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ACTIVISTS AS ADULT LEARNERS:
WOMEN IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT

BY

Frances Elizabeth Cosstick

A DISSERTATION

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Department of Educational Administration

1994

 

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ABSTRACT

ACTIVISTS AS ADULT LEARNERS:
WOMEN IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT

BY

Frances Elizabeth Cosstick

The Ontario environmental movement, a movement with
higher female than male involvement, has contributed to
social change. The study investigated how women in the
environmental movement in Ontario used adult learning in
their activism.

The objectives of the study were to explore the
development of the female activist, the methods and
substance of adult learning, activists as adult educators,
personal changes in activists, perception of gender based
environmental concern.

The literature review surveyed three bodies of
knowledge: environmentalism, feminism and adult learning
with a view to the role of each in social change.

The descriptive qualitative research uses a grounded
theory methodology. Data was collected through personal
interviews of 43 respondents of 19 waste management groups
throughout Ontario. Labelled supportive research, the
process enabled the researcher to actively support the
respondents' adult learning in environmentalism while

conducting the study.

 

 

 

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The study found that a predisposition to activism
motivated the activists to correct an environmental
injustice of their community. Activism took the form of a
campaign which necessitated intensive learning. Group
membership facilitated learning for goal achievement and
personal change. Respondents learned technical subject
matter, environmental issues, government procedure, about
human nature, the need for individual involvement, about
themselves, about group dynamics and methods of advocacy.
Respondents used a combination of mutually reinforcing
learning methods. Their learning involved all levels of
learning. Unanticipated impact of learning upon the
activists was their new public profile in their community as
educators. Also unplanned were the changes in themselves,
in their lifestyle at home and in their world view due to
their learning about environmentalism. Activists
contributed to social change by presenting an alternative
paradigm that with significant support from adult learning
impacted upon the dominant paradigm through their successes
in both the planned and unplanned changes.

Activists are adult learners with distinctive learning
characteristics. The path of adult learning of activists
takes place in four components: learning preparation,
learning acquisition, community goal achievement, social
change. Adult learning programmers could assist activists

in strategies for organizing and applying the learning and

 

3C

programming the services of the community educator

activists.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am indebted to and extremely grateful to Dr. S.
Joseph Levine who has been an academic compass by orienting
me in practical directions with his steadfast energy and
enthusiasm. Gratitude, too, to Dr. George and Nancy Axinn,
soulmates in work and travel, who invested much time and
energy in my program.

I extend my solidarity and appreciation to the women
activists of Ontario who are committed to ensuring a safe
future for their children. Their encouragement as research
respondents bound me to its completion.

Lastly, I acknowledge my father, Edwin A. I. Cosstick,
to whom I dedicate this work, for single grandparenting my
son, Adrian, throughout the time of the research. ‘Without
his unwavering support, this work could not have been

possible.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES . . . . . . . .
LIST OF FIGURES . . . . . . . .
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . .
The Problem . . . . . .

Purpose of the Study . . .
Objectives of the Study .

The Development of the Female
She Entered the Learning

Environmentalism . . .
How Adult Learning Happened and What was

Learned . . .

Activist
Mode of

How

Adult Educating as Part of Adult Learning . .

Personal Changes as a
Learning . . . .
Perception of Women's
Concern . . . .
World View . . . . .

CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE . . .
Introduction . . . . . . .
Environment/Ecology . . .
Feminism . . . . . .
Social Change and Citizens
Adult Learning . . . . . .
CHAPTER III
METHODO my 0 O O O O O 0

Introduction . . .

Result of
and Men's

Groups

Rationale for Research Methodology .

Problem Area . . . . . . .

vi

Adult

Environmental

ix

GNP

\lmm

m

11

11
12
20
3O
33

43

43
47
48

Research Questions . . . . . .
Review of the Literature . . .
Data Sources . . . . . . . .
Defining the Study Population
Interview Protocol . . . . .
Interview Follow-up . . . .
Management of Interview Data
Coding . . . . . . . .
Data Worksheets . .
Validity of Data . .
Reliability of Data
Analysis of Data . .
Limitations . . . .

O O O O O O O O 0

CHAPTER IV
FINDINGS O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Categories of Findings . . . . . . . . .
Category 1: Development of Activism
Category 2: What was Learned . . .
Category 3: Method of Learning . . .
Category 4: Personal Changes and Adult
Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Category 5: Gender and the Environment . . .
Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

CHAPTER V

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, DRAWING MEANING AND NEXT
STEPS C O O O O O I O C O O C O O O O O O O 0

Summary of Findings . . . . . . . . . .
Adult Learning and the Development of the
Female Activist . . . . . . . . . .
Approaches to Adult Learning . . . . . .
Group Membership and Adult Learning . . .
Lifestyle Changes . . . . .
Changes in the World View of the Activists
What was Learned . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Learning Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Personal Changes and Adult Learning . . .
Activists Perception of Differences in
Environmentalism Between Female and Male
Activists . . . . . . .
Sources of Influence Upon Activists' Adult
Learning in Environmentalism . . . . . .

vii

48
49
50
53
55
56
57
57
59
59
61
62
63

64

64
65
65
90
100

101
112
123

124

124

124
127
127
130
131
132
133
134

135

136

Drawing Meaning . . . . . . . . . . .
Drawing Meaning from th Findings

Drawing Meaning From the Research
Methodology . . . . . . . .

Next Steps O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0
APPENDIX 0 O O O O O C O O I O O O O O O 0
Interview Instrument . . . . . . . . .
BIBLIOGRAPHY O O O O O O O O O O O O O O I

General References . . . . . . . . . .

viii

137
137

147

157

160

160

164

172

Table 1.
Table 2.

Table 3.

Table 4.

Table 5.

Table 6.
Table 7.
Table 8.
Table 9.

Table 10.

Table 11.
Table 12.

Table 13.

LIST OF TABLES

Characteristics of Development of Activism .

Types of Individual Actions of Activists .

Functions of Group Action: Effect on Activist

Development and on Activist Goals .

Activists as Educators: Those Influenced by

ACtiVists C O O O O O I O O O

Activists as Educators: Influence Induced by

or from Activist . . . . . .

Categories of World View . . .

Types of Learning Reported by Activists

Method of Learning for Activists .

Personal Changes and Adult Learning

Women’s and Men's Concern for the

Environment . . . . . . . . .

Gender Difference in Environmental Concern

Types of Knowledge Generated by the Study .

Key Concerns of Dominant and Activists'
Alternative Paradigm Views of Society and

Evidence of Activists' View .

ix

66

70

73

82

83

88

92

102

103

114

119

152

156

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. Adult Learning Process . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Figure 2. The Learning Cycle of a Learning Group . . . 145

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

"GREEN CRUSADERS"

The Problem

In North America, typically, after periods of major
economic growth; a wave of environmentalists has been heard.
The environmental protection movement became particularly
active when negative effects of industrialization,
especially visible water and air pollution, began to be felt
in the 1960’s. But in the 1970's, the protesting of nuclear
power by both the peace and environmental movements
represented a paradigm shift in the environmental movement
from those who believed in technology and regulations to
control pollution and toxic wastes to those vanguard
environmentalists who strove for a social structural change
to limit growth. Economic slumping, recession and
depression in Ontario after a brief surge in the early
1980’s, coincided with a renewed thrust of environmentalism
in Ontario in the 80’s and 90's. Farley Mowat refers to
Canadian environmental activists as the "Green Crusaders".

There are approximately 1809 community groups in Canada
with an environmental focus. They are fairly
proportionately distributed according to population

1

2

throughout the provinces except for British Columbia, where
there are disproportionately more. The groups seem to fall
into four categories of concern: wilderness and wild life;
waste management; energy policy; and alternative visions.

The majority of the members of the community groups are
women. What is it that drives these women to become active
members of a movement for social change? This study will
investigate the motivation of women’s involvement and the of
that involvement to them. For the purposes of this study
environmental and community groups involved in waste
management were selected. These were common throughout the
province of Ontario. The members were involved in local

concerns and many in more global concerns.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the study was to investigate how women
in the environmental movement in Ontario have used adult
learning in the process of their activism. The process
included changes in beliefs, values, attitudes,
relationships, habits and lifestyles.* The changes supported
the women's part in the environmental movement while they
were reinforced by the movement.

The environmental movement is a social movement defined
by McCarthy and Zald (1987:20) as a set of opinions and
beliefs in a population representing preferences for

changing some elements of social structure or reward

3

distribution, or both, of a society. In the case of the
environmental movement, the changes sought were in political
decisions or decision makers and in the bases for making
such decisions. The bases of political decision making
advocated by the movement members was to ensure
environmental preservation, moreover, that it did not suffer
from decisions based upon economic profit. The element of
reward distribution that environmentalists might interpret
is a value of environmental rewards for posterity; i.e.
reduction or elimination of water, air and land pollution.
Environmentally based economic decisions might result in
shifting of economic reward distribution.

Female members of organizations within the movement are
the focus of the study. A social movement organization is a
complex or formal organization that identifies its goals
with the preferences of a social movement or a
countermovement and attempts to implement those goals
through organized action for change (McCarthy and Zald
(1987:20,21). A SMO has a target goal, a set of preferred
changes toward which it claims to be working and must
possess resources, however few and whatever type in order to
work toward goal achievement. Resources may include
legitimacy, money, facilities and labor (McCarthy and Zald,
1987:22). The size of a social movement sector in a society
depends proportionately upon the amount of discretionary

resources of the public. The higher the income, the larger

4
the average gift to charitable activities, (1) and the
higher the education, the more likely the giving of time and
(2) people who give more time to volunteer activities give
more money (Morgan, Dye, and Hybels, 1975: U.S. Treasury
Department, 1965). Women members of Ontario environmental
groups mostly originate from income and educational levels
that can support their activism with discretionary time and
money.

For the purpose of the study, the environmental
movement was the setting for the female adult learners. The
adult learning is the changes in the adults that enabled
them to attempt to make the changes they worked toward in
their participation in the movement. Their participation
was viewed both as individuals and as group members.
McCarthy and Zald (1987:28) prefer the term constituents to
members, defining them as those who give time and money, as
opposed to cadres, individuals involved in the decision
making process or professional cadres and staff, those who
are involved full time with the organization or adherents,
those who are part of the social movement but do not stand
to gain directly from its goals. People in the
environmental movement would argue, however, that everyone
on the planet stands to gain in any victory for the
environment. Adherents would be redefined to be passive
supporters who do not contribute time or money in contrast

to constituents who are active supporters who do. In the

5
study, however, the refers to participants in the social
organizations as members or activists.

The social organizations from which the study derives
respondents are relatively small community groups and the
respondents are members who have attended meetings and
ascribe to the goals and values of the group. All of the
respondents were both members and activists. Activists
refers to those members who participate in activities as
individuals and with the group that directly forward the
goals of the group in the environmental social movement.
Because of the referral method of sampling, the most active
members of the groups were located and interviewed.

The study focused upon the learning of individual
activists, not the movement or the organizations which they
represented. Nevertheless, the study gives the
environmental groups a central position in the course of the
learning of the activists. The study investigated the
process by which the women became activists and the impact
that this process had upon their lives. The study took an
adult learning approach in that all of the changes that the
women reported in their lives to date were seen as an aspect
of a learning experience. A learning experience was viewed
as the acquisition of knowledge, attitudes and skills of an
individual to achieve a particular objective toward the goal

of an environmental value, organization or the movement.

6
In the course of the women's activism, they made
personal changes in their knowledge, attitudes and skills.

The study investigates these changes and how they were made.

Objectives of the Study
The Development of the Female Activist: Bow She Entered the
Learning Mode of Environmentalism
The study investigated the source of the women's
interest in the environment by starting with a statement of
their prime environmental concerns. The study explored the
reasons why the activists joined an environmental group or
brought environmentalism to their group and the nature of
their activity with the environmental movement, on their own
as individuals or within the group
1. What environmental concerns they had.
2. How long they have been concerned about these
issues.
3. Their purpose in joining the group.
4. How group membership helped them be active.
5. Own perception of being more active in a group
or as an individual.

6. Activities as a group member/as an individual

Bow Adult Learning Happened and What was Learned
The study sought to identify how the activists learned;

both what they set out to learn to accomplish their goals

7

and what they learned in the course of goal achievement that
they had not anticipated learning. The study of how the
activists learned was key to the study of the women
activists as adult learners. The study investigated the
preferred learning styles of the activists, how they had
learned what they deemed most important to them and the
sources of their learning. The study assessed the role of
adult educators in the activists' learning. The study
investigated:

1. What was learned

2. Types of knowledge

3. How most important knowledge learned

4. Most effective ways of learning

5. Most important sources of learning

6. Most helpful adult educators and their

positions
7. What changed in living habits, beliefs,

attitudes for environmentalism

Adult Educating as Part of Adult Learning

The study recognized that the activists were not only
adult learners but also adult educators and that the process
of adult learning in the case of environmental activists,
also included educating. A section of the study addresses
this phenomena.

1. Who have they influenced

8

2. How have they influenced

Personal Changes as a Result of Adult Learning
The activists experienced personal changes as a result

of their involvement and learning in activism. The study
investigates these personal changes in attitudes,
personality traits, skills, and relationships as an impact
of learning.

1. Attitude changes

2. Skills developed and improved

3. Personality trait changes

4. Changes in relationships

Perception of Women's and Men's Environmental Concern

The sample of the study included only women. The study
sought the female activists' perceptions of differences
between men's and women's concerns about the environment.
The underlying assumption was that the women's concerns
brought them into the movement and into a learning mode.
The learning fostered a more articulated concern and
resulting actions. The underlying question was whether men
launched environmental activities from a different concern
or a different kind of concern which might lead to a
different interpretation of learning, despite agreement in

actions.

9
5. Perception that men have same kind of
environmental concern
6. Perception that men have different kind of
concern

7. How might men’s concern be different

World View
The study perused the foundations of learning
interpretation, the world view, of the activists. World
view is defined as the spiritual beliefs and principles in
which a person functions in society. Maguire (1987:10 from
Patton 1975:9) defines world view as a general perspective,
a way of breaking down the complexity of the real world.
Maguire (1987:10) equates world view to paradigm, a "place
to stand" from which to view reality. Environmentalism to
require a change in world view of its constituents from a
more materialistic profit lead paradigm and the study
investigated whether such a change had occurred in the
activists as a result of their learning.
1. What changes would the women like to see in
society.
2. What they would have done differently if
started again.
The study took place in Ontario, the most populated
province of Canada and the industrial heart of the country.

It took place at a time of deep grassroots dissatisfaction

10
with policies and actions of the ruling provincial Liberal
Government overthrown for a socialist leaning during the
course of the research. The dissatisfaction was more
accurately with all levels of government and its perceived
lack of accountability to the populace. This malaise was
the background atmosphere of the research and was reflected
everywhere during the research. Events of the period bred
environmental activists and they were ripe for learning.
The study investigated individuals who were very much a part
of making changes in themselves, their communities and in
their society. The study sought to determine the role of

adult learning in making these changes.

CHAPTER II
REVIEW 0! LITERATURE
"CRUSADER MISSIONS AND VISIONS"

"Without a vision, the people will perish" (Israeli prophet)

Introduction
Polls in Canada of 1989 and 1990 indicated that

environmental protection was the major concern of Canadians.
They also indicated that citizens were willing to pay more
for products that were environmentally friendly. This
concern crosses political, regional, economic and religious
lines and exists despite rising unemployment, poverty and
economic recession (Harding, 1989:8).

It is mainly women who are the movers and shakers of
the ecology movement in Canada and other countries such as
the United States and Great Britain. .What is it that is
driving these women to the forefront of a current and very
important wave that stands to influence and perhaps stem
damaging effects of modernization in western countries and
developing countries, but most specifically in Canada.

This review of the literature begins a search for clues from
three bodies of literature: environment/ecology, feminism

and adult learning. This review shows that a common goal of

11

CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
"CRUSADER MISSIONS AND VISIONS"

"Without a vision, the people will perish" (Israeli prophet)

Introduction
Polls in Canada of 1989 and 1990 indicated that

environmental protection was the major concern of Canadians.
They also indicated that citizens were willing to pay more
for products that were environmentally friendly. This
concern crosses political, regional, economic and religious
lines and exists despite rising unemployment, poverty and
economic recession (Harding, 1989:8).

It is mainly women who are the movers and shakers of
the ecology movement in Canada and other countries such as
the United States and Great Britain. .What is it that is
driving these women to the forefront of a current and very
important wave that stands to influence and perhaps stem
damaging effects of modernization in western countries and
developing countries, but most specifically in Canada.

This review of the literature begins a search for clues from
three bodies of literature: environment/ecology, feminism

and adult learning. This review shows that a common goal of

11

12
social change can be found in the three main thrusts. It is
a recurrent and uniting theme stressing the need to resist
the excesses of modernization by suggesting a moderate
lifestyle that implies a change in social structure that is
yet imperfectly defined. Both environmentalism and feminism
value the role of learning in their

respective movements.

Environment/Ecology

A social movement has been defined as a group of people
with a purpose which will bring about change and whose
influence is spreading in spreading in opposition to the
established order in which it originated (Gerlach & Hine,
1970:xvi in Rowland, 1984) a significant amount of power can
be mobilized outside the power structure to exert upon the
power structure. Both personal and social change can result
from social movements (Rowland, 1984). Despite proven
abilities at describing social phenomena, Cotgrove (1982:vi)
reminds us that social scientists are not very good at
anticipating change. Environmentalism as a movement had
been advanced back in the early 19008 when Thoreau and John
Muir intertwined the protection of nature and social
activism with critique of industrial society (Tokar, 1987).
In Canada, from the 18008, natural sciencelsocieties
accumulated and published information relating to natural

history. These were the continuation of a British tradition

l1.
- In

13

that combined an appreciation for the utility of scientific
knowledge with a gentle, almost reverential attitude to the
natural world (Berger, 1982). In Britain, women's
conservation societies of the 19th and 20th centuries, that
became prototypes of present conservation societies, played
a substantial part in bird protection (Nicholson, 1987).

The environmental movement rose in the 1960's and
rapidly eclipsed the civil rights and antiwar movements
(Gale, 1972; Morrison et al., 1972; Dunlap and Gale, 1972 in
Humphrey, 1982). These two movements had achieved limited
successes that caused them to become more radical in their
ideologies and tactics and eventually focus energies upon
human survival by raising issues of pollution, resources
depletion and nuclear energy (Humphrey, 1982).
Environmentalism took on a new sense of urgency as the
health hazards affecting millions of people from water and
air pollution became widely recognized. Cotgrove (1982:vi)
expounds that environmentalists do not share in the dominant
faith in science and technology and in the economic
individualism of the market place. There are Marxist
environmentalists who accuse the exploitative nature of
capitalism as the root cause of the current environmental
crisis (Commoner, 1972; Rothnam, 1972; Enzenberger, 1974;
Beresford, 1977 in Cotgrove, 1982:7) but they do not
disagree with industrialization per se. There are

environmentalists in their stance against industrialization

14
who condemn both left and right wing politics as being
equally damaging. Some environmentalists regard
technological improvements to limit pollution, to break down
toxins etc. as the answer to problems created by damaging
technology. They are prepared to work within and to
maintain the present paradigm. There are growing numbers of
environmentalists who call for a new paradigm that will
limit growth, redefine standards of living and revere
nature. This change represents the shift from a norm-
oriented to a value-oriented paradigm (Smelser, 1962 in
Cotgrove, 1982). The paradigm shift follows Thomas Kuhn's
(1970) theory of paradigm shift that science periodically
undergoes a revolutionary change. Paradigms are a world
view. They provide a framework of meaning within which
facts and experiences acquire significance and can be
interpreted Cotgrove (1982:9). Cotgrove traces the shift
from the initial 'personal transformation' of changing
individual behavior through recycling and purchasing
environmentally safe products. The shift continued in the
form of societal manipulation with emphasis on legal action
against polluters and in the form of direct action. The
values of the environmental movement were in conflict with
the dominant values of society. Environmentalists quarrel
that society is driven to wealth production and for this end

has the right to harness the natural environment.

15

In Canada organizations in the environmental movement
proliferate with jungle fecundity (Mowat, 1990). Mowat
divides environmental organizations in Canada into four
major elements. Those dealing with safe issues such as
conservation and wilderness institutions. Those
organizations that are high pressure, high profile dealing
with nuclear dangers, toxic wastes and ozone depletion.
Those groups of animal rights and welfare protecting non-
human life and lastly grassroots groups that spring up
wherever the natural world is threatened by human stupidity,
greed and arrogance.

The United States clearly has a world lead in the
magnitude of their environmental program (Borelli, 1987).
Borelli notes that in the 19708 there was considerably more
harmony among environmental groups who had to cooperate to
survive. Washington watchers would signal the
environmentalists that a particular law was needed and
groups would organize around the issue. Cotgrove reports
that there was a messianic fervor to their message and early
optimism that the goals of environmental quality would soon
be met. But the movement lost much of its momentum. Its
periods of growth, in the 18908, the 19208, the 19508 and
the early 19708 marked the end of periods of sustained
economic growth (Lowe et al., 1980 in Cotgrove, 1982:9).
The antagonism between government and the agencies was

reduced as the agencies hired leaders from outside the

16
movement for their management or lobbying ability and the
Carter administration hired a number of environmentalist
activists to high positions. The movement appeared to
become more conservative. By the 19808, environmentalists
chose to focus upon specific issues to concentrate limited
energies, funds, expertise, etc. The previous sense of
common purpose was lost.

In the U.S., national agencies have replaced local or
national concerns with international concerns: preservation
of the rainforest, the ozone layer, food radiation etc.

This type of focus of this type of agency precludes as much
direct and personal involvement as past focuses did of more
local groups (Marston in Borelli, 1987). In Canada, there
are no agencies large enough to have branches throughout the
country with powerful centralized structurEs probably due to
the extraordinary funding difficulties encountered by
Canadian groups (Mowat, 1990). Environmentalism is not all
lobbying within bureaucracies. Agencies like Greenpeace and
Earth First practice 'monkeywrenching' or ’ecotage', a Saul
Alinsky style of protest that draws attention to a cause by
pushing legal limits and often succeeds in its aims.

