Bringing the jellyfish home: environmental consciousness and ‘sense of wonder’ in young children’s encounters with natural landscapes and places

Abstract

The over-arching aim of this study was to elucidate and interpret topics that are relevant to how we understand children’s experiences and creation of meaning in natural landscapes and places within these landscapes. Following two nature-kindergarten groups regularly over ten months, the data for this ethnographic study consist of constructed narratives and narrative maps. Key topics relate to children’s multi-sensory experiences and the development of environmental consciousness, and their ‘sense of wonder’ as a driving force for exploration, interpretation and creation of meaning. Implications of the study for discourses of environmental education in the early years and local practices of taking children into nature are also discussed.

Keywords:

• outdoor education
• early childhood
• environmental consciousness
• ‘sense of wonder’
• narrative inquiry

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Pink’s use of the term emplacement differs slightly from Casey’s implacement but both relate to the idea of the ‘body in place’.

2. Approval from Norwegian Social Science Data Services (2015).