A “draw-and-write” technique provides various insights into preschool children’s relationship with natureThis study investigated preschool children’s relationship with nature through drawings completed by the children. Two questions framed the study: “What are the common concepts and experiences expressed by preschool children in their relationship with nature?” and “How do variables such as gender and age affect children’s relationship with nature?”
Over 200 students from four kindergartens and 13 nursery classes in Kastamonu, a city in Northwest Turkey, participated in this study. The fact that approximately 75% of the city is covered with mountainous and forested areas suggests that the children participating in this study have rich opportunities for interacting with nature. During whole-class sessions, the children completed drawings depicting themselves doing something in nature. Each child’s drawing was then used as a prompt for a one-on-one interview, during which the child was asked to talk about the drawing and his or her relationship with nature in the drawing.
Most of the children (85.8%) used a positive tone in talking about their relationships with nature. A small number (7.1%) used a negative tone, expressing fear or discomfort. Most of the children (70.8%) preferred to draw a natural area as their setting; 12.3% described their relationships with nature through depictions of their home and garden. Younger children tended to talk about their relationships with nature in more positive terms than older children. Girls tended to emphasize natural areas more than boys. Girls were also more likely than boys to draw picking fruit as an activity, while boys tended to depict tree climbing as their favorite activity. Additionally, the children included animals more often than plants in their drawings; and, in many cases, included human figures and "man-made devices" (cars and bikes). Many of the children’s drawings depicted play as an activity performed in nature.
This research highlights the importance of starting environmental education at an early age and providing increased opportunities for children to spend more time engaging with nature. This research also calls attention to the need “for comprehensive research investigating the institutions that are collectively important in the life of a child, such as family and school.”
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