environmental education regardless of one’s income, race, or socio-economic status.
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