There are different views in environmentalism, though
the movement is worldwide. Lester Brown of Worldwatch
Institute (Borelli, 1987) explains that the movement in the
U.S and Europe is the diametric opposite in view from that

in the developing countries. In the West block

17
environmental problems are seen as due to adverse
consequences of economic activity. The developing world
sees them due to a lack of development (degraded ecosystems,
unpotable water, malnutrition) associated with the lack of
infrastructure (roads, sanitation services, hospitals) or
capital investment. U.S. environmental agencies have
reduced their effort, for lack of success, to influence the
international bodies such as the United Nations. Better
results have been achieved from encouraging the U.S.
government to be more responsible through its AID program
and other international programs where its voice is more
proportional to its funding (Borelli, 1987).

In Canada, according to Cairns (1989), there are
different perceptions of the environment in different parts
of the country. British Columbia, the westernmost province,
has the highest number of environmental groups in proportion
to its population. It has a history of ultra right
provincial politics. Environmental groups view themselves,
by virtue, being in confrontation with the government. Most
groups in B.C. are grassroots community based and they
experience much support. There are few professional groups.
In central Canada, in Ontario and Quebec, scores of
professional groups are listed along with hundreds of
community based groups. They serve as watchdog to
government and industry, are supported in their communities.

They do not have the antagonistic rapport with those they

18
attempt to influence as happens in B.C., but they also do
not have ready access to government funding troughs either.

Environmental issues at the grassroots has been slower
to take hold in eastern Canada. In fact, environmentalists
are often seen as a threat to the resource based economy and
area of high unemployment. Divisive issues in the last few
years have been over the seal hunt and the spruce budworm.
In northern Canada, environmental groups are, at present,
equally or more concerned with land claims and native issues
though the recent Goose Bay protest of airplanes disturbing
caribou migration is evidence of Innu ’ecotage'.

Throughout Canada hundreds of citizens' environmental
groups, the grassroots groups that Mowat refers to, have
sprung up in response to environmental threats affecting
their vicinity. Many members are taking leadership roles
within their groups. Members are having to learn as much as
possible about the scientific aspects of the problem and
about the impact upon human-health. They are becoming
advocates for a safe environment in their community. This
is the process of adult learning and it is mainly women who
are the actors. The members driven by their sense of
urgency are becoming empowered through their new knowledge
and team work and are working toward social change.
Perception of environmental threat is a prominent motive for
formerly inactive persons to form or to join an organization

and to take political action (Milbrath, 1984). Citizens who

19
are aware of environmental threats are often willing to act
but do not know what they can meaningfully do, particularly
if they acknowledge that major social change is required.
Only a small proportion of people who are aware of the
problem, actually do anything about it, representing the gap
between belief and behavior (Milbrath, 1984).

Is it unfair to claim that women are more informed or
more concerned about specific environmental problems? Arcury
et al. (1987) in their gender comparison of concern and
knowledge of acid rain found that men rated higher. They
suggest that individual social characteristics be
differentially correlated with different environmental
issues. McStay and Dunlap (1983 in Arcury et al. 1987) lend
modest support that women are more concerned about five out
of the seven environmental issues they measured. According
to Arcury et al., if concern is to be effective in changing
behavior, consensus and policy, it must be supported with
knowledge. They deduce that if the theories of sex role
socialization are correct, sex differences should be
apparent in knowledge as well as in concern. Recent
research on learning styles need be referred to in order to
bring this skepticism into focus.

There tend to be more women than men who become active
and it is difficult to evade the question why (Farenthold in
Garland, 1988). Women are more environmentally oriented

than men (McStay 8 Dunlap, 1982; Jackson, 1980; Merchant,

20
1980; Honnold, 1981, Ray, 1975 in Milbrath, 1984).
Dankelman and Davidson (1988) claim that women have a
remarkable ability to work together; that through childcare
women have a powerful influence over changing attitudes to
the environment; and that by restoring environmentally sound
and sustainable development, the development of women in
increased status and independence, will also be improved
(Dankelman & Davidson, 1988). Is it that women have
particular social group and role advantages as well as
particular vested interests that make it more likely for
women than men to be involved in the environmental movementl
Why is it that women, and women in particular who have
become committed to environmental protection? fl
Environmentalists lament the paucity of funds, space, paid
staff etc. available to them. They assert realistically
that it is women who will work the long hours for poor pay,
if any, in less than optimum working conditions for lack of
other options in addition to their social concern. It is

the women, according to them, that one finds at the base and

in legion, of almost any social movement.

Feminism
Feminism is a worldwide movement for the redefinition
and redistribution of power (Maguire, 1987:79). In Canada,

the feminist movement strives to gain equal status in

21
society for women as men. Women have a particular
contribution to the ecology movement.

A school of thought implies that through the eons, the
work of women as primary cultivators, preparers of food, and
as child bearers and rearers has fashioned her to nurture.
Across cultures there are similarities in the socializing of
women but it is not due to biological determinism. Jaggar
(1983) argues that nature and culture are not clearly
separable; a chicken-egg dichotomy. Women have made
valuable contributions to the building of civilization.
Bookchin (1982) believes that "Woman’s foraging activities
helped awaken in humanity an acute sense of place, of oikos.
Her nurturing sensibility helped create not only the origins
of society but literally the roots of civilization - a
terrain the male has arrogantly claimed for himself. Her
stake in society was more domestic, more pacifying, and more
caring." Bertell (1985) claims that women have also
traditionally developed the reconciling arts which are not
appreciated in a militaristic culture. These arts are
relevant to living in harmony with the environment rather
than subduing it for exploitation. Women's instinctive
concern for environment is then expected by society.

Griffen (1978:v.) laments that "I was concerned that the
ecological movement had often placed the burden for solving
its problems, those that this civilization has with nature,

on women. ...women were always being asked to clean up."

22
In modern society, says Milbrath (1984), females are
socialized to be more compassionate, nurturing and
protective than males who are expected to be aggressive and
competitive. Farenthold (in Garland, 1988) asserts that
women's actions are natural extensions of their nurturing
and parenting role.

Bertell (1980:373) states that "humans are flight
animals not fight animals" and implies that both men and
women have non-aggressive instincts to guide them in
survival, not merely women, though some would argue that
society has conditioned men to suppress passive or 'flight’
instincts. In developing countries women still play pivotal
roles in sustainable development through their family
responsibility for food security and health, and thus they
are directly linked to the environment. Brazil's Maria Jos
Guazelli (in Dankelman & Davidson, 1987:120) adds "..it is
usually women who have been the first to organize and lead
ecological grassroots movements to press for change, perhaps
because we are directly involved with family affairs."
Others point to a more basic human drive, anger, as a
principal motivator of women activists. Farenthold in
'Garland, 1988:xvi) "Anger is often at the center of their
transformations from private actors in restricted universes
to public leaders in universes encompassing all the

important issues of the day."

23

It cannot be categorically accepted that women join the
environmental movement because of women’s biological
differences, or that women are closer to nature than men.
From the perspective of adult learning, it may be misleading
to look at women's motives of participating in the learning
process leading to specific social change as motives
peculiar to women as biological beings. In other words,
women may have motives different from men but it is not due
only to their biological state. Jaggar (1983:111) assures
us that "Human nature is both historical and biological, and
the two aspects are inseparable.” The socialization of
women may provide the clues toward understanding their
participation.

In reviewing the woman's movement and the ecology or
environmental movement, Brooks et al. (1988:15) have noted
that ”women's involvement in environmental issues has
paralleled the development of the women's movement." Among
the many overlapping themes are concern for the impact of
environmental degradation on health, the need for
alternative forms of social and economic development not
based upon domination and exploitation, and the need for
holistic approaches to problem solving. Merchant, (1980)
and Davies (1987) remind us that Betty Freiden's Feminine
Mystique, (1963) groundwork for the modern women’s
liberation movement and Rachel Carson's fillggt_§pzing,

(1962) groundwork for the modern environmental movement

24
appeared almost simultaneously. Merchant (1980) indicates
that both movements are critical of the costs of
uncontrolled growth, competition, aggression and domination.

Freudenberg (1984) describes the contributions that
feminists have made to the environmental movement. The
women’s movement has developed powerful techniques for
helping people transform their personal feelings into
political commitment and action such as the consciousness-
raising group, the speak-out, street theater, to help people
convert their emotional reactions to, say, toxic hazards
into strategies for change (Freudenberg, 1984).

Elizabeth May in Mowat (1990:248) shows that women
environmentalist leaders have given thought about why women
are in the forefront of environmentalism in Nova Scotia.
They say ”men are worried about speaking out for fear of
losing their jobs", ”women are a little freer to take on
these issues", "as mothers, we care about our children, and
so we get involved". Freudenberg (1984) claims that while
few female environmentalists may consider themselves
feminists, the overlapping themes of environmentalism and
feminism are reason for bonding and learning from one
another.

There is a wave of popular feminism that deserves
attention that is concerned with the ecology: eco-feminism.
Its tenets are that both woman and nature have suffered at

the hands of man (Firestone, 1970; d’Eaubonne, 1972; Daly,

25
1978 in Tuttle, 1986; Plumwood, 1981 in Stacey et al, 1981),
that woman’s mystical ties with natural cycles is basis of
celebration and of return to the biological nature of the
human existence that had been denied in socially imposed
roles of a male dominated culture (Griffen, 1978; Merchant,
1980; Bookchin, 1982; Tokar, 1987, Bulbeck, 1988) that
Nature is sacred, and raising children, comfortable habitats
and cohesive communities are the most highly productive work
of society rather than the most de-valued as under
patriarchal values. (Henderson, 1983) This new feminism
suggests that the survival of the earth is dependent on
feminists who commit themselves to nurturance rather than
conquest (Farenthold in Garland, 1988).

However, Segal (1987) and Gray (1982) balance this
perspective by reminding us of the contemporary nature of
notions that either man or woman is more in harmony with
nature. ”Each cultural period reworks the theme and
redefines the problem." (Segal, 1987:7). For her part, Gray
posits three myths: "that reality is hierarchical, i.e.
that diversity can be ranked; that generic Man can be above
nature in dominion; and that nature is feminine." (Gray,
1982:101). Both Segal and Gray present opinions that
counter extremism without discounting the issue. It is a
continuation of the argument and its rejection that women

are closer to nature. Eco-feminism is small but growing in

26
Canada that links aspects of the feminist and environmental
movements.

Eco-feminism is worldwide. The Chipko movement in
India, the tree huggers, heralded by environmentalist
Vandana Shiva, fought the conversion of native mixed forests
to monoculture of imported eucalyptus to maintain their
lifestyle that is dependent upon collection of firewood from
the mixed forests for their cooking.

The Gaia hypothesis was first advanced by James
Lovelock in 1972, a chemist working on the possibility of
life on Mars. It holds that "the evolution of the species
of living organisms is so closely coupled with the evolution
of their physical and chemical environment that together
they constitute a single and indivisible evolutionary
process" (in Borelli, ibid). Lovelock observed that the
components of the earth worked together as parts of a giant
system and itself behaved like a living creature which he
referred to as Gaia, the Greek goddess of the earth.

May (in Mowat 1990:248,249) articulates her perspective
that "women are essentially different from men. The things
that matter to us are different. We operate more from a
left-brained intuitive thought process. We are biologically
and spiritually connected to the cosmos, its planetary
shifts, the earth's tides and the phases of the moon. We
are more nurturing, more concerned with the flow and flux of

life - people feel ourselves part of Gaia, part of a living,

s~ erg-er ,

 

27
planetary whole that nurtures all of us. It is to Gaia that
we relate, to that universal life force which, given a
chance, will heal itself from the wounds inflicted upon her
by mankind. Women are, by nature, much more selfless than
men. Although predominantly unpaid, or at least lower paid
than their male counterparts, they tend to have the highest
profile at the grass-roots where their most tireless labors
are performed.” May has found that through her
environmentalism that women have sacrificed most for a
healthy future for their children because of their link to
the Earth and innate call to preserve it.

Gender sensitive research in human values leading to
behavior was embarked upon by Carol Gilligan who as
Kohlberg's assistant noticed that women were scoring lower
in the values hierarchy than men. In reviewing and
reinterpreting the data, supported by other studies she
found that women's values (in the samples) differed from
men's in the themes she used. This implies that if the
hierarchy was based on values expressed by women, the men
would not score as high in those themes. Gilligan (1982)
humbly qualifies (unlike her predecessors) that her results
neither generalize about either sex nor necessarily apply to
a wider population, across cultures or through time.

Nevertheless her results are a startlingly different mode of

interpretation that had heretofore been neglected by

28
theorists searching for how people learn, and at what stage
of learning or valuing, people decide to act.

The difference that Gilligan recorded had been noted by
Freud (1927:257-258) but who provided a more disparaging
analysis: "Women show less sense of justice than men, that
they are less ready to submit to the great exigencies of
life, that they are more often influenced in their
judgements by feelings of affection or hostility" (in
Gilligan, 1982:7). Lever, in the study of children playing,
concluded that boys were more interested in the rules, the
girls in the relationship. Virginia Woolf (1929) agrees
that the values of women are different than the values of
men, but, she reminds us, that it is the masculine values
which prevail. This argument might have been the
justification for gender omission if the values theorists of
the 508, 608 and 708 had been confronted.

Gilligan (1982) asserts that women see moral dilemmas
in terms as conflicting responsibilities, not in terms of
justice - society’s rules, as men see them. Her moral
problem solving hierarchy of values reveals three stages:
initial concern with survival (individual), concern with
goodness, and concern with care (other). The hierarchy
becomes a cycle, with the realization that self and other
are interdependent and that life can only be sustained by
care in relationships. She calls for the need for an adult

development theory that includes the "feminine voice“.

29

Women have reached mid-life with a different
psychological experience and social reality than men, but
also with a different understanding of that reality, based
on their knowledge of human relationships. She states that
women regard the need for interdependence as a given and not
something that is negotiable, thus limiting autonomy and
control. She concludes, as would many feminists and eco-
feminists though perhaps via different reasoning, that
women's development delineates the path not only to a less
violent life but also to a maturity realized through
interdependence and taking care (Gilligan, 1982:172).

The work of Belenky et al. (1986); Martin (1985); Lyons
(1983) and Melamed and Devine (1988) in Melamed & Devine
(1988) reinforces Gilligan's call for recreating theories to
include women's experience to account for their specificity
in learning, knowing and valuing. Melamed and Devine (1988)
applied a gender sensitive analysis to the Learning Style
Inventory (LSI) developed by Kolb in 1976. The LSI is based
on experiential learning theory of Dewey (1938) and Lewing
(1951). Kolb describes a cycle of four stages that are
integrated for learning to take place: immediate concrete
experience, reflection and observation, abstract concepts,
and generalizations and then around again as new experiences
grow out of the old. Melamed and Devine found that women
preferred a learning style that emphasized relationships

over individualism, collaboration over competition,

30
experience over abstraction, connectedness over separation,
and holistic over hierarchical approaches. These
particularities were obscured if women were subsumed into
categories that were not gender specific. These attributes
reflect the descriptors for their approach to nature and
humanity used by eco-feminists (Anderson, 1989) who claim to

bring specifically female values to a vision of the future.

Social Change and Citisens Groups

The area of social change holds that environmental
problems are rooted in social conditions. Proponents
maintain a responsible human but human first attitude
without the wholesale abandonment of technology. Nature
needs to be developed and applied by humans.

Murray Bookchin and others harshly condemn the deep
ecologists as espousing homilies from Taoism, Buddhism,
reborn Christianity and some cases ecofascism (Borelli,
1988:38). The social ecologists take a leftist view of
economics and would ride the old paradigm by revising
existing technologies, regulations, and social structures.
Hence a Red - Green debate.

Emergent analyses are at first represented by fringe
groups but fringe groups do have impact on moderate groups
in fuelling their philosophy and goals. The underlying
philosophy of empowerment is an important commonality found

in feminism, environmental groups and in adult learning. In

31
the movements, concepts of interconnectedness, holistic,
egalitarianism, and regaining harmony with nature;
rejection of dualism, ego-individualism and Cartesian
science occur and reoccur. These concepts grounded in
ecology are summed up by Henderson (1983) as eco-philosophy.
She suggests that eco-philosophy may contribute to the
ethics and value systems in preparation for, what she refers
to as, the Solar Age.

Several movements have risen in tandem, and by no
coincidence, in western industrialized nations: the
environmental movement, the peace movement, the anti-nuclear
movement and feminism. Bertell (1985) points out that
citizen protests focus directly on the major obstacles to
security and human growth in the global community. All of
them represent a deep concern with the effects of a society
that is dependent upon technology that represents short term
material or military gain and long term environmental
destruction, and that is reinforced by hierarchies of gender
and race. All of them are striving toward social change.

Characteristics of the new society that should be
present and absent are expressed. But, what the new society
should look like or how political power will be gained to
change society is not clearly defined by many groups. This
means that most of the environmental groups, at least, will
not go beyond fighting for their own backyards.

(Freudenberg, 1984) It is usually easier to identify the

32

problem, or at least its symptoms than its solution.
Nevertheless, environmentalists, feminists and peace
activists have begun to challenge the very foundations of
modern industrial society. Cotgrove (1982:71) concludes
that "The environmental movement has been forced to change
from a consensual to a conflictual movement, from a concern
with reform within a framework of consensual values to a
radical challenge to societal values. The change from a
norm-oriented to a value-oriented movement." The other
movements have also experienced this need to adopt a
confrontational approach to make their points. Their
members are becoming 'citizen scientists' in order to be
able to speak to experts, and to formulate educated
opinions.

Environmentalists' and feminists' concern for society
is illustrated by reflections upon history. Burch (1971)
states "Many historical societies, when confronted with
their own versions of a resource or environmental crisis
have perished rather than adapt to the new constraints."
Henderson (1983:207) explains that "historically, human
development can be viewed as many local experiments at
creating social orders of many varieties, but usually based
on partial concepts: i.e. those social orders, based on the
exploitation of nature, worked for some people at the
expense of other people. Furthermore they worked in the

short-term but have failed in the long-term. We now know

33
that such societies are impossible to maintain and that the
destabilisations on which they have built themselves are
affecting their internal, political stability and the global
stability of the planet." She concludes that the challenge
of using stress, evolution's tool, to develop an alternative

viable society with limited resources, is good news.

Adult Learning

An old debate in education is whether education should
reinforce the status quo or prepare for social change.
Continuing education courses, for example, better equip
individuals for a more successful participation in society
and would be labelled as maintaining the dominant value
system or the status quo. The individual aims to become a
more productive member of the dominant social paradigm.
Alternatively, education can represent a movement to reshape
society. The individual aims to take a position of more
control in resisting perceived negative aspects of society
and a position of power to reshape society according to the
individual's vision of a better world. These are goals of
either psychological or sociological change, though neither
need be mutually exclusive.

Education programs begin and are projected from within
social contexts. Both majority and minority culture can
promote self-realization in terms of social adjustment and

economic improvement within themselves. There is a trend

34
toward programs that promote cultural change and socio-
political change (Rivera, 1972). Adult education is
organized learning activities in which participation is
voluntary and the purpose is for individual or societal
change (Mclaren, 1985). It is concerned with the process
and the outcomes of learning. The process is how people
learn and bring about the experiences and the environment in
which they learn. The outcomes are the knowledge, skills
and attitudes which are acquired in the process. Roberts
(1979:37) expresses "...to start with states of tension and
to examine them, look all around them, see them and test
them in relation to others, and investigate alternative ways
of bringing them to a resolution..." Adult education is a
way of freeing the adult mind so that humanization becomes
an integral part of the human condition. Self-awareness
involves being critical of social, economic, and political
conditions in an effort to change existing institutions so
full humanization takes place (London, 1972). By
introducing the concept of 'conscientization' Freire
crystallized the social process by which people develop the
ability to transform their society through understanding the
socio-cultural reality which influences their lives.
Conscientization is the awakening of consciousness, self-
realization or self-awareness. Coady (1939), Freire (1971),

Lovett (1975), Mclaren (1985), are among the adult educators

35
who recorded experiences of adults able to influence their
society through their learning.

For adult educators directed to social change, action
is a natural and intended part of the learning process.
Some practitioners prefer to label social action as
community development or draw a distinction between adult
learning and community development. An example is Roberts
(1979) who makes a neat continuum for the process of adult
learning and community development. He lists the process
components of learning, action, reflection, evaluation,
revision of action, and so on. With the addition of action,
according to Roberts (1979:37), to the learning process,
community development takes place. He states "The
relationship of learning to community development has to do
with the relationship of learning to social change."

Motivation is clearly an issue in why and whether an
individual becomes involved in an adult learning process.
Motives dispose the individual for certain behavior and for
seeking certain goals. Motivation leads to approaching or
avoiding behavior (Kidd, 1959). Rivera (1972) expounds on
motivation: External circumstances, social conflict or
personal crisis could lead to motivation. Motivation is the
first important step to learning and change. "Adults only
change if they learn (consciously or unconsciously)."
(Rivera, 1972:58). The understanding derived from the

learning process involves new thought patterns, emotional

36
responses and interactive abilities. Following new
insights, the individual experiences a new sense of clarity,
confidence, and self-purpose. The degree of change depends
on a number of factors such as the actors involved, the
individual’s personality, attitudes, commitment to a cause,
reception by the environment of the new self, new attitudes
or new behavior, social status and others. This refocusing
of self may be in accord with a revitalized need for
affiliation, power, or achievement. Rivera identifies three
types of change in the adult learning process that may lead
to social structure maintenance or reconstruction. He views
the cultural identity change as the more radical as

illustrated in the following (Rivera, 1972:60):

ADULT LEARNING PROCESS

MOTIVATIONAL DEVELOPMENTAL CULTURAL
CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE
drive enhancement reduction in emotional l) rational
(power achievement) conflict (cultural-political
awareness)

2) irrational
(religious experience)

PERSONAL CHANGE PERSONAL CHANGE
TENDING TO FOSTER TENDING TO FOSTER
SOCIAL-STRUCTURE SOCIAL-STRUCTURE
MAINTENANCE RECONSTRUCTION

Figure 1. Adult Learning Process

37

The cultural change is similar to the social change
aspect in adult learning or the results of Freire's
conscientization and praxis. Developmental change is
reminiscent to Festinger's theory of cognitive dissonance.
Once doubt or conflict is removed from the individual's
state of mind, conviction takes place and action may take
place if the individual is inclined.

