Learning While Walking

Waste Management as a Field of Education and Research. Ethnographic Approach to a Trip to Quebec

Authors

  • Blandine Tchamou UQAM

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.56105/cjsae.v38i01.5798

Abstract

In late April 2024, I joined the Centre for Research in Environmental and Ecocitizenship Education (Centr’ERE) at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) as part of a postdoctoral fellowship with the Université de Corse Pasquale Paoli, in order to pursue my research on adequate waste management. This field note presents a data collection approach based on observation and inquiry, carried out during a journey from Paris to Montreal, with stopovers in Porto and Newark.

From a pedagogical perspective, I invite adult learners to experiment with this ethnographic approach to support the development of their waste management practices in response to this socially acute issue, which requires dialogue, reflexivity, and engagement with authentic, contextualized situations.

The analysis highlights concrete situations observed during a stay in Quebec and Ontario, including the actors involved, collection systems, sorting quality, and manifestations of littering (diffuse illegal waste) across diverse urban and mobility contexts.

Published

2026-06-10

How to Cite

Tchamou, B. (2026). Learning While Walking: Waste Management as a Field of Education and Research. Ethnographic Approach to a Trip to Quebec. Canadian Journal for the Study of Adult Education, 38(01). https://doi.org/10.56105/cjsae.v38i01.5798