Kumara Ward | University of Dundee (original) (raw)

Papers by Kumara Ward

With high rates of psychological distress reported amongst children internationally, the developm... more With high rates of psychological distress reported amongst children internationally, the development and evaluation of new program initiatives is critical in order to meet the challenge of this burgeoning issue. Both acceptance and commitment therapy and adventure therapy are emerging as popular strategies to elevate psychological wellbeing. This small-scale program evaluation focuses on nine upper primary school-aged children enrolled in a specialist school in Australia for children with challenging behavior and/or emotional needs. Participants completed a newly developed 8-week intervention entitled 'ACT in the Outdoors' which combined key principles of both acceptance and commitment therapy and adventure therapy. The program was evaluated via a combination of pre and post participant psychological measures, and post interviews with participants and teachers. The results of this small-scale preliminary evaluation suggest that a portion of the participating children reported improvements in psychological wellbeing and skill development. Improvements appear to be mitigated by attendance and level of psychological wellbeing upon program entry. Based on this premise, the results suggest that more research is warranted to further understand the potential benefit of this innovative interdisciplinary approach.

Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 2018

In this paper, children's idealised playspace drawings, arising from their participation in plann... more In this paper, children's idealised playspace drawings, arising from their participation in planning a children's playground in a local shopping centre, are examined. This examination is conducted by engaging with theories of human/nature connection, significance of place, and children as agents of co-construction in playspaces. Analysis of the drawings - through a combination of iterative and visual methods and children's narratives - highlights the value children place on being outdoors and on natural elements. The playspaces imagined/drawn by the children are in stark contrast to the design of play environments in many schools and early childhood settings where safety and supervision are the dominant focus. These conflicting views are examined in the context of international discourse on playspace design and the concluding discussion adds to the growing number of voices affirming that children should be actively engaged in the planning process and become co-constructors in spaces that are designed for their use.

Childcare Exchange Magazine, 2017

Belonging in the Early Years, 2017

Australian Journal of Early Childhood, 2008

There is an emerging body of literature that explores the impact of garden-based learning on heal... more There is an emerging body of literature that explores the impact of garden-based learning on health, well-being, social cohesion, and educational outcomes. In this paper, we examine a pilot study conducted in partnership with the Royal Botanic Gardens’ Youth Community Greening to implement a gardening program with disengaged youth. Data was collected through fieldwork and semi-structured interviews, revealing five interconnected themes: enhancing well-being and health literacy; building life skills; engaging students; connecting with adults; and increasing self esteem. We conclude by showcasing some of the collaborative practices between
educational contexts and communities to reveal how these partnerships can be mutually enhancing

Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 2013

This article showcases a creative approach to early childhood education for sustainability (ECEfS... more This article showcases a creative approach to early childhood education for sustainability (ECEfS). It reports on the author's doctoral research program, which examined the effectiveness of arts-based pedagogies for exploring and understanding the natural world in an early childhood education program. Motivated by their existing commitment to education for sustainability (EfS), the participating educators used the arts for further exploration and understanding of the natural world in teaching and learning. They explored the role of the arts in knowledge production and embodied experience, and reinterpreted and built on their own funds of knowledge about their environment. The result was meaningful curriculum steeped in content about the natural environments that were local to the children and their educators. The findings further signify the challenges educators needed to overcome in order to intensify their connection with their own local environments, and the effect that this enhanced connection had on their capacity to reflect local natural environments in their programs with the children.

Reports by Kumara Ward

Community gardening is one of myriad ways in which humans and nature interact. A primary objectiv... more Community gardening is one of myriad ways in which humans and nature interact. A primary objective of the study was to ascertain the impact of the Community Greening program on new participants. Of specific interest was the inherent need to better articulate both the self-perceived and observed benefits in terms of physical, social, emotional and social health. Based on this premise, we conducted a mixed-method study, which utilised qualitative and quantitative methods to gain deeper insight into the diverse experiences of participation in Community Greening. Through these dual lenses, the research captured the gardeners’ self-reported impact on wellbeing, social engagement, and educational outcomes. These findings were then triangulated alongside data obtained from the garden site staff who were administered an open-ended questionnaire at the conclusion of the study.

This research combines the perspectives from practitioners around the world about their arts-base... more This research combines the perspectives from practitioners around the world about their arts-based pedagogies and their education for sustainability practice. Their perspectives form a the basis for a pedagogical tool for use in early childhood settings that include a series of Principles, Reflections for Econnection Pedagogies and Practices. This pedagogical tool was trialled in early childhood settings in Sydney Australia and in Lincoln Nebraska. The outcomes of the research included in this report, highlight the important role of the arts in incorporating sustainability education into the early childhood program.

Abstract Students exhibiting severe and challenging behaviours and/or emotional needs are referre... more Abstract
Students exhibiting severe and challenging behaviours and/or emotional needs are referred to specialised behavioural schools in NSW for expert intervention and support. This project sought to enhance the wellbeing and skill development of students within such a school by administering an eight week intervention program comprising an innovative combination of both Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Outdoor Learning (OL) which is unique in this emerging field. This project was conducted and evaluated by an interdisciplinary team of educational professionals from Western Sydney University. This report showcases the results of the mixed-method study which included the administration of quantitative pre and post- surveys to nine students; and post interviews with students and teachers. The results of the students’ responses to the pre and post surveys indicated small but positive changes with regard to the students’: anxiety; impairment as a result of anxiety; depression; school self-concept; and development of psychological flexibility; and mindfulness capabilities.