Critics of adult learning appreciate the power of the
process of learning but accuse the movement of being an
anaemic ally in social change. The adult learning movement
is absent from the forefront of local initiative and
community action (Lovett, 1975). Adult educators may voice
concern for social change but their concept of change
focuses upon individual self-fulfillment rather than radical
social change because adult educators have a 'trained
incapacity' to servethe disadvantaged in our society
(London, 1972). The field is accused of not understanding
women's experience and aspirations and of being slow in
responding to the interests of women as an oppressed group,
though it is acknowledged to have contributed to the growth
of the working class movement (Mclaren, 1985). Another
criticism points to the lack of strong theory and, as a
result, an inability to adequately serve the adult learner.
Welton (1987:vii) asserts that "...it has become evident
that the world has not been moving in an emancipatory

direction. Our theoretical resources have not been adequate

38
to the task of comprehending the complexities of adult
learning or of knowing how to change the world." Welton
challenges that more heed should be paid to socio-historical
modes of thought and the social construct of knowledge and
less to psychologizing, to advance adult learning.

Adult learning clearly has a role to play in social
change. In the environment movement, individuals and groups
have been moved by circumstances to address a problem that
has required them to seek knowledge, identify processes of
learning and behaving, themselves changing while always
keeping in mind the goal of making inroads on changing the
social structure.

A host of researchers have tried to measure ecological
beliefs and behaviors. Gray (1985) has done a massive job
in compiling these works to bring attention to inventories
and scales that have been developed for this task. Among
these are Weigel's (1977) Environmental Concern Scale,
Edgar's (1971) Science, Nature and Survival on Man (SNSM)
Scale Form II, Dunlap and Van Liere's (1978) New
Environmental Paradigm Scale, and Ramsey and Rickson's
(1976) in Gray (1985) multiple topic measures. Many of
these were attempts to correlate attitudes and behavior; to
determine what attitude an environmentally active person
might have. Different levels of attitude are measured
against different environmental topics, most frequently

pollution and conservation but also population and energy.

39
It is remarkable that none of the scales created and tested
appeared to be gender sensitive. Gray (1985:58) notes that
by the early 1970's behavioral scientists, disillusioned
with inconsistencies in correlation, felt that the concept
of attitudes was no longer quite useful. Langton (1984:188)
also mentioned the paucity of evidence that a change in
belief systems produces a change in behavior, with reference
to environmental beliefs. A theory was needed to more fully
accommodate the role of society in human development.
Perhaps here commenced or recommenced the debate between
personality and situation; which directs the individual.
Many environmentalists turned to Festinger's (1957)
cognitive dissonance theory. Cognitive dissonance theory
suggests that behavior is changed in accordance with
societal demands such as laws or level of public awareness
and concern about environmental issues. Habitual behavior
becomes internalized to attitude. Bem (1972 in Gray, 1985)
claims that individuals come to know their attitudes by
observing their own behavior in particular situations. If
an original attitude held prior to a relevant behavior is
dissonant to the behavior, then an attitude change would
occur. He sums up that personality mediates, not directs,
the effects of situational influences on behavior and
experience. The debate whether personality or situation

dominates human behavior continues on.

 

40

The molding of the individual by society is reflected
in Swartz's norm activation model (1974, 1977 in Langton,
1984). He assumes that social expectations of society's
perceived positive behaviors represents moral norms.
Positive behavior is induced in individuals by the
consequences of the act on others and the feeling of
responsibility for the acts. Thus high consequences and
high responsibility should lead to high pro-environmental
behavior.

Langton (1984:165) asserts that except for attention
focused on pollution and conservation, few attempts have
been made to change specific ecological attitudes and
behaviors using an informational approach. Indeed major
efforts have been made in the last five years in
environmental education at all levels of schooling and
community and using assorted media. But, if this assertion
is to be accepted, surely it is a gauntlet for adult
learning to retrieve. Langton iterates the need for new
structures and new roles to have impact on the total life-
style. He reinforces the existing assumptions that
solutions to environmental problems are both technical and
social and that while the social may be a more determinant
factor in determining the outcome, it has been more
neglected (Burch, Cheek & Taylor, 1972; Ehrlich & Ehrlich,
1970; Leff, 1978; Maloney & Ward, 1973; Pirages & Ehrlich,

1974 in Langton, 1984). Kuhn’s changing paradigm theory

41

that new knowledge, such as through direct experience or
formal or nonformal education, causes conflict with old
knowledge and may lead to acceptance of the new knowledge
and rejection of the old or even provide a new vision or
direction. While emotionally based conversion can be rapid,
well informed change in knowledge is gradual. Using the New
Environmental Paradigm as a case in point, the new dominant
group values would emerge favoring ecology, including
beliefs that affirm limited growth and living in harmony
with nature (Dunlap & Van Liere, 1978 in Langton, 1984).

Langton has turned to education theorist taxonomies for
evaluating environmental education. Bloom's hierarchy of
learning, of 1956, gives environmentalists a six stage
hierarchy for the process of learning: knowledge,
comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and
evaluation. Overt behavior appears in the third level at
'application'. There has been little if any gender
sensitive testing of this hierarchy. Krathwohl et al.
(1964) established a taxonomy for the affective domain
listing in order of hierarchy: awareness and receiving,
responding, valuing, organizing of a value system,
characterizing. Overt behavior or action has a primary
position throughout the hierarchy. Another hierarchy,
values clarification (Raths, Harmin 5 Simon, 1966, Superka,
Ahrens, Hedstrom, Ford, 8 Johnson, 1976), action concludes

the seven steps: discovering alternatives, choosing

42
thoughtfully, prizing one's choice, affirming one's choice,
acting upon one's choice, acting repeatedly over time.
Again, gender sensitive testing of the hierarchies, however
they have proven valuable, seems not to be in evidence.

In conclusion, adult learning has been analyzed
according to steps, hierarchies and stages but has not been
studied in depth according to gender. Its contribution to
social change is acknowledged from a theoretical
perspective, yet there remains a paucity of conceptual
frameworks from which to launch research. The role of adult
learning in environmentalism is a new field, particularly as
it applies to women. This study uses a grounded theoretical
basis to search for a conceptual framework appropriate to

the three bases of knowledge.

CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY

"CHARTING THE CRUSADE"

Introduction

The purpose of the study was to investigate the role of
adult learning among women in the environmental movement in
Ontario. The chapter begins with an orientation to
principles of grounded theory methodology that provides
guideposts to the study. Following is an account of the
need for a grounded theory approach in the study. Lastly is
a description of the methodology used in this study.

According to Strauss and Corbin (1991:24) grounded
theory is a qualitative research method that uses a
systematic set of procedures to develop an inductively
derived grounded theory about a phenomenon. The research
findings constitute a theoretical formulation of the reality
under investigation.

Glaser and Strauss claim that grounded theory meets the
four essential criteria for a practical theory: a theory
must have fit, relevance, must work (Glaser and Strauss,

1967) and be modifiable (Glaser, 1978). To have fit, the

43

44
categories or conceptual elements of the theory must be
consistent with the data.

For a theory to work, it must provide an adequate
explanation of what happened, predict what will happen and
interpret what is happening in the area of the study.
Systematic data gathering and analysis ensures that the
theory will work.

A theory that is modifiable if it can evolve and change
in response to expanded understanding of the problem area.
Core concepts of the theory may be unchanged though
qualifying aspects may change. Grounded Theory extends
beyond the major area of study and the existing theories
related to the focus of study.

To achieve grounded theory, Glaser (1978) has
identified 10 steps: 3

1. Identify a general problem area. Research

questions are generated in a problem area that serve

as a basis for and a focus for the study.

2. Review the literature in areas related to the

substantive area of study. The purpose is to broaden

perspective and knowledge base. Glaser suggests
reading in the substantive area of study when the
emerging theory is sufficiently grounded by prior data
collection. It becomes part of the emerging
theoretical framework, but not upon which research is

conducted as in deductive research.

 

45
3. Collect research data. Theoretical sampling is
data collection for theory generation and is the
process of jointly collecting, coding and analyzing
data to then determine what data to collect next and
where to find them. Constant comparisons of the data
feeds more abstract levels of theoretical connections
so that theory is built up inductively from progressive
stages of analysis of data (Glaser, 1978:39). Initial
decisions are made for the start of data collection but
any leads for further data that support the purpose and
relevance of the research may be followed. Theoretical
sampling serves to monitor the emerging conceptual
framework instead of verifying preconceived hypotheses.
Data sources are selected that will help generate as
many properties of the categories as possible and that
will help relate the categories to each other and their
properties. Data from groups that are not comparable,
may be useful for creating ideas in behavioral or
attitudinal patterns.
4. Concurrently with #3, code and analyse data.
Coding links data and theory. Data are placed in the
categories and properties that have emerged and these
in turn provide the basis for a theoretical framework.
Each indicator with the other and to the emerging

conceptual code. Conceptual codes are compared to each

46

other. These codes, grounded in data make up the
generated theory.
5. Generate memos with as much saturation as possible.
Memos are notes of ideas about codes and their
relationships as they strike the analyst while coding.
6. Decide what data to collect next.
7. Continue data collection, analysis, coding and
memoing while focusing on emerging core theory. As
codes are generated, identify core categories or "main
themes". Criteria for core categories are such as:

- categories must be related to several categories

and their properties,

reoccur frequently in the data.

has clear implications for theory

it is essential to the analysis of the data

it is a highly dependent variable in degree,
dimension and type. Conditions vary it
easily.

8. Write memos on data, memos on memos until

saturation is achieved.

9. Sort memos to develop a theoretical framework.

Sorting reassembles dissected data in the form of memos

and is the basis for formulating theory. Sorting is

completed when the problem under study is explained

with the fewest number of concepts and the greatest

possible scope including as much variation as possible.

 

The th
and mo

10. '

The W
:czfim or
35,331de
au' (Glas
Straus
gamed th'
:ftheorY b'
waging. h‘
as it exist!
conditions.

mflexive. l

47
The theory that emerges will continue to be enriched
and modified.

10. Write and rewrite the report.

The whole process serves to build theory rather than to
confirm or negate existing theory. "Theory is built up
inductively for the progressive stages of analysis of the
data" (Glaser, 1978:39).

Strauss and Corbin explain (1991:104 - 112) that
grounded theory is an action/interactional oriented method
of theory building. Action/interaction is directed at
:managing, handling, carrying out, responding to a phenomenon
as it exists in context or under a specific set of perceived
conditions. It is processual, purposeful, and may be

reflexive, has consequences and is verifiable.

Rationale for Research Methodology

The purpose of the investigation was to study women, as
adult learners, in the environmental movement in Ontario.
There was very little written about women as adult learners
or about women in the environmental movement to produce any
guiding hypotheses. The research was intended to probe the
response of a particular population to a phenomenon to
examine the emergent concepts. A descriptive qualitative
:research approach was selected with the purpose of producing

grounded theory .

The methodology
analysis of all the .
he emergent hypothe
dearth of laterial o
particular, in the e
:ise of environmenta
men in environment
the study explores t

nto‘theses to be fur

The problem are
:fadult learning fc
Silvio. Adult lea:
Jplicitly and eXpli
Even in the enviror

hit ‘
m“? Charactei

Strauss and Cox

48

The methodology is based on a constant comparative
analysis of all the data and the conclusions of the study,
the emergent hypotheses, are grounded in the data. The
dearth of material on women as adult learners and, in
jparticular, in the environmental movement contrasts to the
rise of environmental awareness and activity in Ontario of
‘women in environmental or more generally focused groups.
The study explores their experience to present initial

hypotheses to be further developed.

Problem Area
The problem area for the study was to explore the role
of adult learning for women in the environmental movement in
‘Ontario. Adult learning is critical to social change,
implicitly and explicitly. Investigating adult learning and
‘women in the environmental movement in Ontario is a means of

:monitoring characteristics of current social change.

Research Questions
Strauss and Corbin (1991:38) state that the research
question in a grounded theory study is a statement that
identifies the phenomenon to be studied. Grounded theory
qmestions tend to be oriented toward action and process.

Guiding the study were these research question:

:. How do vc
activis

that are
enviror
others
Researc

Literviews,

in the cor

The row
Wilding a
I: 5150 pro!
rElevant to
l, ‘

“a the r91

31"!-

‘W On
15-

49

1. How do women in the environmental movement learn to be
activists?

2. What are the implications of the learning of female
environmental activists on their lives and the lives of
others near them?

Research questions provided the bases for the
interviews, data collected and the resultant hypotheses that

form the conclusion.

Review of the Literature

The review of the literature was very important in
providing a social and philosophical context for the study.
It also provided a base of knowledge which was not always
relevant to the respondents. Hypotheses did not percolate
from the review. Feminism, adult learning and
environmentalism rarely merge in the literature, in any
combination, much less the three topics together. There are
points of convergence. A merge between feminism and
environmentalism does appear as ecofeminism, a specific view
of women and interconnectedness with Nature. Principles of
feminist pedagogy appear to be borrowed from or at least
similar to andragogy. Environmentalism approached adult
learning only in Finger's concept of "environmental
transformation." The review indicated a paucity of the

convergence.

The litera
it provided inf
tree fields.

3 likely to be
axial values.

research. Lite
pragmatic and r
for achieving g
guidance for ex
and women's pa:

393' are the mi

The data

a
I. e

...eyv

r4

9'5 of

use reSapbhde

fair

Omenta 1
.‘\

II"; .
“"Vlties .

50

The literature could be considered "technical" in that
it provided information about what has been written in the
three fields. Literature on environmentalism and feminism
is likely to be ideological and provided a discussion on
social values. In fact it represented the substance of the
research. Literature on adult learning is likely to be
pragmatic and provided insights on means through education
for achieving goals for social change. It represented
guidance for analysis. Key to the environmental movement
and women's participation in it is the existence of groups.

They are the media of adult learning.

Data Sources

The data from the study were derived from personal
interviews of the study participants. There were forty
three respondents, members of nineteen groups, both
environmental and women's groups, in seventeen locations in
the province of Ontario. Only women were selected as
respondents and members of groups involved in environmental
activities. When the interview results began to repeat, the
number of interviews was deemed to be sufficient.

The interview took from 45 to 60 minutes. The longer
interviews included an extensive description by the
respondent of the issue which stimulated the formation of
the group. These descriptions assisted in understanding the

context of the adult learning.

All the .
:2 interview
nations and
respondents 01
goblens and a
tile their a:
:ey were key
respondents a:
manication
:‘SPOnses und.
Eaningful on
Prnided to t:

Anecdote

51

All the interviews were conducted by the researcher.
The interview format was semi-structured using open ended
questions and predetermined probing questions. The
respondents often chose to describe the waste management
problems and dilemmas that the groups faced and handled.
While their anecdotes were not always key to the research,
they were key to the context of the adult learning of the
respondents and key to the interviewer-respondent
communication. Many respondents, keen to have their
responses understood, felt that their replies were
meaningful only in the context of the full story which they
provided to the interviewer.

Anecdotes of the early interviews were particularly
important. They pointed to new and important areas of
investigation that were included in the research. The
anecdotes also provided insights beyond the interview that
indicated some of the negative aspects of the activism
experience from a personal or societal perspective.

The issues that provided the experience from which the
respondents based their answers had almost always been very
intense for the respondent. It became apparent early on
that directing questions to extract answers from such
intensity required a particular approach. The issues were
often political and had caused rifts in communities
resulting in suspicion. A neutral academic investigation

about adult learning was not regarded by the respondents as

graft from the 15511
(empathy for th
:ttis way was not
and interest gro
he interviewer was
5:3: one group to t
reinforce their cor.
Open-ended que

:5 open ended quest
19,4} and Borg and
' they allow t
While the

’ they help pu
resPOnden
informati

' they are nor
and attit
attitudes

. they are 1&5

. they help an

52

apart from the issues. The interviewer expressed interest
and sympathy for the role and position of the respondent and
in this way was not taken as a researcher representing a
vested interest group opposing the efforts of the group.
The interviewer was able to bring the issues and experiences
from one group to the attention of another group to
reinforce their commitment, effort and positions.

Open-ended questions were appropriate. Characteristics
of open ended questions are described by Stewart and Cash

(1974) and Borg and Gall (1979).

they allow the respondent to do most of the talking
while the interviewer listens and observes.

they help put the respondent at ease because the

respondent can determine the nature and amount of

information to be given.

they are more effective in learning about feelings
and attitudes and the intensity of feelings and
attitudes of the respondent.

- they are less likely to lead the respondent to

respond in one way or another.

they help enable the interviewer to determine the

respondents frame of reference or stereotypes.

The disadvantages apply especially when there is more
than one interviewer or one which is inexperienced. Neither

‘was the case in this research.

The interview
zan'iever found t
:a'nity experienc
relevant to the end
flange of informa
:‘miever and res
rinot simply for

With responden
ca taken as the r
teresWildents' an
ifcrrat according
:tarriev and later

liégary .

Dori

The stUdy POpu
«groups actiVe in
tierive womanls P
vironmentaliSm

‘r.
s. en

3‘s

“"e’lient source

53

The interview atmosphere was interactive. The
interviewer found that she had gained information about
community experience from respondent's anecdotes that was
relevant to the endeavor of subsequent respondents. The
exchange of information allowed a dialogue between
interviewer and respondent that was useful to both parties
and not simply for the benefit of the interviewer.

With respondents' permission, copious interview notes
were taken as the respondents spoke. These notes included
the respondents' anecdotes. The notes were then entered in
a format according to the questionnaire shortly after the
interview and later compiled on tables according to response

category.

Defining the Study Population

The study population was restricted to female members
of groups active in environmentalism. The study was meant
to derive women's points of view about women's involvement
in environmentalism from the perspective of adult learning,
hence only women were selected. Environmental groups were a
convenient source of respondents. It turned out that the
groups the respondents belonged to were important references
to the experience of the respondents. The interview
questions and answers were adjusted to further acknowledge

the role of the group. It became evident that literature on

rest of groups on
ejerience vas essei

Ho age limits l
fined as responde:
acarted the wide v.

ective that is

I
p
-u

tie age grouping b‘
seals, ethnic backi
atrrities. This 0
:srest in the par
Eagersnt vas cons
Pegacrdents to prov
can respondents .
host responden
“Kcmental grOUp
235948. Some we
tough the Eastern

h»
\.:”D_,‘

I)“.
{~3flent.

54
impact of groups on individuals and on synergy of the group
experience was essential to the foundation of the study.

No age limits were placed upon respondents. The study
allowed as respondent any female environmentalist. It
accepted the wide variation of experience, learning and
perspective that is derived from respondents of not only a
wide age grouping but also from differences in education
levels, ethnic backgrounds, family size and income
activities. This open policy was upheld because the
interest in the particular environmental issue of waste
management was considered a strong enough factor among the
respondents to provide the common denominator linking the
women respondents.

Most respondents were found through the listing of
environmental groups in the Ontario Environmental Network
catalogue. Some were found through local contacts and
through the Eastern Ontario Review Committee on Waste
Management, a coalition of municipalities active in waste
management. Only waste management groups were selected.
They were contacted by telephone and by letter of
introduction. The contact person generally suggested other
prospective respondents active in the group. The research
was done in the summer months and the number of available
respondents was reduced as many were out of town.

Almost everyone contacted was enthusiastic about

participating in the study. Some felt that this was another

.31.; to contribute
articipatinq in '
teir commitment-
:f 'issue fatigue
as irrelevant tc
:terviev schedul
ai'raace. Responc‘

irtervieved in t)

The first t]
Festionnaire (A.
”-5 rearranged t

”SPGndents ,

55
way to contribute to the environmental movement. For most,
participating in the study was a positive reinforcement of
their commitment. Two were unwilling to participate because
of ”issue fatigue" and one other felt that the questionnaire
was irrelevant to her approach to environmentalism. The
interview schedule was determined by telephone calls in
advance. Respondents were, in every case but two,

interviewed in their own home.

Interview Protocol

The first three interviews were used to adjust the
questionnaire (Appendix I). The sequence of the questions
was rearranged to provide a more logical flow for the
respondents.

Respondents were visited per location in central,
western and eastern Ontario in four trips out of Ottawa.

Respondents were generally interviewed in their homes
at prearranged times. This was a convenient arrangement
especially for the majority of female respondents who were
minding children during the summer. This arrangement also
added to the ease felt by the respondents during the
interview.

The interviewer presented herself to the respondent
with a self introduction and a statement of the purpose of
the interview. Very often in the course of the interview, a

discussion would ensue with probing questions by the

gmiewer t0 gaj
gge adult learr
agondents. The
:sassion with t1
angling with s:
Liividual experic
researcher was ke]
;:=:;s provided a
:alged verify tha‘
:‘r‘ezent of like-1
The opening .
Top-cadent reflec
‘S‘v'irormentalism
{€51 lead. Thes

ogomentalism

In the Cours

the . .
The
nk You Is
333};

56
interviewer to gain a broader understanding of the context
of the adult learning in environmentalism experienced by the
respondents. The interviewer was able to enrich the
discussion with the experience of other environmental groups
struggling with similar issues, although, of course,
individual experience that had been entrusted to the
researcher was kept confidential. This contribution to the
groups provided a more macro context for the groups that
helped verify that their activism was part of a larger
movement of like-minded groups struggling for similar goals.

The opening and closing questions were to enable
respondent reflection upon her initiation into
environmentalism and upon her projections where the movement
might lead. These questions touched upon the context of
environmentalism in which the adult learning took place.

In the course of the interview discussion, it became
apparent in the first interview that the interview guide had
focused only upon women as adult learners, but not as adult
educators themselves. Questions were quickly formulated to

probe this important phenomenon.

Interview Follow-up
Thank you letters were sent to the key persons in each
location who assisted with the selection of respondents and
places of the interviews. The letter often included

relevant articles and contacts for the individuals and for

:ie groups. The
22 respondents .
:esocndents netwc

:finterests in c

)
Within a wee
melcation to a
:1: on compute]
assist with late}
5:: later use.
Memos were i
1'3: the data. 1
“fie activists

‘23“ provided a

57
the groups. The researcher had not previously known any of
the respondents. The researcher continued as part of the
respondents network after the interview with the discovery

of interests in common and information mutually beneficial.

Management of Interview Date

Within a week of the interview and if possible, from
one location to another, the contents of the interview was
input on computer disk according to a format that was to
assist with later analysis. Useful quotations were flagged
for later use.

