Creative expression runs deep in Caribbean culture, yet the authors note that the arts are seldom used deliberately in environmental education and rarely studied within teacher education. This case study follows what happened when undergraduates were asked to make something — anything — that expressed their understanding of environmental issues, using materials they already had to hand. Much of its value for practitioners lies in what students said about the task itself, including the hesitancy some felt at being asked to make art at all.
The authors note that Small Island Developing States (SIDS — small island nations particularly exposed to environmental threats) in the Caribbean face acute environmental pressures, and argue that engaging teaching approaches are needed to connect learners with nature and motivate action. They point out that creative expression is deeply embedded in Caribbean culture — through music, dance, and children's practice of making toys from discarded materials — yet the arts are rarely integrated deliberately into environmental education (EE). They also identify a gap in research on environmental arts within teacher education programmes, particularly in the Caribbean, and suggest that because many participants were training to teach, any benefits might carry a "multiplier effect" onto future pupils.
Methodology
The study used a qualitative exploratory case study design. The bounded case was a one-semester, 13-week undergraduate EE course at a university in Jamaica — compulsory for Science Education students and an elective for students from disciplines such as medical sciences, psychology and sociology. Across three cohorts between 2017 and 2020, 74 students took the course. For the first of three assignments, students individually created an artefact depicting their understanding of EE, accompanied by a one-sentence definition, a slogan, and a written justification. The researchers analysed 23 selected artefacts and their written descriptions using a hybrid thematic approach, and separately interviewed three students (given the pseudonyms Ivy, Buju and JJ) via Zoom between August and October 2021, each for 35–60 minutes. Member checking and inter-coder agreement between the two researchers were used to support rigour.
Key findings
1. The artefacts communicated environmental understanding in varied ways. They were classified into board games, models, useful/decorative items (lamps, pencil holders, birdfeeders, placemats) and wearables (dresses, jewellery, slippers), plus literature (storybooks, poems, websites) and music (songs, videos). Source materials included plastic bottles and bottle covers, old CDs, coconut leaves, thatch, cardboard and a discarded hard drive.
2. Students' written descriptions indicated three connections to the environment: awareness that their artefacts could reduce waste immediately; awareness of the objects' practical and economic value; and awareness that art can elicit concern for nature and prompt collaboration with family and community.
3. Initial reactions to the task were mixed. The study identified anxiety and hesitancy in two of the three interviewees, which the authors link to low art self-efficacy (a person's confidence in their own artistic ability) and to a narrow assumption that "art" means elaborate handmade objects. The third interviewee, who had made crafts with family since childhood, reported no discomfort.
4. Students reported greater engagement and satisfaction. Interviewees described the work as more engaging than lectures or reading, said it required them to research the issue themselves, and expressed pride in sharing their products. One student went on to sell upcycled items — an outcome the authors describe as unintended and note is potentially significant for small island economies.
Implications for practice
The authors argue that educators using arts-based approaches should actively broaden learners' idea of what counts as art, offering literature, digital video, music and poetry alongside object-making, so that participants can work from existing skills rather than perceived deficits. They recommend naming and addressing art anxiety at the outset rather than assuming enthusiasm, building in reflection on the finished work, and inviting families and community members into the making process. For teacher-education programmes specifically, they recommend deliberate use of eco-arts so that future teachers experience the affective side of EE before being asked to teach it.
The Bottom Line
This qualitative case study, carried out at a university in Jamaica, examined how undergraduates on a 13-week environmental education course used art to express their understanding of environmental issues. The researchers analysed 23 student-made artefacts and their accompanying written descriptions, drawn from three cohorts totalling 74 enrolled students between 2017 and 2020, alongside in-depth interviews with three students. The study found that students upcycled everyday waste — plastic bottles, CDs, coconut leaves, cardboard — into wearable, decorative and playable objects, and that their descriptions conveyed emotional as well as factual connections to the environment. Two of the three interviewees initially doubted their artistic ability, but reported that being allowed to work within their existing skills reduced that anxiety. The authors argue that arts-based tasks can support environmental understanding, attitudes and action, though the very small interview sample limits how far findings travel.