Learning from the Land: Action Research and Climate Education in the North

In this episode in the Eco-Justice and Climate Action Mini Series, we sat down with four members of the Climate Education and Teacher Education (CETE) team, which is based at the University of Northern British Columbia. Authors of “Mapping Climate Change Education: Reflections from an Education Design-Based Research Project from Northern British Columbia, Canada,” the CETE team created this project in response to the 2022 Association of Canadian Deans of Education report titled "Accord on Education for a Sustainable Future," which underscored urgency for climate change education. Join us for another great episode exploring the stories behind this collaborative and exciting action research project!

To begin, our hosts Joe and Blane introduce the CETE team and the article that brought them together [00:00]. This leads into the origin story of the initiative and discussion of their team dynamics, which lead to a shared commitment to curriculum reform and a signature pedagogy built around people, place, and land [1:57]. The conversation then explores the co-creation process at the heart of the project, from building a national design team to running iterative workshop series across northern British Columbia, reflecting on how listening to teachers and communities continuously reshaped the project's direction [7:50]. From there, the team reflects on the iterative, cyclic nature of their design-based research, and the challenges of working within research frameworks that don't always honour more-than-human species and Indigenous ways of knowing [17:03]. We move to a discussion about the tension between theory and action, and between local focus and global relevance, focusing on how grounding the work in northern land, language, and Indigenous knowledge has proven to be both their most impactful contribution and a transferable model for others [22:23]. The team closes by sharing where the project stands today, and our hosts wrap up by honouring the messiness of action research as a defining strength of the journey, not a flaw [34:04].

Thank you Hartley, Christine, Alexander and Glen for sharing your time and work with us.

Thank you to our listeners for tuning in to this episode of the Action Research Podcast, created by Adam Stieglitz, Joe Levitan, Shikha Diwakar, Cory Legassic, and Vanessa Gold.

Produced by Shikha Diwakar and Vanja Lugonjic.

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How have you found yourself in the world of action research? Want to be interviewed or share one of your projects? Get in touch with us.

Resources:

CETE Research Page

Biographies:

Hartley Banack, University of Northern British Columbia

Dr. Hartley Banack is an Associate Professor in the School of Education at UNBC and Principal Investigator for the CETE research program since 2022. Banack is a curriculum theorist, qualitative researcher, and teacher. He has years of experience as an outdoor environmental educator and scholar. His scholarship appears in Teachers and Teaching (Banack and Tembrevilla, 2024), Children’s Geographies (Banack and Berger, 2020), and Critical Education (Banack, 2018). Banack holds a Ph.D., M.A., and B.Ed. in environmental education, all from Simon Fraser University, along with a B.Sc. from Trent University.

Christine Ho Younghusband, University of Northern British Columbia

Dr. Christine Ho Younghusband is an Assistant Professor in the School of Education at UNBC. Dr. Ho Younghusband is a founding CETE Co-Investigator. Her research focuses on teacher professional learning, identity development, and mathematics education. She has published on e-portfolios and identity (Younghusband, 2021) and out-of-field teaching (Younghusband, 2017). Dr. Ho Younghusband holds an Ed.D. and M.Ed. from Simon Fraser University, and B.Ed. and B.Sc. from the University of British Columbia.

Alexander Lautensach, University of Northern British Columbia

Dr. Alexander Lautensach is an Adjunct Professor in the School of Education at UNBC. Lautensach is a founding CETE Co-Investigator. He holds five degrees in the areas of biology, science education, and philosophy, including a doctorate in environmental ethics education from the University of Otago, New Zealand. Lautensach has written two books on sustainability education and climate change and co-published the first open-access textbook on human security.

Glen Thielmann, University of Northern British Columbia

Glen Thielmann is a Lecturer in the UNBC School of Education. He is a founding member of the CETE Research Team. He is a master Social Studies teacher with leadership in curriculum, instruction, and professional & resource development in B.C. K-12 schools. In 2017, Glen received a Governor General’s History Award for excellence in Teaching. In 2022, Glen received a Teacher Educator Award from the Association of BC Deans of Education.

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This episode is part of our Eco-justice and Climate Action Series. Authors from journal articles in a Special Issue of the Canadian Journal for Action Research hop behind the mic and share the inspirations, process, and findings from their projects. Join Joe Levitan, Shikha Diwakar and special guest host Blane Harvey, as they interview an inspiring group of researchers, educators, organizers, and more, navigating the process of action research.