Memos were written to cite particular phenomena arising
from the data. Memos were also written to record the issues
of the activists that were peripheral to the study, yet

which provided a social context for the interviews.

Coding
Coding, according to Strauss and Corbin (1991:61) is
the process of analyzing data and open coding is the process
of breaking down, examining, comparing, conceptualizing, and
categorizing data. Open coding pertains to the naming and
categorizing of phenomena through close examination of the
data. In this research open coding was done first sentence
analysis to search for major ideas and then by perusing the
whole questionnaire for phenomenon. During the early course

of data collection and discourse with the respondents,

58
certain phenomenon became evident that had not been directly
sought in the questionnaire. The questionnaire was revised
to include them. These phenomenon were named and categories
to include relevant data were established. The categories
took on dimensions and properties as they became more
clearly defined throughout the research.

Axial coding is reassembling data in new ways by making
connections between a category and its subcategories to make
a main category (Strauss & Corbin, 1991:97). In axial
coding, patterns appear that give grounded theory
specificity (Strauss & Corbin, 1991:131). Both inductive
and deductive thinking systematize and solidify connections
between categories.

Then, once the emergent categories and subcategories
are identified, a core category is systematically selected
and related to the other categories. Strauss and Corbin
(1991:116) refer to this process as selective coding.

The data are not only related at a broad conceptual
level but at a more detailed level of dimension and property
for each major category for the rudiments of theory (Strauss
and Corbin, 1991:133). Validating the theory against the
data, through diagrammatic or narrative memos, completes the

grounding. (Strauss and Corbin, 1991:133)

59
Date worksheets

No preordained categories were assigned for data
compilation. Instead, each interview was reworked into a
data worksheet using a table format. This method allowed a
perspective on adult learning of the environmental activists
to emerge and to direct the data analysis.

The data worksheets were studied and then the tables
were selected. Those tables that lead the study in what was
judged to be a less significant direction were set aside for
separate analysis. Some of the tables were combined
according to relevance and subject so that the most relevant

tables were used to further the immediate analysis.

Validity of Data

Validity concerns the accuracy of the data collected.
In most ethnographic research, the researcher attempts to
meet subjective adequacy as is found in Homan!s indices
(1950) and cited by Janesick (1977):

1. Spending as much Elma as possible with the persons

being studied.

2. Conducting the research in the same plaga the

persons being studied live and work.

3. Observing the subject in as many §Qg1a1_ggn§ax§§ as

possible.

4. Speaking the same languaga as the subjects.

5. AChiEVing
subjects as E
5. Obtaininc.
observations
The responder
“:ed the researc
might. The re
23:11 meetings a
mixed during t}
The research
3;:ndents lived
“Place identi:
The responde:
:ztexts - as a m
Q'L'Iity and as
The Ehglish
*fi-cndents Vere
“31‘s their firs
Intimacy was
in then- 110111

Hi’ distantes t

60

5. Achieving as great a degree of iatimagy with the

subjects as possible through multiple contacts.

6. Obtaining a ggafizmatioa of the meanings of the

observations from the subjects being observed.

The respondents were met in their locality and often
hosted the researcher as a guest, for meals, tea or
overnight. The researcher attended group meetings, town
council meetings and informal meetings of respondents that
occurred during the time of the research.

The research was conducted in the same place as the
respondents lived, in most cases their homes, in two cases,
in a place identified by them in their towns.

The respondents were observed in several social
contexts - as a member of the group, as a member of the
community and as a member of a family.

The English language was used in every case. All
respondents were fluent in English, though English was not
always their first tongue.

Intimacy was achieved with the respondents by meeting
them in their homes. The interviewer, who was travelling
long distances to meet with the respondents, was often
invited to share meals with the respondents' families, spend
the night in their homes or attend group or town council
meetings with them. The interviewer's interest in the
community context of the environmental issues encouraged

respondents' anecdotes. The interviewer progressively found

:2tshe could offer
asrelevant to the
ancients, a trust
.11an to be interv
;;;::tive informati
several cases, inch
rated, the responc
crisps or meeting
21;. In two locat.
52:13: to the rese.
3;:3dents. A let
Entenievs COUl
tiered,
Confirmation C
3:17-35 of the res
all the interviews

'21., e .
“Sanding was t

61

that she could offer experience of other communities that
was relevant to the respondents. For many of the
respondents, a trust had to be established for them to be
willing to be interviewed. The interviewer's sympathy and
supportive information assisted in building this trust. In
several cases, including cases where trust had to be
created, the respondents invited the researcher to attend
workshops or meetings or even to participate in a conference
call. In two locations a landfill contractor bore a name
similar to the researcher which sparked suspicion among the
respondents. A letter from the university allayed doubt and
the interviews could proceed well. Sufficient intimacy was
achieved.

Confirmation of meanings was raised at informal
meetings of the respondents and the respondents concurred
with the interviewer's understanding of meanings. This

understanding was then recorded in a memo.

Reliability of Data
Reliability concerns the replicability and consistency
of the findings. Qualitative studies do not depend upon the
conventional tools that impose reliability. Reliability was
safeguarded in this study by the conducting of all the
interviews by the same experienced interviewer. The
consistent interview format was a factor in reliability as

it gathered the information in the same areas of inquiry.

 

raiderstanding of
a.“ case so that 1
start to prevent
sceived. Careful
:=:sposition into
3-7-Pcrted reliabil

titer study fol l

ethology.

Data Collecti
Emulation are ti
immately becaus
Breass 8 Corbin.
is reformulation
litables of the

rubies and the]

.»
h‘

..s.

l
‘ :

62
An understanding of the environmental issues was sought in
each case so that the information was provided with a
context to prevent misunderstanding of the information
received. Careful documentation of the interviews and their
transposition into common tables on data worksheets
supported reliability. Similar data would be derived in
another study following procedures outlined in the study's

methodology.

Analysis of Data

Data Collection and data analysis in grounded theory
formulation are tightly interwoven processes and must occur
alternately because the analysis directs the sampling
(Strauss 8 Corbin, 1991, p.58). Analysis of data began with
the reformulation of the data from the interview record onto
the tables of the data worksheet, followed by the combining
of tables and then with the precursory summaries of the
tables. Memos articulated meanings that emerged from this
process. Each interview or data worksheet was inspected for
its individuality and for similarities that occurred with
other interviews that were indications for main themes.
Dated memos recorded the progression of thought as the
worksheets were reviewed.

As no other study of this nature had been located, no
predetermined categories had been identified that could

direct the study. Comparing and contrasting the interview

:laaa seemed ine:
2: data manipul.
22:35.5 restric
:e::gr.ition of

as: meaningful

Limitatior
:tegration of
relaxed by not
research had ix
rte conclusiw
Fissibilities «
fraterial or

1. data pr
rre descripti
Supported
iii-gas the re

2e .t

63
data seemed ineffectual and meaningless. Thus these methods
of data manipulation were unsuitable for this study. These
methods restricted the meaning of the study. The
recognition of main themes directed the study toward the

most meaningful use of the data.

Limitations

Limitations of the research methodology are these. The
integration of the gender questions in the research was
weakened by not including men into the sample. If the
research had included male environmentalists in the sample,
more conclusive evidence could be given in stating
possibilities of differences in learning styles, selection
of material or interpretation of learning.

A data profile of the respondents would have provided
more description of the learners. The data profile would
have supported emergent hypotheses that the learning and
changes the respondents experienced may have, in part, been

due to respondents' characteristics.

he dat
need 56
”sane-i; he!
sting; Ge
Serelcpment
s;;;ficant
a‘g’t. Th
:erlorat

reacted i

 

 

 

CHAPTER IV
FINDINGS

"THE INIIDBL OR THE CHOSEN"

Introduction

The data illuminated several categories which will be
discussed separately: Development of Activism; What was
Learned; Method of Learning, Personal Changes and Adult
Learning; Gender and the Environment. The first category,
Development of Activism, turned out to be the most
significant finding of the study. It is described at
length. The last category, Gender and the Environment, was
an exploratory topic in the study and the results are
presented in that light.

Except for the first category, the categories followed
the structure of the questionnaire and the data sought.
The first category emerged throughout the course of the
questionnaire and throughout the course of the interviews.

The Development of Activism category describes
characteristics found in the activists interviewed. The
What was Learned category relates what items of learning the
respondents found significant in supporting their activism.
The Way of Learning category describes how the respondents

learned best. The Personal Changes and Adult Learning

64

 

 

 

2:5;317 ShO's'S l
:3;ed as a res
2e environmenta
ecloratory cats
r-sgcnients of r
I“: this dif f ere

2: environment.

lzegory 1: Del"

The survey
3:2310gy of e:
tenement beca:

“ I
" EX.3"er‘i¢ar:(:es '

65
category shows in what way the respondents feel they have
changed as a result of their participation as activists in
the environmental movement. Gender and the Environment, the
exploratory category, presents the perceptions of the
respondents of how men and women differ, and their reasons
for this difference, or do not differ in their concern for

the environment.

Categories of Findings

Category 1: Development of Activism

The survey was, in part, designed to investigate the
chronology of experiences and events describing how the
respondent became an activist. It revealed not a chronology
of experiences, but, instead, the many similar
characteristics in the respondents' development of activism
that could not be arranged chronologically as stages or
phases. Some characteristics appear to occur simultaneously
or in conjunction with one another. For example, feeling or
interest sometimes occurred as a reaction to the event or
leading to or as a result of indirect action. Or the event
and indirect action intensified the feeling or interest.
The characteristics in the development of activism category
are stated in subcategories. The subcategories are
presented in Table 1 below.

The Development of Activism subcategories are given

descriptors that are referred to as properties to help with

 

66

Table 1: Characteristics of Development of Activism

PROPERTY IN
ACTIVISN

ADULT LEARNING

 

A. Feeling or
‘ Interest

Awareness
Conscientization

Predisposition to
activism and to
focused learning

 

8. Reaction to Event

Sense of Injustice
Anger, Indignance

Shaking of moral
equilibrium,
Cognitive dissonance

 

C. Individual Action

Rooting commitment
Efforts for impact

Knowledge, practice

 

 

I D. Group Action

Strong commitment
Mobilization for
overcoming
injustice

Praxis (Freire)

 

E. Lifestyle Change

Internalization
Commitment/values
in practice

Empowerment

 

F. Sphere of

Positive Contact

Extension of ideals

 

 

 

: Influence with others
G. Introspection Reflection Evaluation
‘ Revision of ideals,
practice
8. Change in Mode of Commitment Synthesis (Bloom) of

Action,in Attitude,
‘ in Overall Approach

measured for
demands of life

  
  

experience,
knowledge to other
aspects of life

 

I. World View

 

 

Incorporation of
Spiritual Values

 

  
 
 

Environmental
Transformation
(Finger)

 

the interpretation of the subcategories in the context of

the respondents' actual situations.

elaboration of the subcategories.

The properties are an

The adult learning

analysis is an effort to translate the phenomena in the

subcategories in more conventional adult learning

terminology as much as possible.

 

 

67
Feeling or Interest. Most of the respondents had developed
an interest in Nature or in the Environment at an early age.
This interest was due to, for example, farm backgrounds,
parental occupation or interest. This provided a foundation
for later active and fervent interest. For some,
environmentalism was a growing awareness or a feeling that
seeped into their consciousness over time. The awareness
may have been or nurtured by such as living on a farm,
parents' influence, or raising children, or stimulated by
media, consumerism, or a news release or living locality or
family situation. ”I have been interested for a long time,
since the 60’s and 70's, but not hugely active, as a
student, at work, beginning a family, in small town rural
Ontario.” The interest whether passive, general or fervent
pointed to a predisposition for activism and focused adult

learning.

Reaction to an Event. Many respondents became activists as
a result of an event that impacted upon their local
environment that triggered a reaction in the respondent.

The event disturbed the respondents' sense of justice or
rights as a citizen. Respondents related such disturbing
events in their immediate locale as: " The prospect of 3000
tonnes of unsorted garbage per day to be burned here every
day." or "In 1985, I looked out the window facing the river

and saw the Blob (perchlorethalyene) from a Dow Chemical

 

 

's
sf‘
:6..

a

 

I
ea”
...—

'm-O

ah:

I”‘
mem‘

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.‘ am

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ma
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I ...

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‘5
‘4
a,“
h
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\=
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"V

 

|

!
s‘fl‘
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68
spill and learned there was no chemical testing of private
water." or "A landfill site on my in-laws first class
farmland."

These sorts of events have been labelled Nimbyism, the
"not in my backyard" syndrome, whereby individuals become
activists due to the disinclination to have a facility built
near their homes. One respondent stated her reaction as:
"Extreme Nimbyism to the plan to build a toxic waste dump
right behind our ten acre lot.” The insinuation is that if
the facility were to be planned further away from them, they
would not be involved or less concerned. In some cases the
respondents stated that Nimbyism was the cause of their
initial involvement but as their knowledge and awareness
grew, they realized the interconnectedness of environmental
problems and the necessity to become involved wherever they
were.

Others reacted to a situation less immediately
threatening to their community but to a situation that for
them was an indicator of a wrong in today’s society. "It
was garbage. I felt guilty about everything I was throwing
away. I had nightmares. I had to do something about it."
or "The Beluga whale washed up dead full of hazardous
wastes." The perceived injustices caused moral discomfort
and cognitive dissonance in the respondents. They were

motivated to action and learning.

maividul ”t
:23: aCtiViti
rather than de
scent of a 9
7533:: "As an
:5: permissior
ggups, their
:filtrators c
32535 took or
:es;~:ndents p1
ezi'zities .

Eve inf luenCt

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£93

ed inf Orr-n

69
Individual Action. Many respondent activists conducted
their activities by themselves at their own initiative
rather than devote time and energy to activities done in the
context of a group. Some preferred to work alone, outside a
group: "As an individual I can do what I want rather than
get permission from the others" or "I was hindered by
groups, their stalling techniques, other agendas and
infiltrators of people who want to make political mileage."
Others took on tasks alone on behalf of a group. Most
respondents preferred to engage in both individual and group
activities. Individuals once started on a cause, tried to
have influence wherever they could. They realized that they
needed information to strengthen their position, hence their
efforts to gain a knowledge base.

The activities listed in Table 2 were done by activists
on their own. However these sorts of activities were also
done by others in the context of a group. They are listed
to illustrate the sorts of activities environmental
activists engaged in and the purpose the activities
achieved.

Individual actions included communications such as
letter writing or telephoning politicians, government,
media, businesses or networking with residents in other
localities with a problem similar to the one they were
experiencing. Individual activities included learning

through taking courses or workshops or buying books and

sisscriptions .

:eant shoving u

fable 2: Types

 

Action ”pa
=

l. Omnication

 

 

ll. Learning

3. Public Meetin
'\
L Dmestic Habi

l‘

 

70
subscriptions. It included writing newspaper articles. It

meant showing up at town council meetings.

Table 2: Types of Individual Actions of Activists

 

  

Specific Actions

  
   
   
   
    

1. Communications telephoning, writing Influence community

 

 

letters, articles level decisions
Extension
2. Learning courses, workshops Knowledge increase
3. Public Meetings town council, Influence policy,
hearings Action, Decisions

 

4. Domestic Babits recycling, reduction Application at

composting personal level 5
m t __.,,,,,______*__ ‘4

 

 

 

 

Here is the experience of some respondents who
preferred to be more active on their own. Some of these,
however, were or had been active in a group.

One respondent iterated "I phoned all over the U.S.,
and B.C. to talk to people who lived next to an incinerator.
I read books and formed opinions on my own." Another one
stated "I bugged aldermen by phone or letter. I made a
presentation to city council. I observed waste management
advisory meetings. I established a local community
association. I fought management at condominiums to stop
spraying. I was in the Ottawa Citizen twice."

Another individual activist claimed: "I educate myself
by reading and taking subscriptions. I write a lot of
letters to different people - to the editor of the Packet

71
and Times. I made a request to make a deputation at Council
meeting but was turned down. I go to every council meeting.
I answer phone calls. I copy and fax things for people. I
picketed Peterson's constituency in London during the
election. I went to the Indian Camp Kayuga to discuss hydro
issues." Another activist stated that "I wrote a column for
the local newspaper. I participated in public meetings. I
wrote the Prime Minister, my MP and industries. I sent all
my junk mail to the Federal Environment Minister." For
others working alone meant tasks such as composting and
recycling.

The respondents all claimed to be active at their own
initiative and by themselves though they varied in the
extent of their individual activities. Some of the
respondents described the same activities as individual
activities as others described as group activities. Some
acted by themselves on their own initiative while others

acted on their own on behalf of others in a group.

Group Action. Burdened with a growing concern, often
bordering impatience, frustration and self righteousness,
respondents sought the likeminded. They formed issue
oriented groups, or they sought out existing groups which
were focused upon their concerns. Or, they brought their

concerns to groups in which they were already active.

 

72

Group membership assisted the advancement of the
respondents' activism. Their purpose in participating in
groups was to alleviate problems that the respondents had
perceived. Once the respondents became active in the
groups, they found that the groups far exceeded their
initial purpose of merely to do something about the problem.
Through group membership, they discovered particular needs
fulfilled; needs the respondents had that they had not
anticipated. The activists found that group membership
helped them in their cause through many functions. These
functions are identified in Table 3 with a description of
the effect of the function on the development of the
activists and on the achievement of group goals.

Not all respondents experienced all four functions.
Very often one or two of the functions dominated. One
respondent found that she was better off working alone to
achieve her environmental goals but she still needed the
personal support of the group. Did group membership help
her in her purpose? "Not at all. It is a lot of talk but
it keeps me going and helps in the long haul. It is
necessary to have a reference group. It is supportive and
you need to identify with other environmentalists. Some

group has to think you are normal."

73

Table 3: Functions of Group Action: Effect on Activist
Development and on Activist Goals

—
Effect of Aspect on

Effect of Aspect on

 

Function of
Grou Action

 

 

 

 

Activist Goal of Activist
1. Personal Uplifts activist Validates individual
Support isolated by her concern effort & concern.
& effort. Focus of reference for
Reduces stress of activist within the
facing broad issues. issue
2. Goals Better defines issue Activists more likely
Achievement and action in group to achieve goals in
than alone. Group group effort rather
voice more credible & than in individual
heard in community & effort
network than
individual.
3. Personal Raises self esteem of Activist receives more
Opportunity activist To give a credible profile in
chance to learn & home, community and in
network. Refreshes network.
activists. Encourages
them to continue.
4. Source of Understands technical Activist has basis for
Learning and social functions of discussion 8 debate

problem so action can
be defined.
Strengthens activists'

 

 

Personal Support.

position

 

 

with private sector
experts, elected
officials, media,
community.

A very gratifying function of group

membership was the personal support afforded to the

individual activist by her group members.

support took several forms.

Bonding.

problem that drew the respondents to the groups,
the personal support that the group members experienced
that kept the group together over time.

This personal

While it was the environmental issue or

Statements

like these illustrate the personal support the

respondents felt:

 

"I feel that I am not alone."

 

 

it was

have people
base with an
others, knov

support to c

Stress Allu
troubled by
that had be:
They felt e‘
but an indi‘
The more th
Stressed th
the group,

the Problem
deal with t
exPerieand
the situatj
allefiate t

part °f the

74
have people to talk to and share with; people to touch
base with and meet needs.” "I have the support of
others, knowing that I'm not alone." "With more

support to carry on, I have more enthusiasm."

Stress Alleviation. Respondents had been deeply
troubled by the problems of environmental degradation
that had been increasingly called to their attention.
They felt everyone was implicated in the degradation
but an individual objection was of little significance.
The more they understood of the problems the more
stressed they became. But, once they were members of
the group, the stress was allayed by the group defining
the problems and conducting particular activities to
deal with them. Respondents noted that they then
experienced a feeling of empowerment. Understanding
the situation is stressful and the group helps to
alleviate the stress. It is part of the solution, not
part of the problem.” They found the group useful in:
”relieving personal stress. There are others to talk
to about the issues. I am not alone. I can exchange
information with group members." "The group puts
information into perspective so problems don't seem

overwhelming. They are manageable if there is a will."

 

nimdship.
personal su]
through her
she found a
generation.
through fri
stimulating
the princi]
senior res
seniors bu
in her grc

It is like

Gals Ash;
:5 an enviror
Sully to dea
:ESP'Cndents St
i‘s‘i lore speci
mining as:
ilsre defined

”minty . s

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ernt a

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75

Friendship. A retired respondent did not find much
personal support among her fellow seniors. Instead,
through her involvement with an environmental group,
she found a friendships with likeminded from a younger
generation. She felt group membership helped her
through friendships made. "I have respect for the
stimulating dedication of the young people who stick to
the principles that every little thing helps." Another
senior respondent less struck by the lack of fellow
seniors but more with the mix and familiarity of people
in her group expressed: "I feel at home with the group.

It is like a family."

Goals Achievement. The respondents’ were driven to
join an environmental group to achieve a particular goal,
usually to deal with an environmental problem. The
respondents stated their goals in joining groups in broad
and more specific terms. One respondent stated her purpose
in joining as: "To bring about social change." Another with
a more defined focus said: "To protect the environment in my
community." Still others more focused said: "To fight
logging in Temagami.", "To preserve fruitlands in Niagara.",
"To prevent a county landfill.”

Some of the groups had achieved their original goals,
if it was a particular focused goal. The group membership

then decreased (many were exhausted) and those members

 

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76
remaining redefined the groups goals usually toward
educational extension purposes, much like the groups that
had formed around broader issues and not around a specific
community environmental threat. "Our group formed to do
something about cleaning up the St. Clair River but that
group has lost its goal. Now the goal is to make an impact,
though small." Particularly for those whose goal was
broader, group membership was one part of their activism, a
part motivated by their sense of goal achievement and that
occupied differing amounts of time and effort among the
respondents. Environmental goal achievement via group
membership for the activists is discussed from two points of
view: the activists' group at work in the community and the

activists at work within their groups.

Activists' Groups at Work in the Community. Goal
achievement as a purpose of group membership was
accomplished by the group in its outreach to the
community, or with other groups. The respondents
discovered the power of a team and compared it to the
efforts of an individual: "One can only be effective in
a group. There is a need for a network and support
systems of a group. We couldn't do it without it." "I
am convinced that we can only do something if we do it

together."

