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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
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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 

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