The Uses of Humour in Spanish Environmental Education - An Exploratory Qualitative Analysis of the Potentialities, Limitations and Good Practices of Humour

Aug 26, 2026

An exploratory qualitative study examines how humour is used in Environmental Education within the Spanish context, drawing on the perspectives of 10 university specialists and educators. Data are collected through semi-structured interviews and a focus group. Findings highlight a positive perception of humour’s value, alongside the need for educators to remain flexible and adapt to group characteristics and subject matter. Divergent views concern the limitations of humour use and the practical recommendations proposed by participants.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages14

Reading Time35 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Research objectives and questions

Literature review

Conceptual background of humour in education

Australian Journal of Environmental Education (2024), 40, 886–899 doi:10.1017/aee.2024.60 ARTICLE The Uses of Humour in Spanish Environmental Education: An Exploratory Qualitative Analysis of the Potentialities, Limitations and Good Practices of Humour Jorge Alcántara-Manzanares 1, Silvia Medina Quintana 1, Roberto García-Morís2 and Miguel Jesús López Serrano 1 1Department of Specific Didactics, University of Cordoba Faculty of Education Sciences, Cordoba, Spain and 2Department of Specific Didactics and Research and Diagnosis Methods in Education, University of A Corun˜a, Faculty of Education Sciences, A Corun˜a, Galicia, Spain Corresponding author: Miguel Jesús López Serrano; Email: [mjlopez@uco.es](mjlopez@uco.es) (Received 20 October 2023; revised 16 September 2024; accepted 19 September 2024; first published online 21 October 2024) Abstract This article is an exploratory analysis of the use of humour in Environmental Education, from the perspective of 10 Spanish specialists and educators. Research is carried out using a qualitative methodology through semistructured interviews and a focus group of specialists. The results point to a positive perception of the use of humour and the need for flexibility on the part of the educator to adapt to the particularities of the group and the topics addressed. The differences of opinion lie in the limitations in the use of humour as well as in the recommendations made by the specialists participating in the study, which, given their background, can be considered relevant to the use of humour for environmental education in the Spanish context. Keywords: Environmental education; environmental educators; qualitative research; Spain; university specialists; use of humour Introduction The authors of this research are university professors from Spain interested in improving the teaching-learning process of Environmental Education, both from educational innovation and from research. We have been aware of the potential of the use of humour in environmental education, specifically for future teachers, but before applying it to our teaching practice, we wanted to know educators’ accounts of what they perceived to be effective pedagogical uses of humour in Environmental Education. International studies have shown the benefits of using humour in Environmental Education (Boykoff & Osnes, 2019; Osnes, Boykoff & Chandler 2019; Russell, Chandler & Dillon 2023; Topkaya & Dogan, 2020) . In the Spanish context, although some educational experiences have been published (Aparicio, Marrero & Camacho 2019; López-Rico, 2019), there is a lack of research on the potentialities and limitations of the use of humour. Therefore, this paper shows an exploratory analysis of the use of humour in Environmental Education, from the perspective of renowned Spanish specialists in © The Author(s), 2024 . Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Australian Association for Environmental Education. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence ([http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited. [https://doi.org/10.1017/aee.2024.60](https://doi.org/10.1017/aee.2024.60) Published online by Cambridge University Press Australian Journal of Environmental Education 887 Environmental Education and environmental educators with experience in a wide range of contexts, both formal and non-formal. This paper has two specific objectives: A. To identify potentialities, limitations, uses and good practices of the use of humour in Environmental Education from the point of view of university experts, according to their experience in teaching and research in Environmental Education. B. To identify potentialities, limitations, uses and good practices of the use of humour in Environm

FAQs

How was the study on humour in Spanish Environmental Education conducted?

The research uses a qualitative approach based on semi-structured interviews and a focus group with 10 Spanish specialists and educators.

What general attitude do participants show toward using humour?

Participants report a positive perception of humour and emphasize that educators should be flexible to adapt humour to group needs and to the topics addressed.

What limitations and good practices are identified?

The study highlights limitations regarding humour use and collects recommendations and good practices from participants, informed by their teaching and research or professional educational experience.

Aug 26, 2026

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