Doctoral Dissertation Research: Investigating Youth Involvement in Environmental Movements

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This doctoral dissertation project examines youth involvement in environmental change movements in national and international settings. Specifically, this research analyzes the ways in which young people between the ages of 11 and 30 involved in social and environmental organizations have influenced environmental decision-making processes over the last quarter century. Youth environmental movements have influenced governance institutions to take meaningful action to ensure environmental sustainability. The doctoral student will evaluate the ways in which generational attitudes and perceptions impact contemporary governance practices and consequent change. This research will provide new insight into young people’s engagement in formal political processes. Educational and outreach tools will be developed to communicate scientific findings on youth perspectives and highlight societal perceptions related to environmental change. As a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement award, this project will provide support to enable a promising student from an underrepresented background to establish an independent STEM research career. The project will use a comparative case study approach to examine how youth engagement impacts the political geographies of environmental governance practices. The research will examine 1) youth engagement in national and international arenas; 2) how youth movements impact environmental debates and governance; and 3) how generational differences take on meaning in the context of environmental politics and governance more broadly. Integrated qualitative methods (ethnography, digital-archival, and interviews) will be used to capture youth engagement in traditionally adult-dominated spaces of governance. Results will be widely disseminated and include the creation of a publicly accessible digital archive chronicling youth engagement in national and international environmental governance. Although this research project will focus on youth engagement in environmental governance, the findings will advance theoretical work related to youth, political geography, and social movements.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.