Education for what? Shaping the field of climate change education with children and young people as co-researchers

ABSTRACT

Children and young people are often positioned as the next generation of leaders in whom the public imagines or expects to overcome the legacies of climate and environmental inaction. Increasingly analyses of progress in environmental education independently identify the need for researchers and teachers to ‘listen to children’s voices’. In this paper we argue that climate change education presents a significant platform not only for youth voices, but also for a genuine activation of children’s political agency in schools, universities, and the public domain. In so doing, we draw upon the government funded project Climate Change?+?Me, which has involved working with 135 children and young people from across Northern NSW, Australia as co-researchers investigating young people’s voices in climate change. We conclude that climate change education can open up an entirely new field of educational experience and inquiry when it is inclusive of and led by young people.     

Mapping feminist geographies in Spain

Abstract

Based on our experience of years of research, teaching and academic administration, this text gathers reflections on the past, present and future developments of feminist geography in Spain. We first show how a gendered perspective was introduced into geography in the late eighties. We then reflect on what we call ‘the stage of consolidation’ alongside territorial inequalities at the turn of the century. And we finally present some notes what the current situation is and identify future challenges. Despite the difficulties, we offer a positive vision of a long journey that has no turning back.     

REGIONALIZING “MODE 2”? THE ADOPTION OF CENTRES OF EXCELLENCE IN SWEDISH RESEARCH POLICY

This article contributes to the ongoing debate on the role of university research for innovation and economic growth, a debate highly influenced by concepts such as Mode 2 and regional innovation systems and clusters. A prominent trend in many EU and OECD countries is to direct research funding towards so‐called Centres of Excellence (CoEs) in order to stimulate the industrial output of scientific research. The implementation of the CoE approach is viewed as an attempt to bridge research and innovation policy. By using Sweden as an example and providing an overview and critical discussion concerning Swedish research policy during the period 2001 to 2007 we show that the rhetoric within research policy has changed and become increasingly intertwined with innovation policy. In practice, however, this is not as evident. The study draws on (a) an analysis of policy literature pointing out regulatory and organizational changes concerning the increasing emphasis on linking research to competitive industrial milieus, and (b) a comprehensive database including 110 CoEs, presenting a detailed picture of university‐industry collaboration, cross‐disciplinarity, and prioritized sectors. We fiind that the CoEs account for a relatively small share of government funding, but may however have a strengthening impact on particular research milieus and industries, especially in the life sciences. Additionally, although contemporary policy rhetoric appears to highlight steering funding to geographically‐concentrated milieus, thereby linking leading university research to regional industrial clusters, this has only been manifested in a few cases – notably in the Vinnväxt programme run by Vinnova, the national agency promoting innovation systems.     

Climate as resource and challenge: international cooperation in the UNESCO Arid Zone Programme

ABSTRACT

Perceptions of climatic challenges have changed significantly during the twentieth century. In recent decades, the question of global climate change received more attention than regional climatic challenges and the problems of arid regions. Historians have shown that persistent misconceptions and a lack of understanding of arid zones rooted in misguided colonial ideologies were propagated by United Nations (UN) initiatives such as the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) Arid Zone Programme. Alarmist narratives of progressive desertification proliferated and put the blame on destructive local practices such as deforestation and overgrazing. This article investigates UNESCO’s interests in natural resources (section 1) and takes a closer look at the development and scientific elements of the Arid Zone Programme (sections 2 and 3). It argues that the Arid Zone Programme offered an effective framework that helped develop and spread new interdisciplinary research approaches to improve knowledge about arid zones. The myth of progressing desertification and misguided colonial expertise characterized much of its political rhetoric, but not its scientific work, which reflected balanced and more critical appraisals of out-dated colonial expertise. In its conclusion, the article suggests that broader contexts need to be taken into account to understand a resurgence of alarmist narratives of desertification such as shifting interests in climatology from local climatic issues to the global atmospheric circulation and a neglect of the climatology of arid zones.     

面向美好生活的“诗意栖居”——旅游情境“家”的研究回顾与展望

面对新时代美好生活需要的现实背景和学术界“日常生活转向”的理论动态，本文回顾和梳理了旅游情境“家”的渊源流变、理论视角、研究内容，并进行评述与展望。结果表明：旅游情境“家”具有多元性和杂合性，包含物质和精神两层涵义；该研究领域呈现出多学科视角、多文化背景、多类型案例、多层次内容等特点，在概念、理论、内容、方法等方面有待提升；未来研究需进一步丰富“家”的旅游学内涵、探讨休闲旅游的生活意蕴、剖析“家”的精神文化内容、促进研究手段与方法多元化。     

传统村落神圣空间形态、当代价值及其研究范式再认识

神圣空间是中国传统村落重要的空间形态，但理论界对神圣空间时有“存续论”和“废弃论”的学术争议，对其内涵、类型、流动性发展趋势以及新的研究范式也缺乏深入解读，这对人们深入认知传统村落神圣空间带来了困惑和迷茫。通过文献梳理，认为：神圣空间的内涵是“空间+意义”的综合。在传统村落中空间形态有两类，一是具有明显可观察性的宗教信仰性神圣空间，二是一切不可让渡或不可化约的人文意义的神圣空间。在内容研究方面，学术界对第一类型的神圣空间研究着墨较多，但研究特点表现在对神圣空间“本身”进行阐释。对第二类型神圣空间建构性的解读属于新兴研究类型，研究主要将传统村落神圣空间看作是社会建构的过程和动态性实践的产物。在流动性视角下，学术界更注重对传统村落神圣空间与流动性互动产生的社会经济、文化和环境之间建构和生产的研究，认为“神圣空间作为文本”更符合新的社会事实及其推动下的研究议题。不同认知范式具有差异性，相互补充是人们整体认知传统村落神圣空间的基础，也对乡村振兴实践中传统村落文化的整理、挖掘以及塑造社会经济发展具有重要指引。     

中国传统村落文化景观研究进展与展望

传统村落文化景观作为特定地域范围内具有乡土文化气息的自然与人文因素综合体，承载着中华农耕文明的精髓，具有“传统村落”和“文化景观”研究的双重价值，是中国乡村地理学探究的热点领域。通过定量与定性相结合的研究方法，以中国知网为基础数据库，深入剖析1990—2020年中国传统村落文化景观的研究内容及进展，评述前人研究成果并展望未来研究方向，以期为拓展传统村落文化景观研究维度提供重要参考。研究发现，近30年传统村落文化景观研究随时代的发展愈发细化，研究内容主要集中于传统村落文化景观特征与价值、形成与演化、保护与发展等3方面。但现有研究深度和广度还有待加强，传统村落文化景观多尺度研究还需深化、研究议题有待丰富、学科融合与方法集成仍需强化。今后应注重系统化的理论分析，拓宽传统村落文化景观的研究尺度；深化与拓展研究内容，挖掘传统村落文化景观的研究议题；强化学科融合与方法集成，完善传统村落文化景观的研究框架。