A respo
the group: "
individual d
call the way
group. The]
group. The:
especially '
accomplishe
do things :4
larger netw
to request
FOE and p0:
EChoed tha‘
°f PQOple .
a (Kong). as

The p
Outreach f
inclined t

they know

mup- Tl

name is n‘
grQuD and

and schoc

77

A respondent described her experience working with
the group: "I could get things done as a group. An
individual does not influence town council with a phone
call the way a group does. There is more power in a
group. There is more support from individuals for a
group. There is empowerment to do things I want to,
especially with others’ ideas on things can be
accomplished. I could get speakers. I learned how to
do things with speakers, readers and put them into a

larger network with the credibility of a communal voice

 

to request help from larger environmental groups like
FOE and Pollution Probe." Almost all the respondents
echoed that there was: ”More support to have a network
of people with similar ideas. We can get more done as
a group."

The profile of a group gave more chance of
outreach for and clout to the message: "People are more
inclined to help, if there is a group or committee, if
they know you've gone to the trouble of forming a
‘group. The political appeal is more impressive if your
name is next to the name of a community group." From a
group there was more opportunity to: ”dialogue between
group and community, agencies and government." "It
gives a chance to liaise with other community groups

and schools."

mtivists At
mustered its
words, the 4
knowledge b
sum of its
numbers. F
astonished
and expert
INil-fibers.
resources.
working tr
activities
say I had
group meaJ
Eoney to 1
For ,
ECologiCa'
helped her

the indivj

78
Activists At Work Within the Groups. The group first
mustered its power from among its members. In other
words, the grOup members interacted to establish a
knowledge base and a strategy to become more than the
sum of its parts. One said there is "strength in
numbers. People give you strength." Members were
astonished to find the diversity of skills, knowledge
and expertise within the group. "There is power in
numbers. Everyone has different contacts and
resources." Another found that: "I am more effective
working through others." One felt that the group
activities were easing her conscience: "To be able to
say I had done something, not just complaining. In a
group meant to be part of it, instead of just sending
money to Pollution Probe.”

For one, the group and its members represented an
ecological macrocosm, and stated that the group has
helped her "Given a larger view of the picture of
interconnectedness of problems and the realization that

the individual is the focus of action."

Personal Opportunities. Group membership afforded
growth through Personal Opportunities to represent the group
in conferences, hearings, seminars, international or
regional meetings. Respondents could network with other

groups, experts, media and such. They shared their

 

:ese opportun
rivis‘dl, re in

...b

:zritment to
map, I qua
etc. and go tC
.:: group back

These opp
1:1 ability tc
2::ezaker res;
Lad confidence
:czferences, 1

5an *'

sources 1

79

experience, learned of others, and expanded their knowledge.
These opportunities reinforced the respondents' purpose for
activism, reinforced their loyalty to the group and their
commitment to her community. A professional said: "Through
a group, I qualify to be on other committees like BPAC, CIL,
etc. and go to conferences. I have more clout with a title
and group backing."

These opportunities raised the respondents' self esteem
and ability to contribute to their cause. One older
homemaker respondent stated that: "I gained more knowledge
and confidence in myself after opportunities to speak at
conferences, to mind displays, to speak to university

students and adults."

Sources of Learning. Members so very goal oriented
were faced with learning the technical and philosophical
side of the environmental problem. The group provided a
forum for this purpose: "Being involved on committees is the
easiest way to learn because if there is a problem that has
to be solved, there is a variety of people invited." Group
membership provided a focus for learning: "It kept me
focused on the issues. It forced me into a position that
people expect me to have answers and to know what is going
on. Now I can choose the tasks I can handle." "A group is
a point to relate to. We can't work in a vacuum. The group

opened doors. I learned more than otherwise." Another

 

 

feud that in th

fleas. "

lifestyle Chug‘
iaily tasks in a
:atits found the
2:: , redefine
Pespondents made
part of their ac
teaching. The
asrecycling, s.
taxic cleaners .
ave‘lEl’arian di
tiers were alr
Pilaseful and
time out the

as: of trash c.

80
found that in the group they could "expand on one another's

ideas.”

Lifestyle Changes. Lifestyle refers to mode of living, the
daily tasks in and of a household, the values, customs and
habits found therein. The environmental movement shook many
habits, redefined values and customs of the respondents.
Respondents made significant changes in the their homes as a
part of their activism. They practiced what they were
preaching. The most frequent changes were found to be such
as recycling, selective consumerism, composting, avoiding
toxic cleaners and pesticides. Some households had adopted
a vegetarian diet in response to their commitment while
others were already vegetarian. The changes had been
purposeful and done with a sense of self righteousness.
Taking out the garbage, for example, was no longer a mundane
task of trash disposal. Instead they recycled glass, tins
and, when possible, plastics. They composted kitchen waste
for gardening. They reduced material bound for the
landfill. They changed their buying habits. They bought
products in recyclable or returnable containers to reduce
need for packaging and reduce the waste.

Until the changes became habitual, they complicated
household routines. The respondents, fitting to their
domestic roles, had significant impact on household

management and led the innovations. The last to convert,

 

gaff Often! W3
.25 revealed 1
:festyle chan
tire to sort 9
trips, buy the
Neverthei
amsng the mosi
rd value syS'
:ternalized ‘
:emforced th
retribution
an that it w
iii’ies were

3:?romises )

81

very often, was the husband. The respondents’ dedication
was revealed in her persistence in the face of resistance.
Lifestyle changes involved the whole family. It took extra
time to sort garbage, remember the cloth bags on shopping
trips, buy the right brands and often it took extra money.

Nevertheless, the lifestyle changes were perhaps the
among the most meaningful application of the new knowledge
and value system of the respondents. These changes
internalized what the respondents were learning and
reinforced the knowledge. They gave them a sense of
contribution to the cause that they were doing their part
and that it was meaningful. The question is whether the
changes were sustained over time or whether corrupting

compromises kicked in.

Sphere of Influence. All of the respondents found
themselves in positions as educators. They carried
influence within their circle of family, friends and
neighbors. It extended into the community to churches and
schools and to local politicians by "denting their armor".
Respondents taught by example, conversations, discussions,
presentations, and by writing articles. While the
respondents had not anticipated this role, they
enthusiastically adopted it and quickly saw its importance
to their cause. Some admitted that at first they alienated

2:;1e if the:
:e: an exampL

In Table
azivis'ts, ar

riluence the

farle 4: Acti
Activists

 

I
‘1

imp Inf luenc
laivists

‘\
1: Immediate
\
2‘ lIEi‘Jhl‘eord’ic
\
:‘ “vuomr

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l.

w:—

e
h
we

=' Tum Conn:

.\

I. “.3012 cam

!-.\

.. Pro"'ineia.

 

 

/

82
people if they were perceived to be crusading. "You have to
set an example. Preaching doesn’t get anywhere!"
In Table 4 the subject groupings, influenced by the
activists, are presented with methods the activists used to

influence them.

Table 4: Activists as Educators: Those Influenced by
Activists

 

Group Influenced by
Activists

p_____*fi,,i

1. Immediate family Example, discussion

 
   

 

 

 

 

2. Neighborhood Example, discussion, sharing I
articles
‘ 3. Environmental group Discussion, sharing of new
learning/ideas, speakers
4. Communitypgroups Presentations, displays
‘ 5. Schools Presentations, displays

 

Town council Hearings, delegation,
presentation, telephone calls,
lobbying, polls, letters

Whole community Newspaper articles, fair displays,

posters, recycling depots, radio,
TV

 

Provincial leaders Picketing, letters, telephone
calls: 69}: 9:199:

 

 

Influencing others was intentional and unintentional.
The activist realizing the influence she had was reinforced
in her motivation to pursue her goals. The influence was
activist induced, or induced by the community who had
noticed the activists and invited them to meet with them.

Table 5 illustrates this point.

 

 

"a-‘le 5: ACtiv:
:3: Activist

trivist Initiat

.

 

.rily
Seal-hers
1‘”

Tom council

itole community
twincial lead

 

 

 

A responc‘
33:19. in the
~=i° Can take
:rasader for .
friends and n
forth“. We
tamndent SU
(‘13an5 0n
7." C°ntributj

Some re:
has with a;
'i spoke to
RECESS we h

““th to th

 

83

Table 5: Activists as Educators: Influence Induced by or
from Activist

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A: Initiated 1m 2 Wu" Invites _f_r_ haw
Family

I Neighbors Neighbors

ITown council Environmental group

lWhole community Community groups h

I Provincial leaders Schools

 

A respondent said that as a result of their talks,
people in the community are "more aware of issues and how
they can take action and their responsibility". I am a
crusader for cloth diapers. "Another said: "I have many
friends and neighbors in the community so I am a resource
for them. We have casual conversation over lunches." One
respondent surprised by the extent of her influence said:
"Citizens on the street stop me with questions. People read
my contribution to the local paper."

Some respondents identified particular things they had
done which appeared later to have had significant impact.

"I spoke to a church group and shocked them about the
process we had been forced to go through." "I wrote a
letter to the editor of the newspaper on Mother’s Day
against incineration just after it was announced. Many said
it influenced them. It was the right cord at the right

time." One teacher respondent launched a campaign and

mfluenced “the
:13: they are d-

A grandmot
aircator role i
m: of baking
159.11. I €Xp1
its: what makes

A responds
he: envimmnem
i’ticles' givir
Kite lettersn
Eating iSSue:
amicatiw"

A Vary de
l‘fluenCe: "Ad
1311mm occa
2mmres, TV

Vie elamentary

84
influenced "the whole school! I got people to stop and think
what they are doing and where their purchases come from."

A grandmother respondent who took seriously her
educator role in her family declared: "I give my children
boxes of baking soda for diaper pails and show them how to
use it. I explained things and challenged them. It shows
them what makes sense."

A respondent described her influencing activities in
her environmental group: "Discussions, passing around
articles, giving direction, recycling, teaching them how to
write letters". Another said: "I find giving information,
debating issues, offering alternatives, reading,
communicating" were how she had influence.

A very dedicated activist listed ways of spreading
influence: "Advertising recycling depot in newspaper, radio,
bulletin, occasional articles in paper, giving out
brochures, TV interview, skit for recycling week, talks to -
the elementary school, the Women's Institute, Cubs, the
Young and Restless, Dental Assistants Association, Perth 4-H
Club".

The outreach that the respondents conducted became a
major factor in her participation in the movement. It
validated her efforts to educate herself and her espousal of

her cause.

 

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85
Introspection. The respondents thought back over their
period as an activist and made a judgement about themselves.
All were pleased with their success as an activist. Almost
all of the respondents would change nothing that they had
done and many stated that they wished they had started
sooner. They stated that they wished they had "moved on the
issue sooner. We were too slow off the mark. Some wished
"to be more informed before starting", that they had had a
better background, such as computer literacy or science, to

more adequately tackle the challenges.

Changes in node of Action, in Attitude , in Overall
Approach. Despite respondents being satisfied with the
result of their actions, many found that given a chance to
change the way they achieved their results through their
attitude or approach, they would do things differently.

One reviewed what she had been through and decided: "I
would not try to do head to head method with consultants and
government. I would just use pickets and placards. Those
who went through the process are still fighting. I would be
more forceful. Don’t be afraid to say the truth. Don't
hold in what's right. We all have a right to water and air.
Don't stick to process.” Another, in that vein said that
she would: "be street smarter. Be more obnoxious. Direct
to find out real gain where pressure points. Use the system

in a positive sense to advantage. Use less time to it."

 

Ea: group: if t
attend more to
Legal people ea
5;: group as $5
Respondent
Cnevould “Be I
makes." Am
:istake to use
Iveral stated
3395 at once
I’m more grou
5 haF’P~‘-’nin<; .
responsibility
13th at onCe. u

53 naive in tr

‘pmgress a
ma '1“.
‘9ch in Wor
"ad that th
.f «k

86
Her group, if they went through the process again would
attend more to the: ”packaging of presentations and bringing
legal people earlier. The steering committee wasn't taking
our group as seriously as needed."

Respondents would handle themselves in a different way.
One would "Be more tolerant. I have learned from my
mistakes." Another would: "Share the power circle. It is a
mistake to use a way where people are not used to it".
Several stated that they: "wouldn’t try to tackle so many
things at once. Try to share group leadership more. Try to
gain more group participation as group evolves though this
is happening. People are starting to feel that
responsibility." or "not get so fanatical and take on so
much at once." One found that next time she would: "not be
so naive in trusting people."

In their responses, activists found themselves
providing advice. Wrapped up in their cause, the
respondents knew_that other communities would be facing
similar problems and they were anxious to share their paths

to progress and their pitfalls.

World View. The respondents shared an understanding of any
change in world view they may have experienced. Respondents
found that they had profoundly changed during the experience
of their involvement in the environmental movement as

activists. Time will tell whether the change was temporary,

 

astep to anotr
gadiqm- Thei
transformed. 1
:_; the environ!
c: communitY 1‘
world view.
Harmony w
Zzeir View on
:hange society
monality in
throughout aln
pclitical syst
Ffavides a sur
heal-(down of 1
Responde:
cfl1'5» has a 1-

* Solution .

flrds:

“Cc
of Deep:
Can be 1

87
a step to another change or changed permanently to another
paradigm. Their view on how the world should be was
transformed. It was very much influenced by their activism
in the environmental movement. Their activism on a personal
or community level had lead to an environmentally focused
world view.

Harmony with Nature had become part of their awareness.
Their view on how to improve the world, in other words, to
change society to conform to their view held threads of
commonality in each response. The common words and meanings
throughout almost all the responses were grassroots,
political system, education, change in way of life. Table 6
’provides a summary of the categories they touched upon and a
breakdown of the components.

Respondent wisdom for change is this: "Relate how each
of us has a role as a contributor to the problems and are
the solution. Each can make a difference." Here are their

words:

Grassroots.

"Community action through grassroots. Empowerment
of people. Break through apathy so people feel changes
can be made. Don't look to the government."

"There has to be strong grass roots movements,
media, advertising legislation, political will,

financial backing"

fable 6: Categor:

Topic

51'1“!th I .

 

Pelitical Pe
535185 Ne

 

3.1a: ion

 

 

 

hide '

 

 

 

88

Table 6: Categories of World View

 

 

 

 

 

Topic Communit As-:ct Government As-ect
‘ Grassroots a. Community action Cut dependency on <
b. Grassroots with media, government 2
money and politics. f
Encourages people that 3
changes can be made i
Political People need honest facts; Too big and dishonest; I
System‘ Need for a citizen's Little honesty if money
advisory committee concerned; Gov't must '
admit env problems are ’
bad; Push from bottom 5
and top; Need more women [
in gov't I
Education Everyone must participate Laws to be made; I
A in education; People Politicians to regulate
speak out & do; Modify emissions

I

educ as people adjust; E
Info sharing; Curb I
wasteful habits; Nore y
energy into alternatives i
l

I

|

I

I

l

 

Change in Way Change attitude to
A of Life people; Not be profit
oriented; Society's
priorities to change;
More importance to
personal relations and

less status on wealth

 

 

   

Political System.

"People have to start getting honest facts. There
is a need for recurrence in honesty. There is little
in business where money is concerned. Common sense has
to play a role. Every government agency should deal
with a citizen's advisory committee. Government is too
big and dishonest."

”Government has to acknowledge that the problems

are as bad as they are. Environmental groups are still

89

seen as fringe. Things would go faster if government
admitted the seriousness of the problem. Laws must be
stronger. People must be made to see that it is in
their best interests to do what is right. Government
admits environmental groups should push it. Government
needs to take risks about not being popular. The push
must be from the bottom but also from the top too.
Some will learn. Others need to be told what to do.
Many don't want to know. Many are in power."

"We need more women in politics and government.
The political structure is wrong. The Indians say that
we don't have democracy since we only vote every four
years. With the Indians, it is the women who are
responsible for elective chiefs. If they don't
represent well, they're replaced. Whites have learned

some techniques but have abused them."

Education.

"Start with the educational system.
Environmentalism is part of every aspect of society."

"Education. Everyone has to participate. People
concerned have to speak out and do. Laws have to be
made. Politicians have to regulate emissions. People
won’t change until they are forced to."

"Expand public education. Modify the system as

people adjust through education."

no
accurat4
vastefu

More en:

Change :
"T4
"Cl

profit ¢

90
"Continuation of information sharing. More
accurate information. Must be willing to change. Curb
wasteful habits. More research into alternatives.

More energies directed to alternatives."

Change in way of Life.

"Total shift and rearrangement of our economy."

"Change our attitude to people and not to be of a
profit orientation."

"Priorities in society must change. No more
bigger and better. Indians taught us that we are part
of Mother Nature."

"Change society's values to be less materialistic
and less into a consumer economy. Attach more
importance to personal relations and less status on

wealth.

The above are the characteristics respondents were
found to have exhibited in their development as activists.
In every case and in every characteristic adult education
had significance in the respondent arriving at that

characteristic.

Category 2: What was Learned
The respondents were asked what they had learned in the

course of their activism in the environmental movement.

tile it was a:
reference to t’r
:as, most of 1
:exiss to desc1
specific topic:
The descriptio:
ieeply signifi
animation of
iiscussion and

The learn
2:568 they ma
respondents cc
fescribing Wha
aT-ressed it,
the Course O f
mid be Carr,
aCtiVism.

Much Of .
Lt COuld be

" 'v‘as the es

91
While it was expected that there would be much more
reference to the substance of the issues which concerned
them, most of the respondents interpreted the question using
maxims to describe their experience. Some also mentioned
specific topics they had to learn to support their activism.
The description of their experience reflected what was most
deeply significant to them. They learned through a
combination of events, personal and group experience,
discussion and sources of information.

The learning was transferrable to other projects or
causes they may tackle. Through their experience, the
respondents could transfer their learning to other people by
describing what had been done. The learning, as they
expressed it, was the point of view that they had adopted in
the course of their activism. It was the learning that
wopld be carried with them long after the events of the
activism.

Much of the learning expressed was not subject matter
that could be translated into adult education curriculum.

It was the essence left once the curriculum, of the
respondents own making had been learned and applied. It was
their evaluation of the whole process of their adult
learning that would be applied to other relevant learning
experiences. ‘

The learning is expanded in Table 7. It is categorized

as follows:

A. Tec

B. Env
C. Gov
D Hun
E Ind
F Per
G Grc
H AdV
’able 7: Type
«earning Types

 

92

A. Technical subject matter

B. Environmental issues

C. Government process

D. Human nature

E. Individual involvement

F. Personal attributes or achievements

G. Group dynamics

H. Advocacy

Table7:

 

Learning Types

A. Technical
Subject Matter

Types Lamar”? WW1

Description of Relevance to ’
Learning T o-s Activists _

Specific terms in
waste management

 

‘1

Communicate with
experts, Understand
technical reports

 

B.Environmental
Issues

Broad context of
environmental
problems

View local concern
from global point of
view

 

C 0 Government
PIOCBBB

Political procedure
for obtaining
environmental change

Facilitating change
for local problems at
suitable electoral
levels

 

D. Human Nature

Characteristics
relevant to society
pertaining to
involvement in the
movement

Understanding what
can be expected of
people's involvement
in local concern

 

E. Individual
Involvement

Single efforts in
relation to an
environmental problem

To encourage any
individual effort

 

P. Personal
Attributes and
Achievements

Individual
characteristics that
assist in handling
the environmental
aproblem

Develop personal
traits to facilitate
the environmental'
goal

 

G. Group
Dynamics

Traits for operating
in an environmental

2:002

 

M. Advocacy

Points in making
environmental issues
known in society

 

 

 

To make group effort
worthwhile to purpose

.of local concerns

Education of elements
of society who have
bearing on local
concern

minim Bubje
technical terms
vocabulary in 1
trough technia
for inconsiste'
witnesses gave
cosprehend. T
‘he reports ar
she had to lee
chemistry", 1
glossary of t,
iiscussion.

Zoning laws ,

“Vito“.nt‘]
me" of t}

“Slicer“ ' On:

We‘- '
‘ lmagma

EN! .
Mimic and

15 Prof

as are u

SEr4
«0 II
Us Vhi

Lite
rconn9c1

‘)
A
h D‘

93
Technical Subject Matter. Respondents had to learn
technical terms used in waste management. They needed this
vocabulary in their advocacy efforts for when they pored
through technical consultants' reports line by line to look
for inconsistencies. They attended hearings where technical
witnesses gave statements that respondents needed to
comprehend. They needed to use the vocabulary to respond to
the reports and to question the witnesses. One stated that
she had to learn "the jargon of organic and inorganic
chemistry". Another learned the "BPAC process and a
glossary of terms" in order to participate in the
discussion. Another took it upon herself to learn the

zoning laws.

Environmental Issues. Respondents reflected upon what they
learned of the issues beyond their immediate community
concern. One found that "the issues are far broader than I
ever imagined. The implications are at the roots of an
economic and political system. The short term of all our
aims is profoundly depressing." Another discovered that the
issues are "harder than I thought. The issues are more
serious" while another concluded that "everything is
interconnected". One felt she had learned about farmers

problems.

mmcnt Pr:
had learned a!
activists. W
were discoura'
officials. T
ioliars in th
government su
they had not
hence the neg
Comments
is not protec
m'v’irOMQnt)
lip ser’iCe 1
'I leaned m
m“ °n 1301.
Warned,»

"a.
"'9 more 0m

94
Government Process. Many respondents commented that they
had learned about the government during their experience as
activists. Most of the comments were of constituents who
were discouraged, disillusioned with their elected
officials. They felt that they had been fighting their tax
dollars in their campaign to counter what was usually a
government supported or lead initiative. It was a battle
they had not expected with opponents they never suspected,
hence the negative nature of their words.

Comments such as these were frequent: "The government
is not protecting the people." "The MOE (Ministry of the
Environment) is not protecting the environment." "MOE gives
lip service to public involvement, but it must be pushed.”
"I learned not to trust government process.” "You cannot
count on politicians." "Government pretends to be
concerned.” ”There is little common sense in government.”
"The more one knows about government, the more one is
disillusioned." "The poor quality of township government."
”How complicated the issue was since it was controlled by
three to four different levels of government." "Bureaucracy
exists to maintain itself." "Change won't come from the
top."

Others took a more positive tack with "You must persist
with the government. You have to know your rights". One
concluded simply that: ”the root problems are in political

economic systems".

The res
with levels
in ways they
had trusted
:hey interpr
paid little
to represent
trust. When
concerns to
handed as e
:heated.

