Full metadata
Title
The Science of Water Art: Children's Perspectives on Water and the Environment in Guatemala
Description
Children's drawings are increasingly being used to assess understanding and diagnose misconceptions about water issues and the environment. As part of Arizona State University's Global Ethnohydrology Study and Community Health and Medical Anthropology Field School, 315 pieces of artwork from 158 Guatemalan schoolchildren, ages 9-10, were collected using ethnographic field methods. The children were asked to draw two pieces of art: one showing how they saw water being used in their neighborhood today and one showing how they imagined water would be used in their neighborhood 100 years from now. Using visual content analysis, the drawings were coded for the presence of vegetation, scarcity, pollution, commercial sources, existing technology, technological innovation, domestic use, and natural sources of water. The study finds that (1) students' drawings of the future contain significantly more pollution and scarcity than those in the present, and (2) both boys and girls depict existing technology significantly more often in the drawings of today than the drawings of the future. Additionally, (1) boys are significantly more likely than girls to draw more negative depictions of water (i.e., pollution and scarcity), and (2) boys are significantly more likely than girls to depict the natural world (i.e., natural sources of water). Through examining gendered perceptions and future expectations of climate change and water issues, this study explores possible areas of intervention in environmental education in a developing country.
Date Created
2015-05
Contributors
- McAtee, Hannah Lee (Author)
- Wutich, Amber (Thesis director)
- Brewis, Alexandra (Committee member)
- Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor)
- School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor)
Topical Subject
Resource Type
Extent
29 pages
Language
eng
Copyright Statement
In Copyright
Primary Member of
Series
Academic Year 2014-2015
Handle
https://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.I.29180
Level of coding
minimal
Cataloging Standards
System Created
- 2017-10-30 02:50:57
System Modified
- 2021-08-11 04:09:57
- 3 years 3 months ago
Additional Formats