| Abstract [eng] |
The discourse of children's disconnection from nature is becoming increasingly relevant, given the problematic of children living in urban areas, which includes the challenges of the Anthropocene (climate change, uncertainty of the future) and the limited opportunities for children to access nature. The need for children's learning relationships with nature is raised, which illustrates the posthumanist turn in education that emphasizes the importance of collaboration with more-than-humans and the necessity of rethinking the relationships and divisions between people/more-than-humans (nature). This is linked to the concept of “becoming-with” proposed by the American philosopher-theoretic Haraway which encourages learning to engage in the creation of a common world with other species and the building of relationships with them for the sake of surviving together in a complex world. One of the possible solutions that could encourage children's learning to build relationships with nature would be outdoor pedagogy, which is integrated into outdoor schools. The concept of an outdoor school is understood in two ways: as an educational approach and/or place. This situation has been shaped by the cultural contexts of various countries and a lack of research, which has resulted in a fragmented theoretical foundation for outdoor schools. The significance of outdoor schools in fostering children's becoming-with nature becomes a relevant research question of this work. To explore this, a post-qualitative research approach was employed, integrating observation method, the researcher’s diaries, the creative works of outdoor school students, and excerpts from interviews with educators. The post-qualitative research revealed that learning in an outdoor school provides children with opportunities to interact with nature, thereby fostering their interest in nature and response-ability. The process of becoming-with nature for outdoor school students is particularly evident during hiking lessons, where they actively learn, engage and collaborate with nature. Learning and becoming-with are interconnected processes manifested through the symbiosis of children and nature, in which new meanings, skills, and a sense of belonging to one another is created. Outdoor school students engage in a continuous entanglement with nature, leading to opportunities for becoming-with. This work may contribute to greater interest in outdoor schools and to the development of research on children's relationships with nature from a posthumanist perspective. |