They di
howledge an
iCVernment a
iifficult.
action, the}
ten the ele
Efficedure.
ass flawed.
he

e .
tings ' c‘

and

95

The respondents' activism often brought them in contact
with levels of both elected government and regular officials
in ways they had never before experienced. In the past they
had trusted that government was working on their behalf as
they interpreted it. Once elections were finished, they had
paid little attention to elected officials who they expected
to represent their best interests. There was implicit
trust. When the citizens brought their strong environmental
concerns to their elected officers and found themselves
branded as emotional radicals, they felt both betrayed and
cheated.

They discovered that citizen’s groups were far ahead in
knowledge and awareness of environmental issues than the
government and that pushing the government was necessary and
difficult. They found that to push the government to
action, they had to be more knowledgeable and proficient
than the elected officials themselves in government
procedure. Very often the procedure used by the officials
was flawed. At times citizen’s groups were excluded from
meetings, committees or voting because of either flawed
understanding or misuse of due procedure. The groups turned
to the Dept. of Municipal Affairs for information.

Insisting upon correct procedure, the citizens groups could

be heard and their recommendations acted upon.

mm lature
respondents

activism aft
their commen
nature. Her
little steps
need directi
”Don’t conpr
comunity".

about it anc‘

be Effective

Indium“ 1
makibutio,
Petsonal ins
Ltd ”Start ;
Some 01
if it was a
then decreag
remaining

meetional
ldd formed a

”Wits! er

q
35355 .

lhg a):

#011" has lo

fl
\-

96
Human Nature. When asked what they had learned, most
respondents took on an air of advising those coming into
activism after them, based upon their hard won experience.
Their comments resemble maxims or statements on human
nature. Here are a few: "People have to be scared to act.
Little steps help. Many people don’t do anything." "People
need direction." "People everywhere are willing to help."
"Don't compromise." "Issues divide but unite the
community". "If you are concerned about an issue, write
about it and talk." "You need to balance time and energy to

be effective and maintain enthusiasm.”

Individual Involvement. Respondents learned that their
contribution to activism was important: ” The importance of
personal involvement”, "One person can make a difference"
and "Start locally and work your way along".

Some of the groups had achieved their original goals,
if it was a particular focused goal. The group membership
then decreased (many were exhausted) and those members
remaining redefined the groups goals usually toward
educational extension purposes, much like the groups that
had formed around broader issues and not around a specific
community environmental threat. "Our group formed to do
something about cleaning up the St. Clair River but that
group has lost its goal. Now the goal is to make an impact,

though small." Particularly for those whose goal was

broader, 91'0‘
cert notivat
occupied dif

respondents .

Personal Att
reflected or
approach to
'I have a mc
sot easy. "

else is ful:
553$ Strait
to integrat.
Envirohment

SCCC inst l y .

97
broader, group membership was one part of their activism, a
part motivated by their sense of goal achievement that
occupied differing amounts of time and effort among the

respondents.

Personal Attributes and Achievements. Many respondents
reflected on what they had learned that directed their
approach to their activism. "To be tough." "I was naive."
"I have a more realistic view of what can be done. It is
not easy." "If I am discouraged about an issue, someone
else is full of ideas to continue." "You need to have your
facts straight so you know you are right." "I have learned
to integrate business and personal life for the
environment.” "I learned how to write strategies

succinctly." "I learned to keep reading."

Group Dynamics. The respondents felt that an important part
of their learning was how to function in a group. They
expressed this with these statements: "The need for a sense
of humor." "The importance of communication." "How to be
part of a group and to work with people.” "The value of
participation and the need to voice an opinion." "Everyone
has their own expertise." ”How to get along with one
another.”

They learned the need to be involved in issues that

affect them and not to co-opt them to politicians or others

98
to look after their interests. I learned "the value of
participation" said one, and "the importance of personal
involvement and to speak out" said others when they realized
that "change won't come from the top" and that "government
follows". "It is not the driving force or source of
information", was one respondent’s observation. To learn,
they had to be driven. They were driven by their anger,
desperation and commitment to win their cause and to do
their part in a group held together by the common drive. It
was often a conflicting relationship with municipal
governments that fuelled the fire, a common and tangible

enemy.

Advocacy. The respondents learned about the need and the
way to advocate. They learned: "Lobbying in House of
Parliament to use and change legal system." "How to deal
with municipal government.” "More power in advocacy groups
than in politicians." "Working together can accomplish
much." "Government is not the driving force or source of
information." " NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) are
ahead and are the best source of information." "How to
influence real process with data." " What data is important
and what arguments are needed to win."

Municipal governments hired, using tax money, very
expensive consultants who made recommendations counter to

the interests, desires and values of the citizen's groups.

99
Citizens, despite their personal qualifications, which may
have been such as lawyers, environmental researchers or
bacteriologists, were not heard by municipal committees when
they criticized consultants reports’ that they had
painstakingly read. The citizen's groups had to hire their
own consultants or lawyers to counter the recommendations
of the municipal and sometimes provincially hired
consultants. With persistence and strategy they usually
won.

To win the municipal politicians to their side, the
activists had to learn. They learned about the issue
through familiarizing themselves with municipal committee
process, hearings, delegations, reading consultants'
reports, listening to speakers, sharing information and
written material, hiring consultants and through working
together.

Learning was usually intense and diverse. After a
landfill site dispute, a respondent listed what she learned
with: "How to direct energies for a positive outcome. About
municipal government, politics in municipal level, more
about community, sense of community. To insist environment
be considered in planning, how to juggle meetings, work and
family. My priority is family. To dwell on the positive to
get more done. How to be part of a community group with
neighbors. Hydrogeological data collection. Trial and

error. How to present information to best advantage of the

100
group. Better understanding of process of landfilling and

building and building monitoring criteria for one."

Category 3: Method of Learning

The respondents were asked how they learned what they
learned and what was the most effective method of learning
for them. All of the respondents expressed that they had
learned in several complementary ways and from several
sources. A typical response might be that the respondent
learned from articles in newspapers and magazines, from the
television, from meetings attended and discussions with a
friend.

Reading.figured in the responses of all of the
respondents and in many as the most effective way of
learning for them that they had experienced. Another most
effective way of learning was from one another. Dialogues
with information sources, through telephone calls or through
other group members was important to many of the
respondents.

Media was frequently mentioned and not always singled
out as to which one was meant or which was most important.
Television and newspapers were the ones mentioned when any
were specifically stated.

Several groups had arranged speaker experts to educate
them on particular topics and lead discussions or had

arranged to attend workshops and conferences. Often the

101

respondents were motivated to take courses on their own at
community colleges or university. These sessions were
always valuable in the opinion of the respondents and led to
leaps in learning and confidence in what was learned through
the presentations, handouts, and exchanges. Courses,
conferences and workshops led to networks and intergroup
reinforcement and to reinforcement of not only knowledge but
also of beliefs and values which internalized the knowledge.

Table 8 indicates the many methods that respondents
used for learning. Most learning took place in groups,

little took place individually.

Category 4: Personal Changes and Adult Learning

This question queried whether activists had undergone
personal changes as a result of their activism. The
research found that changes had indeed occurred and that the
respondents were proud to relate them. Respondents were
questioned about these changes using built-in probing
questions in the interview to inquire about changes. The
personal changes probed were changes in attitude, in
relationships, changes as a person, and in skills. The
nature of the responses to the questions on changes in
attitude and changes as a person were similar. The major

difference was that all of the respondents recorded changes

 

Table 8: Method of

Method of Learning

  

102

Learning for Activists

 

How Learning Was
Conducted

Importance for Adult

 

Learning for Activists

A. Reading consultants' reports, Individual learning to
articles, books, become competent in
newspapers field for credibility

 

 

‘ B. Discussions

idea exchange with
friends, group
members, conferees

Informal group
learning. Expanding
knowledge, networks,
validity

 

C. Courses

high school,
university, MOE

Formal learning.
Resource persons,
reading, discussions,
writing

 

D. Conferences

NGO, environment,
religious camps

Presentations, reading,
discussions

 

E. Networking

with resource persons

Discussions, exchange
of resources & sources

 

F. Media

videos, TV, radio

Informal learning,
coverage of local and
outside issues

 

G. Experience

being yelled at,
responses to
situations

Handling of situations.
Knowledge of what can
happen and how people
react.

 

H. Meetings

watching the
conducting of,
hearings, steering
committees

Formal encounters,
learning of political
process

 

I. Group Resource

Experts , speakers ,

Extension of knowledge:

Persons spouse, parents, ecology
politicians technical,political
philosophical

 

J. Groups

Environmental groups,
women's healing
groups

Ecological, Spiritual
Perspective

 

K. Letter writing

To newspapers,
industries, experts

Expressing oneself on

paper

 

 

 

L. Research Study of topic Focusing on topic and
_| organizing knowledge
M. Thinking Concentration on Expansion of mind

issue

 

N . Presentations

Preparation of

Articulating ideas to
educate and persuade

 

_,°: AQtiYiti" _

 

Learning by doing

 

analdingexeerienc-

103

in attitudes, while several replied that they did not feel
that they had changed as a person.

Personal changes were unplanned and unanticipated.
While the respondents planned to change a local decision,
they had not anticipated the changes in themselves. Often
these changes affected decisions in lifestyle and world
view. The respondents directed their adult learning toward
social change thereby reinforcing the process of personal
change. The personal changes the participants made in
themselves assisted them in achieving their activist goals.
Table 9 shows the changes that activists found they had

made.

Table 9: Personal Changes and Adult Learning

1 Personal Changes Characteristics of i
. Changes J
._ _, , . , i ll i.. 7 , , e-“ ,7 is. 7 ,,.-,_ __ . .._ _ . A _. __ __._. _--_,- __ _-#-fi__ .._- _ __ ...__ _,-. __fii_i.fi
Attitudes a.intense reactions 1

b.dissipating intensity over time
c.change in perspective

 

 

Relationships with a. community/public
others: public, friends, b. friends

family c. family

Skills a. in group operation

b. in group activities

 

As a Person a. personal characteristics
b. priorities
c. interconnectedness“

 

 

——*_“‘l— —- _-— .-_. -1 fl

104
Changes in Attitude. Many activists experienced intense

emotions in response to situations and attitudes of others

that they found when they began to probe the problem or

issue that concerned them. They felt the fervor of the

converted with the energy of those making up for lost time.

They spoke with exuberance. ”I am fanatical since the

problem is so serious." "I am more adamant about issues.

It is not as difficult to change habits. There is more and

more that one can do." "I am more fervent. It is the most

important thing in life.” "I am more convinced it is the

right course of action." "I am more angry and radical." "I

am: more obnoxious. " "I am proud to be an environmental

activist." These activists clung to a new found purpose

wh ich changed their lives.
Others, who had experienced such intense emotions,

found that the intensity dissipated with time. Maintaining

the burning commitment took energy that had to be shared in

other aspects of life. Some comments were: "I became more

angry, and more disillusioned. I was outspoken but I am now

more mellow." "I feel less immediate tense fear. I am not

ha ive. The bureaucracies are workable." "I am not so hard

01‘! myself for not being environmentally pure. I try to be

consistent." ”I am more tolerant of citizens' reluctance to

m<>ve after seeing what's involved." "I am more committed

and less defensive." and "I have toned down from being an

ait‘dent crusader. " "I have taken a more moderate approach.

105
I am selective in channelling my energy. Political process
is avenue for change." Activists channelled their
commitment to a more balanced attitude that permitted them
to act with respect to others.

Nevertheless, the activists grew disillusioned with
power holders whom they heretofore had trusted. They said:
"I am distrusting. I don’t talk to reporters. I am cynical
about the government. " ”I am disappointed with government
and people in power." "I am now stronger. I am not shy to
'talk at meetings of the town council." "I am cynical of
government." Disillusionment often preceded action.

Still others while continuing to focus upon
environmentalism articulated a perspective changed from when
they began. ”I try to find more ways to improve." "I am
more committed to recycling." "I am more sure of myself."
and ”I have grown in depth. " One found that with
environmentalism, "I am more conscious and actively trying
to make a difference." "I am more optimistic." "I am less
IHumble about taking leadership. I think more about where
things come from than about the financial cost." "I am more
inesponsible towards the environment." "I am very conserving
Down” ”I am more aware, more willing to act and more
wOrried about it." "I now realize that the environment is
“0t taken care of. I have a religious commitment to it."

”I am more aware, a more ardent environmentalist. I believe

106
in the power of the group to change political will." The

power of learning from experience is evident.

Changes in Relationships. Given the changes the respondents
reported in themselves, another impact of activism explored
was the impact upon respondents' relationships. Respondents
were asked if they had detected any change in their
relationships with others as a result of their activism.
Many said that their relationships were as before and they
had not changed. More respondents, however, had indeed
experienced some change. Their perception of how others now
perceived them appeared to change their self perception.

Some respondents had reported a general change in their
approach to others as a result of the change in themselves:
”I have met new people but I am not pushy." "I am more
respected, taken more seriously." "I am a better listener."
"I realize how important everybody is. I am tolerant of
people not on the band wagon. I have to have patience to
let people find their own pathway. People even view me as
insensitive to garbage issues." Activists experienced an
expanding tolerance to others. However a senior respondent
commiserated in sympathy with her fellow seniors that: ”I am
bored with people my age. They live a life lacking in
fulfillment with meaningless activities."

Others had taken on a new community profile. They

became well known in their community, a public figure. One

107

asserted that: "Friendships became colleagues. I became a
public figure and a community authority. My family was self
conscious about my image.” Another said that she was:
"acknowledged as an expert." "I am more of a community
person. I am more concerned and I feel more part of it."
"I know more people and am more known." A public profile
was a change due to their activism

Many found that friendships had changed, particularly
with those in the movement: "Working with my neighbors has
changed our relationship." "It created new and strengthened
old friendships. I learned more respect for the older
generation. It tightened up the community." "I see people
differently, especially those with no desire to change. I
am more likely to speak my mind to friends who then become
conscious of the issues.” "I feel a kinship with
likeminded." Another who found that environmentalism has
boundaries said: "I have many new friends across Ontario but
I now distrust people. I used to be open." Others with
fewer reservations said: "I have met many interesting people
who will remain friends." In some cases old friends were
alienated: ”My circle has changed. I don't see much of old
friends." The movement had become all consuming and it had
redefined them and their social circle.

Some, in their initial enthusiasm, learned that they
were being perceived less favorably than previously. ”My

friends find me too radical and they left the group." ”I

108
have a reputation as a garbage fanatic." "I put some people
off.” "Some strained, some strengthened." Others made
amends: "I have bonded with the like minded. I don't bring
up controversy." "I am more vocal and active, but less
inclined to talk." "I can avoid touchy subjects."

Some found change in their relationships right at home
with their families: ”It widens my basis of discussion. I
am closer to friends. I have a sense of purpose to share
with my husband."

Others found that they sacrificed family time for the
time their activism took: "I gave up full time mothering
for meetings. I am more known to the community." "I found
that my intelligence was acknowledged, but I distanced my
family and my siblings. "One with older children claimed
that: "my children are impressed and proud."

"My children regard me with more respect." "My family is
proud of me." Another experienced the opposite with: "I am
growing away from my husband." The activists role at home

changed.

Skills Used and Improved. The respondents were asked which
of their skills that they had used, improved or developed in
their activism. Their comments were very similar. The most
common were these:

Organizational Networking

Public speaking Communication

109

Leadership Research
Writing Letter writing
Debating Approaching anyone

Voicing ideas and opinions

These skills were important to the operation of the
group in the advancement of the environmental campaign.
Computer literacy, desk top publishing, and use of office
equipment were mentioned. One found that she could explain
problems to children and challenge them. Another was
introduced to the art of telephone interviewing in her
activism. A couple found that they could excite and
motivate individuals, another said she could listen and
support them. One said that she could: "Keep the group
going because people get very tired." All these skills
require clear thinking, a set goal and a systematic plan to
achieve the goal. The women interviewed were likely to be
the prominent members of their group. However, few of the
women had much experience with public speaking, for example,
prior to their activism.

The environmentalists were pleased with the development
or enhancement of their skills. They realized that such
skills would be useful in activities beyond

environmentalism.

110
Changes as a Person. The respondents were asked if they
felt that they had changed as a person as a result of their
activism. Most agreed unequivocally that they had. A few
felt that they had not. Of those who reported that they had
changed as a person, their comments were almost always all
positive. Activism had sharpened their senses. They were:
"more aware, not so lazy, very enthusiastic.", "more
knowledgeable, self confident, open to different ideas."
"more outgoing." "more assertive, more nerve, obnoxious."
"more optimistic, happier. I have control and am living
life as best as I can." "I challenge myself." "I find
myself looking long range. I am conscious of finding ways
to make things happen. I am not afraid to initiate." "I
have self confidence. I am less emotional, more assertive
and selfish in how I use time."

Many commented, in particular, on their self
confidence. "I am more assertive and diplomatic." "I am
tougher in fighting for what I believe in. I am more
persistent." "My values have changed. I am now more
assertive." "I have stronger values.” "I now have the self
confidence as a leader. I question authority. I am more
aware of barriers." "I am growing fast. I am willing to be
challenged and willing to take a risk." "I am not as
idealistic. I became a leader."

Others said that their activism had made them: "A

better listener." "More sensitive to single issue

lll
fighters." "More committed to the environment as a person."
"Mellower, not so fanatical, cynical. "Others found that
they became "Skeptical because I don’t trust process. I am
hardened, disillusioned and less patient." "I can make
changes more easily.” and ”My priorities are different. I
am not devoted to housekeeping and I don’t see much of the
family."

They had a new appreciation for their part on earth;
that they were "involved in the whole ecosystem." or "future
oriented and concentrating on social changes." and "the
earth seems more precious with all systems working
together." "I am more sensitive to and appreciative of
Nature. I view it differently." "I am more conscious of
the ecosystem." "I feel more guilty about what is thrown
away." "I am more aware of the earth and where we fit." "I
have broader horizons and broader personal knowledge. Every
blade of grass has a job to do." "I am more concerned about
the environment and about world events." ”I have a more
integrated view of knowledge and its interconnectedness. I
am more political." The activists were living their vision
of connectedness.

They stated in many ways that they felt more
responsible to and for others. ”I am more worried about my
grandchildren and my children." "I am less materialistic
and more open to people's ideas. I am more likely to be

enthusiastic." ”I am more open minded." "I feel better as

112
if I were making a contribution. I feel more confident and
no longer like a weirdo." "I am more of a community person.
I am more concerned and feel more part of it."
The respondents had become more alive, concerned,
active contributors to society passionately drawn toward a

common goal.

Category 5: Gender and the Environment

This section of the research was exploratory. As the
respondent selection was female only, the research pursued
the respondents reactions and perceptions to women and men
in the movement. The purpose was to provide any insights
that may have impact upon adult education within the
environmental movement. The research sought to learn from
the respondents their perceptions of gender based
differences about concern for the environment. This
question set was based upon reading in feminism and the
environment and women in adult learning. This question set
proved to be the most controversial of the interview. Two
respondents, who found no difference in concern, stated that
they preferred the question not to be included and debated
the interviewer at length before responding.

The responses may shed light on how women see
themselves different from men in the environmental movement.
The reference points for the responses of the women appeared

to be men in their families and community and men in their

113
group if the group were mixed. The built-in probing
questions for this topic were first to inquire whether women
were more concerned about the environment than men, then to
ask why the respondent felt that way and to probe further
the differences that the women would identify, or whether

and how men might be as concerned though in a different way.

Women's Concern for the Environment. Twice as many
respondents (30) replied that women were more concerned than
those who replied that men were equally concerned (15).
This answer was rooted in their experience and in their
outlook. Reasons why women were more concerned or men as
concerned were explored. Two stated that they didn't know
if there were any difference.

Those respondents who found that women were more
concerned about the environment than men felt that there
were fundamental differences between men and women. The
following subtitles explore those differences identified by
the respondents. Table 10 is a summary of the distinctions
the respondents drew of the reasons why women were more

concerned for the environment.

Women as nurturers. The activists who ascertained that
there was a difference between the concern of men and women
for the environment perceived women as being naturally drawn

to environmental concerns. Their role in child birth and

114

child care was an automatic link to caring for the Earth.

They took a passionate interest in the intertwining of the

future of their children and the Earth. They were

articulate in voicing this passion.

Table 10: Women's and Men’s Concern for the Environment

RBQBODB Women M0139 Concerned RBQBORB Men L388 concerned

 

are into corporate world

 

concerned about Present

 

1 1. Women are nurturers Men

2 - Women concerned for Future Men

; 3. Women have more time to Men
, volunteer

have less time to volunteer

 

4- Women are willing to work Men
for free

are wage oriented

 

 

 

5. Women are doers Men are talkers
‘ 6. Women open to new ideas Men view change in economic
' terms

 

{ 7. Excepiton noted: New age men of 90's are changing

 

— -

"Women are more concerned and active in nurturing and

environment is nurturing." "Women are more humanitarian,

emotional, closer to life and responsible." "Women are

caretakers of children and environment by nature. "

"Childbirth experience. There is a link among women and

Preservation of nature. "Women are nurturers. Men are

c=0ncerned with livelihood at the

expense of health." "Women

are more concerned with peace issues and future generations.

They are in touch with life and birth in general." "Women

are more caring and active. They are the childbearers, the

nurturers. They care for the land and provide food. It’s

 

[M

V.

3:;

5's
'3

115
the women in environmental NGOs leading and causing change."
"Women are more in touch with intuition and spirituality."

"Women are child givers. Men are protectors."

Women Concerned for the Future. Respondents saw that

in considering the environment, men in their mindset for

economic gains were shortsighted while they, the women, had

their children’s future in mind. "Motherhood issue. Women

are looking after the future generation, and are not into
the corporate world. Women have different logic bases. Men

have short term bases and women have long term. " "Women are

more active and are more concerned for their offspring.

They want the earth for their children."

Women Save Time to Volunteer. Respondents viewed that
one reason women were more active was because they had time

to volunteer. Their time was more flexible than their

husbands who were supportive and also concerned, albeit

tilsually in a different way.
Homemakers are willing to be environmentally friendly.

