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Phenomenology with Children: My Salamander Brother

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Book cover Research Handbook on Childhoodnature

Part of the book series: Springer International Handbooks of Education ((SIHE))

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Abstract

The purpose of this research was to investigate young children’s perspectives of nature while exploring a deciduous forest as an extension of their early childhood classroom in a University Lab School. This work was framed theoretically on the premise of ethical listening and doing curriculum and research with children in efforts to gain a phenomenological understanding of children’s prereflective and reflective experiences of nature. Children’s prereflective and reflective experiences were captured through methods adapted from the Mosaic Approach and video methodology as part of a dissertation research project. Children spent a minimum of 2 h per week in a natural environment with their teachers over the course of a school year. Key findings highlight how children’s extended nature experiences led them to conceptualize how they can be (in) nature, that they can manipulate nature, resources in a natural space, and how they are nature themselves. Significant Life Experience (SLE) literature is drawn upon to show implications for early childhood practice and research with children.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Teaching, Learning & Curriculum Studies, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA

    Adonia F. Porto & Janice Kroeger

Authors
  1. Adonia F. Porto
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  2. Janice Kroeger
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Adonia F. Porto .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, Southern Cross University School of Education, Coolangatta, Queensland, Australia

    Amy Cutter-Mackenzie

  2. Centre for Educational Research, Western Sydney University Centre for Educational Research, Penrith, New South Wales, Australia

    Karen Malone

  3. Department of Education, University of Bath Department of Education, Bath, United Kingdom

    Elisabeth Barratt Hacking

Section Editor information

  1. School of Design, Creative Industries Faculty, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia

    Debra Flanders Cushing

  2. The Eden Project, Cornwall, UK

    Robert Barratt

  3. Department of Education, University of Bath, Bath, UK

    Elisabeth Barratt Hacking

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Porto, A.F., Kroeger, J. (2018). Phenomenology with Children: My Salamander Brother. 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_51-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51949-4_51-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-51949-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-51949-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference EducationReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Education

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