Stories could help teach children the importance of nature

Yılmaz, S. ., Temiz, Z. ., & Semiz, G. K. (2020). Children’s understanding of human–nature interaction after a folk storytelling session. Applied Environmental Education & Communication, 19, 88-100.

Stories are a powerful way to share information with children. Recent research has shown that storytelling may promote connection with nature, empathy, and environmental values. The authors of this study believe that stories about sustainability have the ability to promote pro-environmental behavior in children, yet these themes are not widely available in children's literature. This study explored whether a folk story could be used to teach children about the environment, as well as how the story made the children feel.

The authors selected a Turkish folk story about a character named Nasreddin Hodja. The story is told through two short anecdotes. The first anecdote is about watermelons and walnuts, and Hodja wonders why walnuts grow on large trees whereas watermelons grow on small vines. When a walnut drops on Hodja's head, he realizes that a watermelon dropping on his head would cause much greater injury and believes nature knows best. The authors added a second anecdote in which Hodja offends snakes in his garden, then his crop is destroyed by mice. Hodja then recognizes the importance of the snakes in his garden and apologizes. The story ends with a lesson in balance and harmony in nature.

A total of 13 Turkish preschool children participated in this study; the children were aged five, with some male and female (6 female, 7 male). All of the children were told the Nasreddin Hodja story twice, each time with a different storytelling technique: 1) using a flannel board and felt characters, and 2) using a flashlight and a “magic board,” which only revealed images of the characters when a light was shone on it. After each time the authors told the story, they talked with the participant children about the story; the events, setting, and characters. A week later, participant children were asked to retell the story to the class using one of the storytelling techniques. Then, the authors conducted interviews with each student in which they asked the participants about environmental concepts and students' understanding of the relationship between humans and nature. The interviews were analyzed for themes.

Overall, the authors found that folk stories had the ability to increase children's environmental awareness, develop an emotional connection to nature, and understand humanity's impact on the environment.

The authors identified key themes from their interviews with students. Specifically, they found that participants learned each species has a role to play to maintain balance. Some children struggled with the concept of destroying balance in nature. The authors believed that ecological concept may be too advanced for children this age. Most participants developed empathy with the snake in the story, and that they would feel bad if they were the snake. In addition, most participants indicated that Hodja did not treat the snake well, which suggests that the story helped the children develop respect for the snake.

This study has limitations. The study only included one classroom and only a single story was told. Another study told in a different place, with a different group of students, may produce different results. More research is needed to understand how storytelling can be an effective tool in promoting environmental awareness and connection with nature.

The authors recommend that educators should incorporate environmental storytelling, particularly for young children. Specifically, they recommend that stories should emphasize the value of all animals in nature. Focusing on concepts such as danger and environmental problems may discourage children from spending time in nature.

The Bottom Line

<p>This study explored whether a folk story with environmental themes helped Turkish preschool children understand the importance of human-nature interactions. After reading the story and interviewing the children, the authors found that children increased their understanding of balance in nature and developed empathy and respect for creatures. The authors recommend using storytelling to help young children develop a connection to nature.</p>

Research Partner