Perhaps women have time to think about it. " "Women have

more time and patience to work something through. " "Men are

too busy with economic concerns, career climbing, different

Mindset. " "More women are getting involved. Men have time

and career constraints." "Men don't take time because they

are more achievement oriented. " "Women turn out for

116
meetings. Husbands are doing other work." "It is easier
for women to be active as they have more time." These
comments indicate that the split in the respondents' family
roles allow women the option of active environmentalism more
than the men. There is a hint that perhaps women are more
inclined, capable and suited for activism in

environmentalism than men anyway.

Women are Willing to Work for Free. Women were
perceived as being the ones who strove for change. They
were more willing to be active because they placed more
Value on community work even though it was unpaid. "Women
are willing to work with no pay. Women react with more
emotion. Men are more practical, they want to be paid."
"Men are trained for business, jobs. Male satisfaction is
from jobs. Women are involved with children and home
Surroundings. Men are more concerned about the future of
the children only when things deteriorate." ”Environment is
an issue for women. If the issue is not seen as an economic

issue, men do not deem it as important. Women think more of

the future . "

Women are Doers. Despite men being perceived as more
Wage oriented with no time to volunteer, the women implied
that they were better at the job of activism in any case.

”Women are more thorough. " "Women are more active. " "Women

117
are doers. Men are talkers. Women are pushing government
and industry that are male dominated." "The hardest workers
in the group are the women." "Women are just more likely to
act." "Women have been more active in community awareness
and action." "Women are more vocal and willing to put
themselves out."
The women's comments insinuated that if society placed

a sufficient value, using assumed male values of prestige

and remuneration, that men would also be more involved.

Women Open to New Ideas. Many respondents saw that
women were open to new ideas whereas men seemed less open as
they considered change in economic terms. "Women seem to be
more open towards new things. Many men think that there is
only one way to do things. " "Women operate more by gut
feeling and sensitivity. Men operate by economics and judge
things by the cost." ”More women are involved. Men are
afraid of the financial sacrifice." "Men are more
interested in convenience. " One respondent saw that women's
Openness lead to less practicality. They were ready to
change the little things in life without considering the
context. "Women have to be practical. Men see things in an
economic or wider scope. Women want to change the dish

Soap. Men want to change the economy.”

118

New Age Men. Two of the older activists had another
perspective. They had found a marked change in today’s
young man. They felt he was different from his forbearers
in that he was more sensitive, involved in childcaring and
therefore more involved in the environmental movement. They
found that involvement of men was not a gender role issue
but a generational issue and they held out hope for a gender
merge in coming generations.

"Men are changing. Women initiate contacts. There is
a now a 50/50 attendance at meetings. Two years ago, I

would have said women are more concerned, but not anymore."

Gender Difference in concern for the Environment. The
number of respondents who stated that men and women were
concerned about the environment in a different way (17) was
inst slightly more than those who stated that men and women
had the same concern for the environment (15). Some of
those who said that women were more concerned about the
environment than men, said that those men who were
concerned, were concerned in the same way. Their comments
were based on their perception that there were more women in
the environmental movement as they knew it. They were
comparing the number of women and men involved. However
Once the men were involved, they did not draw a distinction.
Several said they did not know if there was a difference in

concern 0

119

A respondent stated that, "Men and women think

differently. The movement needs men to strengthen it. In

Mitchell, men are still more listened to, though the
situation is still changing." She recognized a social
situation in her community and her strategy was to make use
of it to advance her group while biding the time for it to

change. Others who saw no difference in level of concern,

cilaimed that, "There are just as many men as women in my

ccnmmunity who are concerned." and "I know more women through
the groups, but of those concerned, it is a 50/50 split."

One respondent paralleled feminist thinking and environment
with "Environment is an issue of power and oppression."

The study addressed these questions but did not answer

them conclusively. That they were not conclusive indicates

‘tlmat women’s concern about the environment, the extent or

nature, is unlikely equal either.

Are men who are concerned about the environment just as

concerned as women are?

Is the substance of the concern between men and women

different?

Do men and women think differently?

Table 11: Gender Difference in Environmental Concern

     
 
 

  

Uncertain about

 

Men and Women

    
 

 
   
 
 

.fiien and Women

(ztancerned about Concerned about Difference in
nvironment in Environment in Same Concern of Men and

I3:1fferent Way WgL Women

 
 

 

 

9 geoponsee

 

 

_,17 e 15 Responses

120

Fewer Men but Same Concern. Several women were adamant

that there were no differences between environmental concern

of men and women. "If men are involved, they care, unless

they are in it to find out marketing advantages." "Men who

are concerned are concerned in the same way. " "Men are

concerned in the same way. There are just fewer men." "Men

involved in the environmental movement are not mainstream ,

men.” One responded that she had "Not observed" a less or

different concern. "One third of the group are men."

Another said that she found men had the same concern as

women. Attendance in the group was equal: "In our group

there is a 50/50 split."

Men with a Different Agenda. The respondents were

asked whether they felt men and women might both be equally

concerned for the environment but in a different way. Many

felt that this was the case. "Men are more concerned for

environment in a technical way. Men and women are basically

"Men and women have opposite points of view.
The

different. "

I‘len are interested in production and profits.

environment is to be exploited. Women are into the quality

of life and children’ s health.” ”Men tend to look for

Women look at effects of situation." "Men

ec=onomic gains .

and women perceive issues differently. Women connect home

and globe and view on an emotional level. Men tend to have

technical expertise. Rational level." "Depends on

121

individual and what they are in it for. It is easier to get

women concerned." "Men are disconnected." "Men tend to put

economics ahead." "Women are interested in the quality of

life, men in the economics." "Women are more practical.

They ignore economics for health and welfare of children.

Not so concerned for power. Support one another." "More

women behind major non partisan issues. Men are more

political." "Men don' t have time. They feel someone else

will take care of it."
Respondents who felt there was a difference in the type

of environmental concern exhibited by men and women, felt
that women were more humanistic, naturalistic, child

centered while men were more focused on their jobs, their

ego, the economy or technical aspects. If the respondents'

comments represent perceptions of fundamental differences
between men and women, then indeed adult learning must take
note. First conclusive studies must be conducted to
identify gender based differences that affect learning, then

to raise awareness of these differences between men and
women, and then to design programs according to preferred
gender based learning priorities and styles.

Men Adopting a Feminine Perspective. Other comments
that reinforced respondent impression that generation not

gender that was a deciding influence on the concern of men

and women in the environmental movement. "Men are learning

122
from women about how to appreciate Nature. Women preserve
and sustain life. Women follow along." "Older men in

industry are condescending to the public. The younger ones

are informed." "Men would react more if it concerned their

business or life."

Some respondents seemed to think that the younger

generation of men hold more promise for the environment than

the older generation. If so, gender based differences are a

function of nurture not nature. Our present state of social

Values in Ontario are reducing the gender based differences,
despite lack of gender based education (which if implemented
may serve to keep the genders apart) then the importance is
less of gender based programs or at least awareness of

gender based differences in learning.

Group Thinking. One respondent saw beyond a gender
dividing analyses. She said that: ”If you grow as a group,
all the members have the same concern." Her reflection
emphasized the members, comprising men and women, merging in
their perspective on the environment. Men and women did

not, in her experience, exhibit particularly different sorts

of environmental concerns.

123
Conclusions
Adult learning figured throughout the findings of the study.
In the development of the activists, once the activists had
identified a cause or a goal, they were highly motivated to
learn. Their learning took many directions and many
.methods. They learned how to handle the stress of a
weighing global concern, they learned subject matter, they
learned political process and disillusionment with it.
Imearning from their peers as resource persons was a
significant learning method. Activists' commitment and
growing expertise became known and they took on a public
profile. They, in turn, became educators within their
community.

Activists were touched in their personal lives by their
new role. Their commitment caused introspection and change
iJa their domestic habits. Friendships were changed.
Relationships with likeminded were deepened and in some
cases added a collegial dimension. Activists developed and
deepened skills that were useful in their work that would be
Iaseful beyond their environmental activities.

Some of the activists observed gender differences in
'the environmental movement, others refuted them. A study of
gender perspectives would be useful for a systematic

approach of adult learning for environmental change.

CHAPTER V

SUMMARY 0? FINDINGS, DRAWING NEANING AND NEXT STEPB

"IRON BIORDB To PLOUGHBHARBB"

The research findings point to the vital role that

adult learning has had for women activists in the

environmental movement. Women, through growing awareness,

either through a latent-become-active interest or through a

particular event, were thrust into activism. They found

‘themselves fueled with energy that they directed with

arguments, information, study, evidence, documents and

This learning took place individually, with

experience .
It

firiends, in groups, in conferences and in classrooms.

was adult learning in process.

Summary of Findings

This section draws meaning from the findings that

irialates to adult learning and to activism.

Adult Learning and the Development of the remale Activist

Adult learning appears in almost every identified

aspect of the development of the female activist. This

‘1earning guided her development towards commitment to

124

125

environmentalism and prepared her to make the changes she

would strive for.

A predisposition for activism in the women made them

likely to be motivated to pursue an environmental issue when

they became aware of it. The predisposition for activism

helped them to focus adult learning. Women without a

predisposition for activism may be less likely to pursue an

issue with the same intensity.
Adult learning was stimulated when there was an event

that stirred the women to activism. Intellectual and

emotional dander's raised, the women were fired with

(iirection, energy and a clarity of thinking. The women set

Chit on an ardent knowledge search to study the issue at hand

to equip themselves with understanding they needed.

The tasks that activists set for themselves to advance
tdaeir activism involved adult learning because almost all of
time tasks activists embarked upon were new to them.

Activism stretched them.

In search of adult learning, the activists joined

QDEoups. There they were among both the educatees and the

educators as they searched for and shared information.

Adult learning facilitated activists to make

significant changes. Through learning, they changed their

lifestyle. In some cases their circle of friends changed.

Their attitudes and approach to others often changed. Their

values changed. Their world view changed. Most of these

126
changes were unanticipated by the activists. They set out
to right a wrong and in studying the circumstances they
found that to enforce the right way in their community, they
had to change and change they did.

The activists directed and redirected their adult
learning as their knowledge and awareness increased. The
environmental issues tackled by the activists were in every
case far more complicated than the activists had
anticipated. The more they learned, the more they realized
there was to learn. The activists adopted a notion of
interconnectedness as a conceptual framework to accommodate
the interlocking nature of all the aspects of an
environmental problem.

Activists became community educators as they became
known for their growing expertise in their community.
Another unexpected impact of activism was their community
Profile as environmental experts. A dividend of their
investment in adult learning and public activities was the
recognition by the community of their knowledgeability.
They became resource persons for the community.

Spurred by their own quest for knowledge, activists
felt the need to share their findings with their community.
They felt the excitement of learning and the desire to pass
it on to others who they hoped would adopt their position on

the environmental issues.

127
Approaches to Adult Learning

Many approaches to adult learning were identified in
‘the course of the respondents' activism. Activists were
receptive to what they heard on or read in the media
pertaining to environmental topics. Because of the concern
of the activists the media items were made use of,
particularly when they directly advanced their causes. In
many cases the activists used the media to educate the
public.

Activists selected topics for individual study and
actively sought information by reading, taking courses or
attending meetings with expert speakers. Once they were
well informed about the topic, they became the experts and

facilitated others in these topics.

Group Membership and Adult Learning

Membership in a group was important to the adult
learning process of the activists. It was the most
important basis of learning for most of the activists.

The group provided a forum for learning for activists
in that they felt the bond of having and working toward the
same goal. Positive group dynamics contributed an
atmosphere conducive to sharing and learning within it.

The group provided a source of friends that supported
both the personal and environmental activities of the

activists. The positive dynamics found in the group backed

128
the members not only in their learning but also in their
activities applying the learning. The group offered its
members a sense of community.

The goal orientation of the group kept the group
focused in their learning and in their activities. As the
members discovered the convolutions of the issue they were
addressing, the group assisted them in maintaining a
perspective that the issue was manageable and not to lose
hope that the problem could be successfully addressed and
not to lose focus. It encouraged members to continue
learning and exploring the many facets of the issue.

The group supported members in their changes in values,
lifestyle, circle of friends, attitude, activities, world
view. While the members were in the process of learning so
that they could achieve group goals, they themselves were
experiencing change. Within the group were members who had
experienced changes, who could provide guidance or share
their own experiences to those being introduced to new
concepts. The sharing for personal growth led to further
bonding within the group.

An organized group with deliberate goals to make change
in a community soon gained a profile within the community.
The group provided a known backing of commitment that lent
credibility and clout to the position of the individual

activist when she represented the group. Activists felt

129
responsible to the group. Learning they did while
representing the group was shared with their fellow members.

The group provided personal opportunities to the
individual activist to continue learning in formal settings
where she represented the group. These opportunities would
not have been available had she not been a group member and
thus reinforced her interest in membership in the group.
Learning took place in meetings, courses and in conferences.
Learning was in the form of material, presentations and
networking.

The group provided opportunities to the individual
activist to be an adult educator when she represented the
group. A knowledgeable individual may not have had the same
opportunity to share knowledge as would a knowledgeable
member of a known group. Such opportunities reinforced her
interest in membership in the group.

The group provided personal opportunities for the
individual activist to learn while representing the group.
These activities were learning opportunities. They raised
self esteem, awareness and expertise of the individual
activist.

Activists learned in groups. The groups hosted
resource persons and shared materials. They encouraged
discussion of issues. The groups enabled the members to

become both educators and learners.

130
Lifestyle Changes
Activists changed their lifestyle through an adult
learning process. By practicing environmentalism in the
home they internalized a theoretical commitment to
environmentalism.

Activists felt a need to practice what they were

preaching to show a good example. Their commitment to solve

a community environmental problem led them to ensure that
‘they were not contributing to the problem or its
<:ircumstances as they encouraged others to be aware of the
problem and not to exacerbate it.

Activists felt compelled to make environmentally
:friendly changes to their consumer, disposal and sometimes
(iietary habits. Branching from their learning about an
environmental issue, the activists saw importance to the
environment in everything they did. Their commitment drove
‘them to incorporate environmentalism into their lifestyle to
iflhe extent they could.

Practicing environmentalism in the home, an application
<3f'their learning, assured activists that they were living
their commitment. Despite how successfully their group
goals were being achieved, activists could gain a sense of

satisfaction that they were contributing to the good of the

environment .

131
Changes in the World View of the Activists

Activists' view of the world, based upon an underlying
set of assumptions, changed. Activists continued to learn
through experience and example of others. Many found that
to be effective they themselves had to change. They were
adapting their mode of action, attitude and approach to be
more suitable to their commitment and their perception of
what had to be done and how it should be done. They
perceived that change also had to be made in society's
institutions. This change that was to have an affect from
individual values to social institutions reinforced for the
activists the concept, new to them, of interconnectedness.
How everything in life affects something else; how nothing
acts in isolation of anything else.

Activists adopted a world view that revered the role of
Nature. They viewed humanity’s membership in Nature and a
special responsibility of stewardship in preserving Nature.
They saw the destruction of Nature as the destruction of
humanity. .

Activists’ world view included the experience of the
tale of grassroots action to direct change in Canadian
Society as an integral part and the hope of democracy.

Aetivists were disillusioned by the present political
System's inability to preserve the environment. They saw
Organized community energy as a tremendous power in making

c=11ange in Canada .

 

132
Activists' view of institutionalizing change on behalf

of the environment was to build environmentalism into the

education system. They saw that the schools had an

opportunity to teach values and knowledge to children that

will equip them to live an environmentally conscious

lifestyle.

‘What was Learned

Activists through adult learning in the course of their

activism were able to make substantial increases in

learning. They learned technical subject matter such as

chemical compounds, their reactions, side effects,

industrial processes. Activists learned the broader context

of environmental problems such as role of industry in

jpolitics and economics. Activists gained insights into

lumman behavior through their environmental groups, town

council meetings, reaction to their environmentalism from

:Eriends, neighbors and family. Activists learned the value

(of individual effort in the movement whether it be on behalf

(If their household, group or community. Activists learned

about themselves and what characteristics and skills they
had, developed or improved, or needed to contribute to the

movement. They looked to themselves as a primary resource

to be developed toward a goal they were intent upon

£l<=<=omplishing.

 

133

Activists learned about groups, how groups operated
and how to operate within them. Activists saw groups as
organisms with interdependent parts, each strengthening the
other and the whole. The group was the strength of the
environmental movement, the key vehicle through which
progress could be made. The group was as strong as its
members and the members learned to function in a group that
made an impact. Activists learned about advocacy.
Orchestrated advocacy was the main tool of the movement.
Garnering support for their point of view to overcome an
opposition was the key to activism.

Activists learned how to learn and how to manage
learning. They learned how to tackle material from
lheretofore unknown fields, how to analyze it, critique it,
(discuss it and present it. They learned how to apply their
and other's experience. They became streetwise with
politicians and consultants. They learned how to organize
information, experience and strategy into a campaign and how

to carry their successes to the next step.

Learning Methods

Activists conducted adult learning through assorted
Vays of learning. Activists found learning in many
different ways fulfilled their learning needs. While they
mail)? have had a preferred way of learning, they learned using

Several methods. Activists found that learning was enhanced

 

134
by mutually supporting ways of learning and that all ways

could be mutually supporting.

Personal Changes and Adult Learning

Activists found that through adult learning in
environmentalism that they were making personal changes that
had been completely unanticipated. Activists became very
intense in their commitment to environmentalism. This
intensity was often all consuming and occupied much of the
time and energy of the activists, at least over a short
period of time until the activist was able to balance the
environmental agenda with other aspects of her life.
Nevertheless, environmentalism did influence other aspects
Of life as it settled into a way of thinking.

Activists found that they related to people

<iifferently as a result of their activism experience.

Activists bonded with the like-minded and withdrew from

those who were skeptical or critical. Many were initially

qnuite outspoken on the issues and later took a more balanced
point of view that the people they came into contact with

would find more palatable.

Activists found that they were using, improving and

developing skills to advance their activism. The activities

undertaken by the activists stretched them and each found

11‘31? skills and talents employed. Activists reported changes

in their character that reflected greater self esteem,

 

135

confidence and strength of commitment. Their sense of
purpose within the community and positive recognition for
their efforts within family and community gave them a new
outlook on themselves.

Activists incorporated a spiritual perspective in
their environmentalism. Those who were religious viewed
environmentalism as part of their religious obligations.

They had a renewed appreciation of Nature, their part in it

and their obligation to protect it.

Activists Perception of Differences in Environmentalism
Between remale and Male Activists

Activists had observed that women in community groups
engaged in environmental issues outnumbered men. The
jperception of many female activists was that women are more
«concerned about the environment than men. But female
aactivists who feel that women are more concerned about the
environment than men feel that women are fundamentally
(different in their approach to life than men and that is the

:reason there is a gender difference in the approach to

environmentalism.

Female activists who believe that there is a difference
.in men and women's approaches to the environment feel that
“Hamen are closer to and more in touch with Nature. For
1female activists, the women's role of Childminding is

Perceived as a task related to Nature. Women are more

136
concerned with protecting the young, planning for their safe
future and thus more interested in a safe environment.
Female activists perceive men to be task and wage oriented
and less focused upon preserving Nature as upon making
economic, technical and career gains. Some female activists
see that younger men, under 40 years old, are more likely to

have similar ideas and outlook on environmentalism as women

than older men.

Sources of Influence Upon Activists' Adult Learning in

 

Environmentalism

There were several sources of influence upon the
activists that stimulated, directed and supported their
adult learning. They were: environmental group, family
.background, immediate family, community, specific events,
:nature of the environmental issue, extent of the commitment
‘of and time available to the activist, the types of
lactivities the activist is involved in, perceived urgency of
'the issue by the activist and the abilities and character of
‘the activist.

Activists in turn influenced environmental learning and
application of learning in their families, in their

<environmental group, and in their community through their

group .

137
Drawing Meaning
Drawing Meaning from the Findings
This section reviews the major findings of the study
and analyses them in an attempt to draw meaning about adult

learning in the context of this study that can be applied by

adult educators.

The Group is Important to Individual Learning. The group
provided the ambiance conducive for learning. The purpose
of the group was to achieve particular goals. Each activist
was encouraged by the members to pursue learning about the
issue of concern to further inform them. This learning was
enhanced by the opportunity in the group to share, to
actively contribute as an educator to the learning of other
Imembers. By sharing, it helped the individual to articulate
lknowledge for her own understanding. In this way her
learning was reinforced. She would read books, articles,
‘view television programs, listen to radio broadcasts,
:speakers, go to courses and conferences. She brought the
Iknowledge and experience back to the group. Other group
members likewise brought their learning to the group and
Shared it. In this way the individuals developed new
insights and understandings as a function of their role in
the group as a co-teacher. All individuals contributed to
their own and others learning through this alternating role

as contributor and receiver. The group allowed supportive

138
conditions for learning exchange among the members. The
dynamic of contributing to the learning of others is a

powerful tool for developing one's own learning.

Becoming an "Expert" as a Way to Enhance One's Own Learning.
The activists became known in their communities for their
acquired knowledge and expertise and for their commitment to
their cause. They were invited as speakers to community
groups and schools, asked to write articles for local
newspapers, were interviewed for local television
productions and were asked advice by fellow citizens. They
became community educators.

The activists became community educators at the behest
of the community because they had become educated in topics
that were of the concern of the community at large which had
:not adopted the same intensive approach to learning as the
activists.

The expert role followed by individuals in the group
set off a chain of other processes within the individual
‘that eventually led to enhanced learning. The
responsibility of serving the community increased in the

individual the responsibility of increasing learning.

The Potential of a Learning Group Evolves from the
Differences of its Members. For a group to be truly a

learning unit, the members need not only have to have common

139
goals or learning needs. They must also accept and respect
each person as a source of knowledge and inspiration
different from the other. They must celebrate the
differences and understand that the complimentarity of
differences in personality, expertise, and experience among
the members is the strength of the group. It is the
complimentarity of differences that forms the learning unit
into a learning organism whereby the whole is greater than
the sum of its parts. If the acceptance of differences is
not found, learning may happen, but it will be hampered by
mental blocks set up by individuals resisting others because
of bias against their persons or their points of view. And
group cohesion will suffer.

Understanding the complimentarity often takes the
strength of a good facilitator to bring tolerance to the
group to mesh personalities. This role adult educators may
jpday. A harmonious atmosphere of mutual appreciation for

‘the unique things that each individual brings to the group

enhances learning .

