Research presentation: Teaching and Learning in the face of Eco-Anxiety

There is a growing body of literature which points to the mental health implications for those studying, researching, and teaching environmental and sustainability related topics (Kelly, 2017; Pihkala, 2022). Young people are the most likely to report experiences of eco-anxiety (Clayton & Karazsia, 2020) and these feelings of anxiety can be particularly acute for young people who are studying and researching environmental issues (Pihkala, 2020a). Focusing on this is particularly important in the context of UK Higher Education which has been described as facing its own crisis of mental health and wellbeing (Lewis & Bolton, 2023).

In this session we will share insights and reflections from a collaborative research project which adopted a participatory approach, recognising that research is enhanced through experiential expertise (Collins & Evans, 2002). The project trained and supported 6 postgraduate students to carry out research with academic and student communities as co-researchers. To enable this, we designed and delivered bespoke research training and supported the group to develop, conduct and analyse research data. The project aimed to better understand how students experience environmental education and to develop improved practices for the delivery of sensitive and robust pedagogy in environmental education, including community-engaged projects.

We will outline the background to this project, share an account of how we facilitated the collaborative research process and worked with students, reflecting on how this approach supported the development of findings and recommendations. We suggest that training students as co-researchers needs careful thought, planning and flexibility, it involves facilitating a space where collaborators can share their skills and interests, interrogate the aims of the research, address pragmatic considerations, and develop shared plans. Research takes place within and across relationships and we recognise that creating these relationships involves developing shared understandings in an open dialogic space which requires both ‘care-ful ethical planning’ and the embracing of ‘mess’ (Manchester & Barke, 2020; Thomas-Hughes, 2018).

This paper concludes with consideration for how our findings and recommendations can shape best practice in community-engaged or service-learning pedagogy when projects are focused in areas relating to environmental change or sustainability. Highlighting how working with students as co-researchers can go beyond evaluation work and move into the realm of co-creating pedagogical content and insight that contributes to our understanding of teaching and learning in a more equal and less provider-receiver model.