worldview of upou earth ambassadors
TRANSCRIPT
UNDERSTANDING CLIMATE CHANGE AND DISASTER:
WORLDVIEW OF UPOU EARTH AMBASSADORS
Joane V. Serrano, PhD
Assistant Professor
Faculty of Management and Development Studies
UP Open University
There are myriad of studies about how
people view climate change and disaster
Children are people too.. but they are rarely asked about their views on the environment i.e. climate change and disaster risks
As a result of this lack of participation and involvement, many children grow up with distorted views of the environment …. including climate change and disaster risks
Background of the Study
Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child – the most widely ratified of all international conventions – states that children have a right to have a say in decisions that will affect them
As climate change is affecting children’s lives now and will undoubtedly continue to do so far into the future, it is only right that children’s views are heard and taken onboard by those making the decisions today [UNICEF].
Why do we need to be concerned about children’s worldview?
http://www.pacer.org/bullying/images/homepage-slider/kab/Bg-kabKids.jpg
A worldview that conserves and protects the environment is developed through time. Children’s sense of right and wrong is critical during their developmental stage. Thus, their view and eventually their actions in the future will be best influenced today.
Natural hazards by themselves do not cause disasters – it is the combination of an exposed, vulnerable and ill prepared population or community with a hazard event that results in disaster. [ISDR, UN]
Climate change will therefore affect disaster risks in two ways: 1) through the likely increase in weather and climate hazards 2) through increases in the vulnerability of communities to natural hazards, particularly through ecosystem degradation, reductions in water and food availability, and changes to livelihoods.
Climate Change and Disasters
Meet the UPOU
Earth
Ambassadors
To capacitate
elementary school
children on
environmentalism Sto.Domingo Elementary
School
The Learning Place Dayap Elementary School
Objectives of the Study
The overall aim of this paper is to draw out the environmental
worldview of the children by exploring their concept of climate
change and disaster.
Specifically, it aims to:
1) Determine how children view climate change and disasters;
2) Determine how they view their role as earth ambassadors;
3)Gain insight into how they view their elders and leaders‟
preparedness to climate change effects and disaster.
Theoretical Framework This study is framed by phenomenography.
Phenomenography or constitutional framework as Marton
(1981) terms this theoretical frame is primarily interested in
how various aspects of the world are seen by different
individuals.
Its aim is to discover the qualitatively different ways in which
people experience, conceptualize, realize and understand
various aspects of phenomena in the world around them
(Martin et al., 1992).
Phenomenography is neither solely concerned with human perceptions
of the world nor only with the object itself. Rather, it focuses on finding
the relationship between humans and the world around them. It takes a
non-dualistic ontological perspective; meaning that object and subject
are not separate and independent of each other.
There are various ways in which people experience or understand a
given phenomenon, because different people experience a
phenomenon in different ways. Phenomenographers seek to identify
the multiple conceptions that people have for a particular phenomenon.
The conception of researchers about a given phenomenon is not the
focus of the study, because the focus of phenomenographical study is
about the conceptions that people have on certain phenomenon.
Methods
Qualitative research/Phenomenographic Study
- Focus group interview to facilitate the participants‟
reflection on their experience of a phenomenon. Interview
is centered around following up and exploring different
aspects of the interviewee‟s experience as thoroughly as
possible.
- Focus on three UPOU Earth Ambassadors Schools
- In phenomenographic study, bracketing is important
Data analysis
- Analysis was guided by the Phenomenographic approach which
qualitatively separate categories that describe the ways in which
different people experience a different concept.
- Studied both the “what aspect of disaster and the “how aspect” of
it.