Learning Intensity Can Only be Maintained for a Limited
Time. Activists began their activism with stress caused by
the concern they felt. Once in a group bound to others of
‘flhe same concern, their energy that once was stress was
harnessed and their attention was turned to learning about

the concern and making strategies for their campaign. The

140
activists felt relief and bonding with their fellow
activists. In the group, however, the level of energy was
not at the same intensity among members. It ebbed and
flowed among them. The advantage of this phenomenon was
that there was always someone in the group who was at a
higher energy level to carry on the goal orientation of the
group. When one person was down, there seemed to be someone
else who was up to encourage those experiencing an ebb of
energy. The person experiencing higher energy at the time
would stimulate the others by new information, experiences
or ideas or just encouragement. This mutual support would
continue until the achievement of the goals of the group.

Once the goals were achieved, the group experienced a
lull in energy as a group. The question of the future of
the group was raised. Some groups that had been focused
upon community action, turned their efforts to supporting
environmental education in the community.

Groups are dynamic and the energy intensity varies with
their goals. Intense drive usually cannot be sustained by
one person throughout the course of the group. The
intensity is shared until the goals of the group are
accomplished. However, once the goals are achieved, the
Members may be unwilling to experience such an intensity
‘again. They need time to recover and regain the balance of
their lives, their out-of-group activities with their jobs

and families. Adult educators may be able to tap groups of

 

 

 

141
high energy but realize that it may not be sustainable.

There needs to be periods of cooling off.

Learners with Bet Outward Goals do not Anticipate the
Changes that They Make in Themselves. The impact of
learning may extend to aspects of life unanticipated by the
learner. The achievement of learning goals for a change in
society may also effect changes in self, though the self was
not the intention in learning. The individuals focused
their learning upon the goals of their campaign. The course
of the learning was intended to help them understand the
nature of the problem they were intent upon solving.

Through their analysis of the cause of the problem, they saw
themselves implicated and as a result they made changes in
themselves. They made changes in their lifestyles: domestic
habits, consumer choices, diet. They made changes in their
attitudes toward Nature, waste. They became closer to
people who thought like they did and more distant to those
uninvolved. Their whole frame of reference, their world
view, encompassed a view of Nature that they had never
really thought of before their learning. They also
developed new skills or improved skills they had. Goal
oriented learners may adjust their attitudes, their
relationships, their skills, even their world view to
accomplish their goals, despite it never having been their

original intention.

142

The individuals internalized the learning that they had
intended for external application. The meaning of the
learning was applied to themselves. And, this application
or internalization of learning had been unanticipated by the
learner who had set out to accomplish other and external
goals. Adult educators may find that the impact of learning
for an external purpose extends to more personal aspects of
life and that this application is unexpected. Adult
educators may assist learners to better anticipate these
changes or help learners understand the value of

unanticipated learning.

Motivated Individuals Extend Their Learning to Related
Topics. Individuals who are in an intensive learning
pattern are ready to absorb as much information as they can
on any topic they decide is relevant to their cause. The
individuals in this study set out to understand the problem,
such as a landfill, and its technicalities. They found
themselves also reviewing the dominant paradigm of a
consumer industrial society with all its waste products and
disposable mentality. They learned that the issues were far
more complicated than they had imagined. The learning
touched on not only environmental issues but also ecological
issues or philosophy.

It is essential for adult educators to understand this

Phenomena. We can not be short sighted in how we assist

 

 

 

 

143
learners in their pursuit of new ideas. The unanticipated
learnings that can accrue from learning groups can be most
significant for the learner. The adult educator must learn
to be sensitive to the potentiality of unanticipated
learning and provide a setting by which it can occur.
Learning may be directly related to information, but it can
also evolve to concerns surrounding the social, economic and

philosophical context of the information.

Individuals Become Learning Managers 8o That They Can
Process the Amount of Material to be Learned. Individuals
learn how to learn. They read technical reports in fields
foreign to them. They attend hearings, presentations and
conferences where new concepts are presented that they have
to provide input. They are inundated with new material that
they have to make sense of to support their campaign. To do
so, they have to select what is relevant, find resource
persons to assist with material that is difficult and
understand it in a framework that is relevant to them.
Individuals organize their learning to reduce the stress of
confusion over the material and the confusion they otherwise
would feel if they could not see a path to doing something
to resolve the social problem that has given rise to their
learning. Learning management is essential to effective
ilearning, particularly if the learner is under duress.

Adult educators can assist learners in developing their

 

 

 

 

144
learning management capability. This can be especially
helpful for learners who can define a goal but perhaps are

unable to define a learning path to the goal.

The Learning Cycle of a Learning Group. The activists
experienced a learning path of four identifiable parts or
segments. These parts were learning preparation, learning
acquisition, goal achievement and social change. These
parts appear to be sequential but dynamic. It appears that

a learner always passes through the parts in the same

 

sequence yet the point of entry can be different each time.
In addition, the length of time a learner spends in one of
the parts and the difficulty the learner has in moving
through the part is conditioned on the prior experiences of
the learner. However, it can be expected that a learner, as
a part of a group learning experience, will work through all
four of the parts. Once the four parts have been
experienced, the learner may work through them again, but,
with greater efficiency. There would be less time lost in
searching for information, peers, or in coping with the
stress of the event that stimulated the learning. The
learning cycle of a learning group is shown in Figure 2.
Learning preparation can be characterized by the
learning readiness of an individual. This can include the
.individual's predisposition toward the learning, awareness

<3f the learning task or the event, the information that is

 

145

 

=>

2. LEARNING ACQUISITION
-intensive absorption of

1. LEARNING PREPARATION
- predisposition toward

learning knowledge
- awareness of issue - sharing learning with
- seeking like minded peers

- expansion of knowledge to
adjoining issues
- use of many learning

methods

selection of resources

 

 

LEARNING CYCLE OF
A LEARNING GROUP

fl

4. SOCIAL CHANGE 3. GOAL ACHIEVEMENT

Figure 2.

 

- personal change in
attitude, behavior, values,
relationships

- changes in physical
environment

- community change in
activities awareness

4:

- strategies for applying
learning

- action: implementation of
strategy

- expansion of learning from
experience

The Learning Cycle of a Learning Group

 

146
needed for effective learning or whatever it was that
stimulated the desire to learn. Learning preparation
includes the seeking out of others with similar learning
desires, and the selection of learning resources or
materials that support the learning.

Learning acquisition is characterized by intensive
individual learning to absorb as much as possible to
understand the concern that is focused upon. It can entail
the sharing of the learning with peers, such as fellow group
members, to reinforce understanding. And in the sharing, an
expansion of learning can occur whereby other group members
share their learning and understanding. The group, as a
major learning organism, is essential during the learning
acquisition stage due to the potential contribution of the
nmny group members toward each individual's acquisition of
learning.

Goal achievement, the third part of this schema, is
characterized by learners preparing strategies for putting
into action what they have been learning. Unlike classroom
settings where learners are content to talk about the
Possibility of action, the members of activist learning
groups have the unique potential to actually apply what they
have been trying to learn. And, once applied, the learning
takes on new qualities born out of the reality of the

action. Words take on meaning and concepts define actions.

 

 

 

147
The learning acquisition stage has led to the implementation
of ideas.

The fourth component of the learning path is social
change which is characterized by personal changes being made
by the learners. The achievement of specific learning goals
leads to major shifts in the quality of the physical
environment surrounding the learner. And, of course, in an
activist setting this is the desired end. Often community
change is the ultimate recognition of learning that has
progressed through all four segments of the learning path.
Begun as a challenge to be prepared for (preparation stage),
then learned in an academic sense (learning acquisition),
followed by putting it into action (goal achievement), the
ideas and concepts that have brought the learners together
in a group have now moved beyond the group and into the

community.

Drawing Meaning Prom the Research Methodology

The focus of this section is on the research
methodology that was used in this study. It is felt that
the ground theory methodology contributed significantly to
the process of uncovering the dynamics of learning in a
group setting and also served to further enhance the
learning of the activists in the groups.

Research methodology shapes the findings. The
methodology of this research is addressed as an integral

 

148
part of the findings. Not only a tool for seeking data, the
methodology became a process within and reinforcing the
respondents activism. The research stems from the
researcher's commitment to understand the processes of adult
learning undergone by activists in handling circumstances
causing and institutions sustaining environmental injustice
or exploitation.

The research is feminist research. It is about women's
experience, through adult learning, in handling in what they
assessed was injustice and exploitation of the environment.
The sample included only women so that inferences from the
research would be directly applicable to women, having been

derived from the experience of women.

The Concept of Supportive Research. The methodology was
supportive research. Supportive research identifies a
phenomenon and while investigating it, supports it without
actively directing change through it. Supportive research
combines three activities: investigation, education and
possibly action. In contrast, participatory research is
focused on action. The purpose of participatory research is
not only to describe and interpret social reality but to
actively engage in the changing of it (Maguire, 1987:28).
The research method for this study was a social
investigation of adult learning used by activists in the

posing and solving of environmental problems. It was an

149
educational process for both researcher and participants.
The activists had formed an analysis of the structural
causes of the environmental threats through their own
discussion and interaction and had individually verbalized
and shared their analysis during the research. The analysis
was not facilitated by the research; instead sought and
probed through the research. The researcher and the
activists took collective short and long term action for
social change. Action following investigation and education
was not a planned part of the research. In participatory
research, action is a planned consequence of inquiry (Hall,
1979, 1981: PR Network, 1982 in Maguire, 1987:29).

The activists agreed to participate in the research as
part of their activism. It was, some said, one way of
contributing to the movement. The researcher was obligated
to contribute to their knowledge by sharing relevant
experience of other environmental groups encountered. The
sharing extended to providing contacts, references,
meetings, and media that the researcher had become aware of
during the course of the research. Subsequent action for
the researcher was becoming a member of one of the groups,
joining a network of groups, attending a workshop organized
by activists of several of the groups visited, and in
general, a new and ongoing commitment to the movement for
the researcher. Interaction between the researcher and the

respondents based on environmental issues began during the

150
research and continued long after the research had
concluded.

Supportive research is useful to adult learning for
these reasons. It allows a perspective of the process of
learning by adults. It allows the researcher to contribute
to the interests of the respondents without being heavily
involved with them by such as directing or facilitating
action with the respondents. As qualitative and descriptive
research, it allows the respondents to provide the societal
context of their learning for the understanding of the
learning milieu. And, it is relevant to the respondent's
immediate concerns so that they are both willing to

participate and the research adds to their learning.

Knowledge Creation and Action in Supportive Research.
Supportive research combines the creation of knowledge about
social reality paving the way for action on reality. It
provides a roadmap for knowing and doing. Participatory
research on the other hand, removes the dichotomy between
knowing and doing (Tandon, 1981b; Hall, 1981 in Maguire,
1987: 29). Participatory research aims at three types of
change (Maguire, 1987: 29). Supportive research assists in
a preview of these changes without launching into them:

- development of critical consciousness of both

researcher and participants

151
- improvement of the lives of those involved in the
research process
- transformation of fundamental societal structures and
relationships
This supportive research addressed these three types of
change in the body of the study. It did not facilitate
these changes, the process of conducting the research became
a part of all three changes. The emergent idea of
interconnectedness of the environment extended to include
the research, hence the activists willingness to
participate. Those activists who did not perceive any
relevance of the research to their lives declined to

participate.

Knowledge Inquiry Processes. Habermas (1971) distinguishes
between three knowledge inquiry processes that generate
three types of knowledge: technical, interpretive and
critical. Maguire (1987) insinuates that different types of
research produce different types of knowledge. This
research is qualitative and was designed to produce grounded
theory about adult learning in the lives of activists. The
intent of the research was to study a process not to
facilitate it. However, the activist respondents
incorporated their participation in the research into their
environmental activities as part of their process of actions

directed toward change. From the point of view of adult

152
learning, technical and interpretive knowledge in the study
are explicit and critical knowledge is implicit. Critical
knowledge of the respondents, in their own context outside
the research, was explicit and that knowledge they reported,
making it implicit within the research.

Table 12 reviews these types of knowledge with a
description, use of each type, and how the study has
produced each type.

Technical knowledge generated through empirical
research where the researcher is independent of the

respondents generates laws and theories to account for

Table 12: Types of Knowledge Generated by the Study

Knowledge Description of Use of Know- Knowledgew
Type _Rnowledgew ledgem in Study

Technical Study of To predict To understand
(explicit in actions to behavior. To social change
1 the study) formulate laws exert control through adult
1 and theories to over people and learning process
account for environment of activists
social behavior

 

Interpretive Study of social To create To understand
‘ (explicit in interactions as conditions for activists'

the study) described by mutual exchange of
those involved understanding 1 knowledge to

to assess how between members achieve social
interaction of different change

produces rules social orders
for social life

 

Critical Study of social To stimulate To facilitate
(implicit in systems to action from activists'

the study, understand perceptions & understanding of
but explicit tensions & contribute to adult learning
in lives of conflicts thru social change process for
activists) reflection, social change
analysis a
action

 

 

 

 

(based on three divisions of knowledge by Habermas, 1971)

153

observable social behavior (Fay, 1975). Technical knowledge
may be used to predict behavior or perhaps to exert control
over people and their environment. Technical knowledge in
the research was generated to understand the adult learning
process of activists. It could be used perhaps by activists
to plan their campaigns or perhaps by the activists’
antagonists in planning a counter campaign. .Adult educators
may gain insights into the process of learning experienced
by activists as adult learners to determine if and where
there may be an entry point for them. Technical knowledge
will guide the adult educator in assessing the learner and
making estimates about what type of learning may be
appropriate at what stage of need of the learner.

Interpretive knowledge was generated through the
research. This is the understanding of meanings given to
social interactions by those involved (Maguire, 1987:14)
Interpretive inquiry uncovers how individual and group
interpretations of reality influence both social actions and
the intentions which social actors have in doing whatever
they do. The focus is on understanding how human
interaction produces rules governing social life rather than
on discovering universal laws of human interaction.
Interpretive inquiry is used to create the conditions for
mutual understanding and consensus between members of
different social orders as well as producing knowledge.

This research records the learning of the activists as they

 

 

 

154
themselves have described it. It interprets the reality of
the activists and the position they have taken to change
attitudes and policies that affect environment. Adult
educators can use interpretive knowledge to understand how
the nature of learning of the individual skews their
interpretation of reality and hence the social actions
taken.

Critical knowledge produced by critical inquiry was
also generated. It explores social systems and the
contradictions which underlie social tensions and conflicts.
The activists, through self-reflection, analysis of social
systems, and actions, came to understand and tried to change
the injustices they had identified. The activist
respondents, through critical inquiry in the research,
vocalized their perceptions, in seeing themselves and social
situations in a new way. "Their perceptions led to further
action for self-determined emancipation from counter
productive social systems and relationships. Action informs
reflection and people see themselves and their social
conditions more clearly. The dialectical relationship
between inquiry and action or theory and practice is
explicit.” (Maguire, 1987:14). This research examines the
activists perceptions of the social systemic origin of
environmental problems and what should be done to rectify
the social system. Their perceptions are derived from their

activities. Adult educators engaged in supportive research

 

 

155
or participatory research gain from critical knowledge and

can contribute to the process of self-reflection.

Research Paradigms That Emerged From The Activists.
Research paradigms shape the form and purpose of
investigating social reality. They are based upon different
sets of assumptions about the nature of society, the ways in
which society should be investigated and the kinds of
knowledge that it is possible to acquire about the world
(Popkewitz, 1984). In this study, aiming to produce
grounded theory resulting from qualitative research,
research paradigms emerged from the respondents values,
attitudes, and changes in world view. The research paradigm
was the activists' paradigm. Table 13 exposes the
activists' paradigm and its components that emerged by
comparing the activists view with the status quo or dominant
paradigm that the environmentalists found themselves in
conflict. The activists' view is verified with evidence of
the changes they wished to make to the dominant paradigm.
The activists' alternative paradigm is indicative of
the basis of grounded theory. Qualitative research for
grounded theory by nature signifies value laden research and
is in contradiction to the concept of positivism or
empirical value free research. Table 13 articulates the
activists' values portrayed in the research as an

alternative paradigm. It is to be noted that widespread

 

156

acceptance of the alternative paradigm would make it a

dominant one.

Table 13: Key Concerns of Dominant and Activists’
Alternative Paradigm Views of Society and Evidence of

Activists' View

Concerns of Dominant
View of Society

 
 

1. Maintenance of
evolutionary change
of status quo

Concerns of
Activists'
Society

View of

 

1. Radical change

Evidence of

Activists' View

 

1 _ h1,,, ,_ , Vfiwdi
1. Change in policy,

laws, education, !
attitude ,

 

2. Maintaining social
order, existing
systems unquestioned

2. Transforming
social systems
analyzing structural
conflicts and
contradictions

2. Social systems
based on energy and
environment rather
than on economics

 

3. Greater efficiency
of current systems

3. Creating more just
and equitable systems

3. More input in
government from

 

 

integration and
cohesion of social

between social ideals
and reality '

from a perspective of environmentally
the environment inclined people
4. Harmony, 4. Contradictions 4. Elected officials

working against
electorate for

 

roups environment.
5. Ways to maintain 5. Ways to dismantle 5. Ways to '
cohesion and systems that reformulate values to
consensus reinforce status quo embrace
environmentalism

 

‘ 6. Solidarity

6. Emancipation from
model of econ-
omics/profit driven
social structure

6.Interconnectedness
within realm of
environmentalism

 

‘ 7. Identifying and

? meeting individual
needs within existing

‘ social system

7. Current systems
incapable of
equitably meeting
basic human needs for
a healthy environment

7. Current system
unwilling to factor
in environmentalism
for public decision
due to economic

 

pressures

3 8. Actually 8. Potentiality: 8. New vision of
discovering and providing vision of environmental

understanding "what ”what could be" economics "what

is”

 

 

should and could be

ifthere is awill'

(Adapted from Maguire, 1987:12 adapted from Burrell and Morgan, 1979:18,

Paulston, 1976)

157
Adult educators may trace learning needs that
correspond to the emergence of an alternative paradigm view
of society developed by activist learners. Particular
learning needs of such learners can be met by adult

educators.

Next Steps

The research could be continued and verified in a
number of ways. The learning cycle in learning groups
described above in Chapter V could be tested in other
environmental groups and other types of groups that are
organized around particular social issues. Such research
would test the validity and generalizability of the learning
cycle in learning groups. It would also assist adult
educators who may work with learning groups to better
understand and plan the learning that occurs among members
of the learning groups.

The age, education, employment, marital status,
dependents and income of the learners should be recorded and
tested as variables to a hypothesis that would assert that
learners of particular characteristics and'circumstances
were more likely to choose to join groups in which they
could learn. Such a hypothesis would give a more complete
profile to the learners which may lead to a more accurate

description of learning according to particular learners.

158

The learning characteristics of both men and women
should be compared. Learning style and material preferences
should be gender aggregated. The field of adult learning
would be greatly enhanced by research documentation of
gender based learning differences and preferences. Women in
this research felt that there were intrinsic differences
between the way men and women reacted to environmental
problems and handled activism. Learning methods,
applications and meanings drawn from the learning may be
gender specific. Such knowledge is essential for adult
educators to tailor their programs to meet learning styles
and needs. It is also essential for adult educators to know
differences in interpretation of learning. Men may tend to

interpret and use learning in a different way than women.

The role of adult education in social change should be
pursued further. It is most commonly activated in popular
education and participatory research. However its
appearance in social movements is apparent as a central
focus and in supportive roles as well. Active members of
the movement undergo a specific learning experience. The
mindset of the learner who is experiencing the discomfort of
an injustice and the driving motivation to change it should
be studied further.

The phenomenon of selective learning Should be studied
further. Activists often take a stand and then look for

evidence to support their position. The truth of the

159
position is driven by a value, a feeling, a belief that the
activists are forced by rational society to ground in
present knowledge. How this process occurs in society and

its importance in social change should be documented.

 

APPENDIX

160

APPENDIX

Interview Instrument

OPEN INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEW GUIDE - KEY STIMULUS QUESTIONS

Adult Learning in Environmental Issues

1. What are the environmental issues that you think are
critical?

2. What was the environmental issue that moved you to action
in your community?

3. When did you first become interested in these issues?

AGE EAMILX_§IIQAIIQE LIXINQ_AQQQHQDAIIQN

4. What was the purpose of your joining the group that is
concerned with environmental problems.

5. How has being a group member helped you to address the
environmental issues that you think are important?

6. Would you say that you are more active as an individual
or in the context of a group?

7. Why is this your choice?

8. Please explain hp! you are more active (as an individual)
or (in the context of a group).

161

9. What are the main things you have learned about these
issues since you became involved with the environmental
movement?

Ifififlfi EEAI_LEABNEQ §QQBQ§ LEARNIN§_HEIHQD

10. What, for you, were the m9§t_impgrtant sources of
learning about these issues?

11. What, for you, were the m9§t_§ffgg§iye ways of learning
about these issues.

12. As for the most valuable sources of learning, 339 were
they, their positions and how did you come into contact with
them?

NAME 29511123 DE§QBIEE_¥QHB_QQNIAQI

13. What sources of learning originated from your immediate
community?

14. How could these and other sources be encouraged or
improved in your community?

15. How have your attitudes changed over time about these
issues?

EQBMEB_AIIIIHDE EBE§ENI_AIIIIHDE, MQII!E_EQB_§HAN§E

16. What specific action have you taken to advance these
issues?

162

17. What have you done in your own living habits on behalf
of these issues.

I§§HE AQIIEIIX QQNIEXI LENQIE_QE_TIHE
eg. garbage compost family 1985 to present

18. What were the key factors motivating you to take such
action in your home?

19. Who would you say you have influenced? (family,
students, neighbours, readers)

20. How would you say that you have influenced them?

21. What must be done so that these environmental issues are
more widely dealt with and accepted in our society? (List
steps)

WOmen in the Environmental Movement
22. Do you think that, in general, women are more concerned
about these issues than men?

23. What is it that makes you think that women are/are not
more concerned about the environment than men?

24. Do you think that women are concerned about the
environment in a different way than men?

25. Would you explain how women are concerned and how men
are concerned?

26. How might these differences affect how men and women
might react to the problems?

27. Which of your skills are improved since you became
active?

163

28. How do you think you have changed as a person since
becoming
active?

29. How have your relationships with others changed since
becoming active?

30. What would you do differently if you were to start
again?

 

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164

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