Doctoral Dissertation Research: Investigating Youth Involvement in Environmental Movements

这篇博士论文研究了青年在国家和国际环境中参与环境变化运动的情况。具体而言，本研究分析了在过去的四分之一世纪中，11至30岁的年轻人参与社会和环境组织影响环境决策过程的方式。青年环境运动影响了治理机构采取有意义的行动，以确保环境的可持续性。博士生将评估代际态度和观念影响当代治理实践和随之而来的变化的方式。这项研究将为青年人参与正式政治进程提供新的见解。将开发教育和外联工具，以传播关于青年观点的科学研究结果，并强调与环境变化有关的社会观念。作为博士论文研究改进奖，该项目将提供支持，使一个有前途的学生从一个代表性不足的背景，建立一个独立的STEM研究生涯。该项目将采用比较案例研究方法，研究青年参与如何影响环境治理实践的政治地理。该研究将研究：1）青年参与国家和国际舞台; 2）青年运动如何影响环境辩论和治理; 3）代际差异如何在更广泛的环境政治和治理背景下发挥作用。综合定性方法（民族志，数字档案和访谈）将被用来捕捉青年参与传统上成人主导的治理空间。结果将被广泛传播，其中包括创建一个可公开访问的数字档案，记录青年参与国家和国际环境治理的情况。虽然该研究项目将重点关注青年参与环境治理，但其研究成果将推动与青年、政治地理和社会运动相关的理论工作。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.