Purpose
The study investigates environmental education in kindergartens by taking Donna Haraway’s call to ‘stay with the trouble’ (from her book Staying with the Trouble) seriously, together with kindergarten children, here and now, in the exploration of dirty water and water purification. Children’s involvement in water exploration was used to explore both practical and ethical aspects of environmental education.
Result
The researcher concludes that children’s experiences of water purification, movement in water and pouring water led to discoveries and ethical reflections, highlighting the importance of interdisciplinary and ethical teaching in kindergarten. The children learned through making models, asking questions, and collaborating, which strengthened both their own learning and project development. The children engaged themselves in various issues and problems, which the researcher highlights as them learning to ‘stay with the trouble’, and their curiosity gave momentum to the work. She further points out that it was challenging to be fully present with the children, and not let her own knowledge affect what issues and problems the children found interesting.
Design
46 diaries from five-year-old children, two project diaries, video clips, photos and the researcher’s field notes were used as material. Along with previous research in exploratory pedagogy, science and geology, this provided the basis for creating a series of stories together with the children, three of which were selected for a narrative analysis. The method of weaving facts, fiction, and art together into a narrative is inspired by Haraway’s book that gives the study its title.
The diaries were the children’s documentation from explorations involving water through videos, photographs, drawings and notes. They could discuss the findings with each other, the kindergarten teachers and the researcher. The children decided which photos and videos the researcher could take to the university for analysis and learned how to delete unwanted digital documentation.
References
Elkin Postila, T. (2022). Stories of water: preschool children’s engagement with water purification. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 17(2), 277–299.
Online year: 2021
Issue year: 2022
Review year: 2022