| Attempts to measure and implement conservation norms have consistently upheld and promoted the dominant culture's practices and beliefs. This has led to oppression of non-dominant populations, thereby hindering these populations' access to various opportunities to participate in conservation based activities. This has historically, and still today, led to the segregation of non-dominant populations from environmental participation and has misrepresented their beliefs and actions relative to definitions of conservation citizenship and in the broader literature on conservation, conservation measurements, outdoor recreation, and pro-environmental behavior.;This research sought to extend the existing literature on conservation, specifically on the measurements of recreation practices and pro-environmental behavior, by surfacing and documenting how non-dominant groups' have historically engaged and currently engage in conservation, broadly considered. Critical ethnography provided the theoretical framework through which past research practices on conservation were examined relative to sociopolitical influences on the social construction and perpetuation of conservation norms. Using a convergent mixed methods research design, both qualitative data (observation and interview) and quantitative data (survey) was collected and analyzed individually, then the findings were compared and interpreted. This research challenges the 'one-size fits all' mentality embedded in conservation history and measurement. |
