Teaching Nature - Two Case Studies of 5-7-year-old Children Engaged in Outdoor Learning Activities, from an ESD Perspective

Author(s):

Christiana Glettler(presenting / submitting)

Conference:

ECER 2017

Network:

Emerging Researchers' Group (for presentation at Emerging Researchers' Conference)

Format:

Poster

Session Information

ERG SES D 02, Interactive Poster Session

Poster Session

Time:

2017-08-21

13:30-15:00

Room:

W3.11

Chair:

Agnieszka Bates

Contribution

In recent years studies around the world have focussed on how experiencing nature helps children with their concentration, furthers social skills and boosts motoric skills. (Raith & Lude, 2014) Furthermore, children connect to their environment on an emotional level, which increases their disposition for pro-environmental actions. (Gebhard, 2011)

Parallel to this development, international efforts towards an Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) call for children, youth and adults who should be able to make sustainable decisions in accordance with ecological, economical and socio-political aspects as well as lead sustainable lifestyles (Rauch 2004, de Haan 2008). Especially in Germany the concept of shaping competence (de Haan & Harenberg's,1999) has provided a framework, which is frequently used in efforts to implement ESD in curricula.

This case study explores a possible connection between these two areas of research in studying how children engage in outdoor activities at educational facilities through the lens of general ESD goals and the concept of shaping competence in particular. The main research questions are:

In what ways does the practice of outdoor learning activities reflect ESD goals?
From an ESD perspective, in what ways do teachers describe children’s competences?
To what extent do children display competences corresponding to ESD goals?
How do children, teachers and parents perceive the role of nature in these activities?

Method

In order to answer the central research questions of this project, two “ideal cases” (common cases in Yin’s (2014) definition), were selected, as they allow to examine an issue in great detail and to draw conclusions from the collected data through a profound analysis (Mayring 2002, Merriam 1988). The cases for this project were chosen on pre-defined criteria including children's age, the use of outdoor learning activities and the location. The selected cases are a small forest kindergarten with 14 children in the relevant age group and three educators and the first year of a private primary school with a focus on outdoor education. In both institutions, interviews were conducted with educators as well as with the children. Participant observation and document analysis were used to gather further data. In addition, questionnaires were given to the children's parents to provide their point of view as well. Analysis of data was conducted using firstly a very free, inductive form of Qualitative Content Analysis (Mayring, 2014), influenced by the analysis techniques of grounded theory (Charmaz, 2006). The next step will be to categorize the codes based on the literature, drawing mainly on the concept of shaping competence of De Haan and Harenberg (1999).

Expected Outcomes

At this point of the project, it is clear that the data show clear parallels between the competences educators describe in the two cases and the competencies asked for in the concept of shaping competence. Thus, outdoor learning activities, at least in the studied cases clearly reflect ESD goals. Children show a high degree of social skills, act in a pro-environmental manner and also show a relative profound understanding for ecological relationships.

References

Charmaz, K. (2006). Constructing Grounded Theory: A practical Guide through Qualitative Analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. De Haan, G. & Harenberg, D. (1999). Bildung für eine nachhaltige Entwicklung. Gutachten zum Programm. Booklet no. 72. Bonn: Bund-Länder Kommission für Bildungsplanung und Forschungsförderung. De Haan, G. (2008). Gestaltungskompetenz als Kompetenzkonzept der Bildung für nachhaltige Entwicklung. In I. Bormann, & G. de Haan (Eds.), Kompetenzen der Bildung für nachhaltige Entwicklung - Operationalisierung, Messung, Rahmenbedingungen, Befunde (1st ed. p. 23-44). Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften. Gebhard, U. (2011): Die psychische Bedeutung von Naturerfahrungen in der Kindheit. Wieviel Natur braucht der Mensch? In: TPS, Theorie und Praxis der Sozialpädagogik 5, 2011, p. 20-23 Mayring, P. (2002). Einführung in die qualitative Sozialforschung.(5. Aufl.). Beltz: Weinheim und Basel. Mayring, P. (2014) Qualitative content analysis: theoretical foundation, basic procedures and software solution. Klagenfurt. URN: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-395173 Merriam, S. B. (1988). Case Study Research in Education - A qualitative approach. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc. Raith, A. & Lude, A. (2014) Startkapital Natur. München: Oekom. Rauch, F. (2004) Nachhaltige Entwicklung und Bildung. In R. Mikula (Hrsg.). Bildung im Diskurs (p. 35–49). München, Wien: Profil. Yin, R.K. (2014). Case Study Research – Design and Methods (5th ed.). Los Angeles: Sage.

Author Information

Christiana Glettler (presenting / submitting)

Karl Franzens Universität Graz

Doktoratsschule Fachdidaktik

Graz

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