Resonating with Deep-Time: Big History Transforming the Worldviews of Primary School Students
This article explores the extent students’ environmental values are informed through a socioecological learning framework when a deep-time universe hi/story is integrated with environmental education and local cultural origins in the primary school curriculum. The research concept grew from teacher...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
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| Series: | Australian Journal of Environmental Education |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0814062625000011/type/journal_article |
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| author | Marilyn Ahearn |
| author_facet | Marilyn Ahearn |
| author_sort | Marilyn Ahearn |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article explores the extent students’ environmental values are informed through a socioecological learning framework when a deep-time universe hi/story is integrated with environmental education and local cultural origins in the primary school curriculum. The research concept grew from teacher observations that students addressed sustainability from a fragmented action approach, rather than incorporating a lifelong learning and wider worldview of past, present and possible future environmental changes. The research was conducted with 8–9-year-old students during a 17-week transdisciplinary pedagogical intervention, adapted for primary-aged students, from an educational evidence-based, online Big History Project, empowering young learners to engage in transformative thinking and to add their voices as co-researchers. Additional data was collected from the same co-researcher and student cohort two years later. The research findings over the two years remain significant, where students continued to discuss the environment and sustainability in the context of a child-framed deep learning pedagogy framework of the changing 13.8-billion-year universe story. If this original research is to remain significant, further research and programming need to be undertaken with students and educators, to ensure that the value of deep-time hi/story is embedded at all levels of the education continuum, including primary-aged students. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-f687a6edde694b878a6a81fed3ca5fe7 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0814-0626 2049-775X |
| language | English |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Australian Journal of Environmental Education |
| spelling | doaj-art-f687a6edde694b878a6a81fed3ca5fe72025-08-20T04:02:27ZengCambridge University PressAustralian Journal of Environmental Education0814-06262049-775X12010.1017/aee.2025.1Resonating with Deep-Time: Big History Transforming the Worldviews of Primary School StudentsMarilyn Ahearn0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6120-1311Faculty of Education, Southern Cross University, Sustainability, Environment, and the Arts in Education (SEAE) Research Centre, Lismore, New South Wales, AustraliaThis article explores the extent students’ environmental values are informed through a socioecological learning framework when a deep-time universe hi/story is integrated with environmental education and local cultural origins in the primary school curriculum. The research concept grew from teacher observations that students addressed sustainability from a fragmented action approach, rather than incorporating a lifelong learning and wider worldview of past, present and possible future environmental changes. The research was conducted with 8–9-year-old students during a 17-week transdisciplinary pedagogical intervention, adapted for primary-aged students, from an educational evidence-based, online Big History Project, empowering young learners to engage in transformative thinking and to add their voices as co-researchers. Additional data was collected from the same co-researcher and student cohort two years later. The research findings over the two years remain significant, where students continued to discuss the environment and sustainability in the context of a child-framed deep learning pedagogy framework of the changing 13.8-billion-year universe story. If this original research is to remain significant, further research and programming need to be undertaken with students and educators, to ensure that the value of deep-time hi/story is embedded at all levels of the education continuum, including primary-aged students.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0814062625000011/type/journal_articleBig History storydeep-timeprimary educationqualitative researchsocioecological learningtransdisciplinaryvalues |
| spellingShingle | Marilyn Ahearn Resonating with Deep-Time: Big History Transforming the Worldviews of Primary School Students Australian Journal of Environmental Education Big History story deep-time primary education qualitative research socioecological learning transdisciplinary values |
| title | Resonating with Deep-Time: Big History Transforming the Worldviews of Primary School Students |
| title_full | Resonating with Deep-Time: Big History Transforming the Worldviews of Primary School Students |
| title_fullStr | Resonating with Deep-Time: Big History Transforming the Worldviews of Primary School Students |
| title_full_unstemmed | Resonating with Deep-Time: Big History Transforming the Worldviews of Primary School Students |
| title_short | Resonating with Deep-Time: Big History Transforming the Worldviews of Primary School Students |
| title_sort | resonating with deep time big history transforming the worldviews of primary school students |
| topic | Big History story deep-time primary education qualitative research socioecological learning transdisciplinary values |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0814062625000011/type/journal_article |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT marilynahearn resonatingwithdeeptimebighistorytransformingtheworldviewsofprimaryschoolstudents |