Books by Kumara Ward

Urban Environmental Education Review, 2017

Highlights: • Environmental art catalyzes environmental learning and action in cities worldwide. ... more Highlights:
• Environmental art catalyzes environmental learning and action in cities worldwide.
• Environmental art cultivates imagination, connection, and reflection, helping citizens to think critically and creatively about environmental issues.
• Environmental arts helps to bring about cultural shifts towards sustainability.

in T. Gray & D. Mitten, The Palgrave International Handbook of Women and Outdoor Learning, 2018

Outdoor pedagogy comes in many forms and with varying purposes. This chapter demonstrates the aut... more Outdoor pedagogy comes in many forms and with varying purposes. This chapter demonstrates the author’s journey as a primary school educator whose programme was underpinned by belief in the value of outdoor learning. It begins by highlighting her teaching practice with young children at schools in the Northern Rivers of NSW using a “postmodern emergence” approach to curriculum. Using arts-based pedagogies alongside outdoor experiential education, this programme scaffolded children’s developing sense of place/belonging and econnection to the natural world, assisting them to understand the properties, ecosystems, and habitats of the environment. It positions this practice as a legitimate form of outdoor education by invoking a radical feminist definition that includes intra-action with the natural world through relationships with self, the natural environment, and others.
Keywords: outdoor learning, econnection, nature education, intra-action, arts

in Curtis, D. (Ed) Building Sustainability with the Arts: Proceedings of the 2nd national EcoArts Australis Conference 2016. , 2017

In this current period of the Anthropocene, where human impact on planetary systems is greater t... more In this current period of the Anthropocene, where human impact on planetary systems is greater than ever before (Crutzen & Ramanathan, 2000; Guggenheim, 2006), the practice of, and research about, sustainability education for young children is becoming more nuanced and multidisciplinary. The research discussed in this chapter is based on the premise that engaging in ecological place-based stories and arts experiences for investigating the natural world help us to understand the basis of our relationship with these ecosystems in our local, regional and global environments (Ward, 2013). Indeed, the arts are an important, multifaceted lens through which to investigate, interpret and understand the natural world (for example, see contributions by Shirvington and Gray, this volume). Our exploration of natural and manufactured materials, our understanding of their visceral realness and provenance, is discovered, conceptualized, felt, imagined and rendered tangible by the arts.

in S. Douglas & L. Sterling Children’s Play, Pretense, and Story Studies in Culture, Context, and ASD. Psychology Press, 2015

New play episodes that emerged in response to specific curriculum content is the subject of this ... more New play episodes that emerged in response to specific curriculum content is the subject of this chapter. This play was conducted by four groups of children in preschools where the educators included daily content about the local natural environment through story telling and arts-based pedagogies. The play changed rapidly over the course of one year and included numerous scenes depicting the local natural world, and the play subject’s behavioural and social characteristics, which were adapted to form the rules and the content of the play. The new play episodes exhibited a sense of place and belonging, knowledge of the natural world and embodiment of nature/cultures.

in A. Kudryavtsev & M. Krasny’, Urban Environmental Education Review, Cornell University Press, 2017

Highlights • Environmental arts catalyze environmental learning and action in cities worldwide. •... more Highlights • Environmental arts catalyze environmental learning and action in cities worldwide. • Environmental arts cultivate imagination and provoke reflection, helping citizens to think critically and creatively about environmental issues. • Environmental arts help to bring about cultural shifts toward sustainability.

in K. Malone, S. Truong & T. Gray (Eds) Reimagining Sustainability in Precarious Times. Springer., 2017

This chapter reconsiders the issues that educators face in engaging with early childhood educatio... more This chapter reconsiders the issues that educators face in engaging with early childhood education for sustainability (ECEfS) through the contemporary lenses emerging in this age of the anthropocene. Relational-materialism and post-humanist perspectives expressed through arts-based pedagogies reinvigorate ECEfS and come together to form a synergy that lays the foundation for new ways of thinking and knowing about nature. I argue that arts-based processes, underpinned by the contemporary theories discussed, facilitate econnection, which is a deepening of children's perceptions of and intra-actions with the natural world so they become an interwoven part of their metacognition, their being and understanding of their own lives. This reconsideration is timely as research shows (Elliot & Davis, 2009) there is resistance in early childhood settings to engaging with ECEfS and that early childhood services are least likely to meet the standards (with the exception of one other quality standard) in the quality assurance area related to ECEfS (ACECQA, 2014). This is despite the Early Years Learning Framework (DEEWR, 2009) and the National Quality Standards (DEEWR, 2010) requiring early childhood services to embed sustainability as environmental, social, personal and educational priorities. This chapter explores the effect that the deeply embedded knowledge derived through econnection might have for a reciprocal nature/culture exchange and for a vision of the future that goes beyond what is sustainable and becomes a joyous, creative and generative process for living and being on the Earth.