Drawing analysis: Tools for understanding children's perceptions of community conservation

Abstract

One of the main purposes of the research on which this chapter is based is to formulate strategies for the conservation of natural resources and biodiversity using environmental education proposals and public policies at local and supra-local levels. We elaborated these strategies based on a study of the perceptions of children living in nine rural villages from La Huacana Municipality (Michoacan State, Mexico), all of which are connected to the Natural Protected Area of Jorullo Volcano. We present an effective and powerful methodological procedure, based on the interpretation of children's drawings, which allows researchers to obtain and analyze children's perceptions of their communities.