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PORTO FULLTEXT_DISSERTATION FINAL.pdf (5.46 MB)

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CONSTRUCTING NATURE WITH CHILDREN: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF PRESCHOOLERS' EXPERIENCES WITH(IN) A NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

Porto, Adonia F., Porto
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1500474439832631

Abstract Details

2017, PHD, Kent State University, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Teaching, Learning and Curriculum Studies.
This research investigated young children’s experiences of a natural wetland environment as they constructed meanings of nature in a group. This work was framed theoretically on the premise of social constructivism and ethical listening in efforts to phenomenologically understand how children came to know nature through pre-reflective and reflective experience. The phenomenological double hermeneutic method supported a data collection of 2400 minutes of video, 110 minutes of audio recording, 120 pages of handwritten notes, 56 drawings as reflections, and 88 photographs. Phenomenological writing, including anecdotes and punctum, led to the culmination of Our Five Phenomena of Nature. The five phenomena we discovered were Nature Hides us from Evil, Nature is Unpredictable and Surprising, Nature can be Dead and Alive, Nature Likes Children and We’re All Nature. Each phenomenon activated learning, for 16 children and 2 adults, and fostered an ongoing relationship with(in) nature and an understanding of be(in)nature, that we can be in nature outdoors or that as humans, we are nature. Nature’s unpredictability forces us to be in conditions of being and becoming and an openness to what curriculum becomes with children. Children led their own inquiries to discover the known and unknown, leading to group understanding. Over time, the children discovered that, like them, nature needs care and compassion. Teaching and research implications are discussed as Learning with(in) Nature, We Care to (Re)know Nature, Knowing Nature Differently and Making Sense of Nature to provide possibilities for how other children and teachers might (re)know nature.
Janice Kroeger (Committee Chair)
Martha Lash (Committee Member)
Andrew Lepp (Committee Member)
224 p.
Early Childhood Education; Education; Environmental Education
Preschoolers; Children; Nature; Natural Environment; Phenomenology

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Porto, Porto, A. F. (2017). CONSTRUCTING NATURE WITH CHILDREN: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF PRESCHOOLERS' EXPERIENCES WITH(IN) A NATURAL ENVIRONMENT [Doctoral dissertation, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1500474439832631

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Porto, Porto, Adonia. CONSTRUCTING NATURE WITH CHILDREN: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF PRESCHOOLERS' EXPERIENCES WITH(IN) A NATURAL ENVIRONMENT . 2017. Kent State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1500474439832631.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Porto, Porto, Adonia. "CONSTRUCTING NATURE WITH CHILDREN: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF PRESCHOOLERS' EXPERIENCES WITH(IN) A NATURAL ENVIRONMENT ." Doctoral dissertation, Kent State University, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1500474439832631

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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© 2017, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Kent State University and OhioLINK.