Engagement with nature among children from minority ethnic backgrounds

About the project

Research has shown that children from black, Asian and other minority ethnic backgrounds are less likely to spend time outdoors and engage with nature than children from white backgrounds.

This ESRC South Coast Doctoral Partnership project aims to work with children from specific ethnic minority communities.

You will focus on:

You’ll construct a theoretical framework, which draws on theories of pedagogy, social justice, scientific literacy and engaging with nature.

You should share the same or similar background to identify with the existing issues in communities and understand the views on actual or perceived lack of access to nature and local green spaces.

• understanding reasons for their lack of engagement
• exploring ways to help them connect with nature and green spaces close to their homes
• developing appropriately tailored teaching approaches that meet their needs

Dr Achala Gupta SFHEA, PhD (Sociology), MPhil (EdRe), MPS, MA, BSc

• Sociology of education
• Shadow education
• Educational inequality

Entry requirements

You require both of the following qualifications in a relevant subject area:

You must also have:

It's desirable that you have:

• a 2:1 honours degree (or international equivalent)
• an MSc with 2:1 honours/merit (or international equivalent)
• empathy and good communication skills
• an ability to collect and analyse qualitative research data
• a background in science teaching
• basic knowledge of wildlife and ecology

International applicants

If English isn't your first language, you'll need to complete an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) to demonstrate your competence in English.

You'll need to achieve a Band G, IELTS 7.0 overall with a minimum of 6.5 in all components.

Fees and funding

Full tuition fees and a tax-free stipend of £17,668 for up to 3.5 years.

There is also access to additional support for training and fieldwork.

How to apply

You must submit 2 application forms to:

• University of Southampton
• ESRC South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership

University of Southampton application

Apply to University of Southampton

You need to:

• choose programme type (Research), 2023/24, Faculty of Social Sciences
• choose PhD in Education (Full time)
• add name of the supervisor (Professor Marcus Grace) in section 2

ESRC South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership

Apply to ESRC South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership

You must have submitted an application to us before completing the ESRC South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership form.

Faculty of Social Sciences

Email: fss-pgr-apply@soton.ac.uk

ESRC South Coast Doctoral Partnership

Email: scdtp@soton.ac.uk

Project leader

If you wish to discuss any details of the project informally, please contact Professor Marcus Grace.

• email: m.m.grace@soton.ac.uk
• phone: +44 (0)23 8059 3213

Research areas