Exploring New Genres of Inquiry in Environmental Education Research

Abstract

We have a field rich with researchers from a variety of disciplines looking at questions in
environmental education in diverse ways, yet academic journals in our field mostly
contain reports on research that use standard quantitative and/or qualitative approaches.
While there have been notable exceptions, an aspiring researcher could be tempted to
gravitate in traditional directions. Our intent, however, was not to produce a simple
“recipe book” for new researchers intrigued by emerging genres of inquiry. Indeed, the
two of us are nervous about our field’s tendency towards prescription and thereby
reification.