| dc.description.abstract | This qualitative study examines the experience of twelve Native American youth
who participated in culturally appropriate geoscience summer programs throughout
California. These programs have been shown to change participating youths’
perceptions of science. After the programs, the youth are more likely to describe science
as something tribes use to manage natural resources and have been using for a long time,
something that is not only learned in classrooms, that they like science and they can live
a cultural way of life and still be scientists. Hermeneutic phenomenology is used to
understand the experience of the youth participating in the program. Semi-structured,
life-world, pre- and post- interviews were designed to elucidate participants’ program
experience, conceptions of science and home life. From these, salient themes were
found and organized into meaning units. It is suggested that having a supportive
community, which youth have identified as a group of people described as familial,
supportive and empowering, where youth can express their culture while enjoying
outdoor programming provides the foundation and safe space to approach program
science. Moreover, positive connections between nature and program science are made
in this context. This provides scaffolding where these new conceptions of science as
nature, and nature as science, can be applied to participants’ lives outside of the
program. | en |