Steps:
1) Transcription of interviews;
2) Reading and familiarizing the text;
3) Identify the most significant elements in
answers given by participants
4) Look for the “what” and how the children
describe their experience of disaster. Make a
preliminary description of each child‟s
understanding of climate change & disaster
5) Group the descriptions into categories, based
on similarities and differences
6) Look for non-dominant way of understanding
7) Assign a metaphor to each category of
description
Children‟s view of climate change and disaster The VULNERABLE child The GUILTY child The COMPASSIONATE child The ACTIVIST child
Discussion and Results
The VULNERABLE child
- Sees climate change and disaster as
something to be afraid of “Nakakatakot po pag may malakas na bagyo kasi hindi
mo alam kung may mas dadating pa na mas malakas
na hangin at ulan”
“It is scary when there is a strong typhoon because you do not know if
a there will be a stronger rain or wind to follow”
- Views climate change and disaster as something that takes
away things of value “Pagkatapos po ng baha, walang natira sa aming bahay kundi basura”
“After the flood, nothing was left to our house but garbage”
The GUILTY child
- Unsustainable environmental
practices bring out guilt feeling “Nakaka guilty po kasi dahil sa pagputol ng
tao sa mga kahoy kaya bumabaha”
“I feel guilty because it is people’s action of cutting trees that cause the
flood”
- Empathy to the victims “Kahit di po nangyari sa Dayap parang nararamdaman din po naming
yong naramdaman nila”
“Even if it did not happen in Dayap we feel what they feel”
The COMPASSIONATE child
- Compassion towards the victims of
climate change and disasters “Nakakaawa po yong mga taong nahihirapan dahil dito
sa climate change at disaster”
“I pity those who suffer because of the effects of climate
change change and disaster”
- Sees the world from a different perspective “Nong nagsimula kaming maging Earth Ambassador don din
nagsimulang maintindihan namin na ang masamang gawain namin ay
dahilan ng climate change at disaster ”
“When we became Earth Ambassador we started to learn that our bad
practices caused climate change and these disasters”
The ACTIVIST child
- Protest the causes of climate change
and disaster “Labanan ang mga pagputol ng kahoy sa Makiling”
“Fight the cutting of trees in Makiling”
- Have an active roles as Earth Ambassadors “Bilang Earth Ambassadors dapat maging aktibo sa pangangalaga ng
Mother Earth”
“As Earth Ambassadors we need to care for Mother Earth”
As Stewards
- Earth is entrusted to
the care of humans
- Shepherds and
safeguards earth
- Harmony between
nature and men
Discussion and Results UPOU EA’s View of their Roles
As Rehabilitator – Tries to restore Mother Earth to its
healthy state
As Advocates – tries to influence fellow children and the community through sustainable environmental practices
As Warriors
- Connotes an active
role towards
rehabilitation of
Mother Earth
- Serves as „activists‟
against illegal
environmental
practices
Climate Change Mitigation-Adaptation/Disaster Risk Reduction: Children’s Conception
Disaster
Start small - Do not wait for disasters to happen. Small
efforts can be done such as segregating wastes and
throwing them properly.
Influencing adult - Inform and convince family
members, classmates, friends and other members of the
community to practice sustainable environmental
management such as avoid clogging the canals to
prevent disaster and mitigate climate chnage
Action speaks louder – Encourage people to protect
nature; continue planting trees
Keeping my promise - Be consistent with their
commitment as Earth Ambassadors
Children’s View of the Leaders’ Preparedness
Most of the children said that their community or barangay leaders are not prepared to deal with climate change and disasters Do not walk the talk – The leaders do not
practice sustainable environmental management like segregating wastes, cleaning the canals; they do not follow their own ordinances and regulations; they cut trees
Community members are not cooperative Not enough facilities such emergency kit, first
aid kit, ec
Focus more on peace and order and other concerns of the barangay
Lacks consistency in their efforts to mobilize the community to prepare for climate change and disaster
Conclusions Through this study, it can be concluded that children, as
young as they are, have clear concepts and views about
effects of climate change as well as disaster risk reduction
and management. Their actual experiences of disaster and
their experience as UPOU Earth Ambassadors are
contributing to a worldview towards a harmonious relationship
between humans and nature.
The result of this study shows how vulnerable children are in
times of disaster. But at the same time, they should have a
participatory role in climate change mitigation and adaption as
well as in disaster risk reduction and management
Recommendations
Conduct similar study on other elementary schools
Continue educating the UPOU Earth Ambassadors and
exposing them more on climate change and DRRM
Continue to develop the leadership skills of the UPOU Earth
Ambassadors to make them change agents
“UPOU acts as a change agent and produces change agents for national development. As a Public Service University, it aims to develop leaders and arm both leaders and constituents with critical thinking skills in all fields including that of environmental concerns. What better way to accomplish this role through empowering the children as young as they are to be responsible stewards of the environment.”
Dr. Grace Javier Alfonso UPOU Chancellor
References
Barraza, L. 2001. Perception of Social and Environmental Problems by English and Mexican School Children. Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, 6, Spring, pp. 139- 157 Degen, Greta Marie, "A phenomenographic study exploring nursing education and practice" (2010). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. Paper 11927. Liu, S. and Lin, H. 2013. Undergraduate students’ ideas about nature and human–nature relationships: an empirical analysis of environmental worldviews. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, National Science Council, Taiwan. McCans, S. 2007. Through Children’s Eyes. International Development Research Centre (IDRC). Retrieved from http://www.idrc.ca/en/resources/publications/pages/articledetails.aspx?publicationid=81 on25 September 2011 Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights. 2003. Convention on the Rights of the Child. Retrieved from http://www.unhcr/html/menu3/b/k2crc.htm on 23 January 2014 Petegem, P. V. and Blieck, A. 2006. The environmental worldview of children: a cross-cultural perspective. Environmental Education Research, Vol. 12, No. 5, pp. 625-635
Thank you!