Abstract
Traditional nature-based experiences have gained increasing attention for their ability to foster in children a sense of Connectedness-with-Nature. What is often not acknowledged in contexts of cultural diversity is how nature-based pedagogies often subtly project Eurocentric environmental values onto children, inadvertently colonizing natural spaces. Drawing on a qualitative case study with 37 ethnically diverse children at an outdoor education center in South Africa, this chapter proposes a potentially transformative triad of decolonizing, ethics-led and embodied nature-based pedagogies to address calls for nature reconnection in this context. The tensions and resonances between children’s sociocultural-historical value positionings and those of the outdoor education center are explored in relation to the embodied nature of children’s on-site experiences which are designed to mediate their developing sense of Connectedness-with-Nature. Through semi-structured interviews with children and instructors, participant observation of two camps, and reflexive journaling, data were analyzed thematically drawing on Cultural-Historical Activity Theory. The analysis highlights the formative role of historically constituted, sociocultural elements in mediating children’s material, embodied experiences with outdoor education programs. The authors argue that decolonized/decolonizing, socioculturally and socio-materially resonant, and ethics-led pedagogies are important dimensions in developing children’s feelings of Connectedness-with-Nature and opening potentially transformative pathways for (a)mending the perceived human-nature disconnection.
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Ward-Smith, C., Olvitt, L., Akhurst, J. (2018). Toward Decolonizing Nature-Based Pedagogies: The Importance of Sociocultural History and Socio-materiality in Mediating Children’s Connectedness-with-Nature. In: Cutter-Mackenzie, A., Malone, K., Barratt Hacking, E. (eds) Research Handbook on Childhoodnature . Springer International Handbooks of Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51949-4_83-1
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