Educators’ respectful relationships with nature can center nature as a co-teacher and acknowledge the agency of the more-than-human worldThe concept of Wild Pedagogies offers an approach to education that acknowledges the agency and intrinsic value of the more-than-human world. As such, Wild Pedagogies challenge traditional views of human dominance over nature. This qualitative case study considered how the teaching and learning practices of a forest environmental education (EE) initiative in Japan can facilitate transformative educational approaches grounded in respect for and interconnectedness with more-than-human agency. Aligned with the Wild Pedagogy approach, the study explored how nature can act as a co-teacher and how more-than-humans can serve as “integral members of a pedagogical team.” The study “invites educators to re-imagine their roles, not as sole authorities, but as one of the distributed agencies of scaffolding who create space for learners to engage with nature as a dynamic partner in learning.”
The study was conducted at the Yamanoko (Children in the Forest) Program, a forest EE initiative in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. The program offers one-day or overnight field trips for fourth graders (ages 9–10) at nine field sites located in the temperate forest. Students from 235 schools regularly attend the program. The program engages small groups of children in activities such as “forest walks, observations of living beings and their tracks, tree cutting observations, crafting with wooden materials, and occasional local tea-making sessions.” Although the activities were not explicitly designed within a Wild Pedagogies framework, the program was selected to serve as an example of how existing programs and educators can incorporate more-than-human agency and nature as a co-teacher into their everyday practice. Data was collected through observation of program activities, semi-structured interviews with program educators and student surveys. A total of eight interviews were conducted with four educators at two program sites. The interviews aimed to explore educators’ views and sense of satisfaction with their roles. Surveys were administered to 266 randomly selected students, which included approximately 30 students from each of the nine program sites. The surveys consisted of open-ended questions that aimed to glean students’ emotions and impressions of their interactions with the forest. Data were qualitatively analyzed using thematic analysis.
Results from field observations are presented as a series of dialogues between educators and students that illustrate the range of perspectives evident within program activities. Some dialogues explored instances that promoted human-centric perspectives. Here, although students were engaged and curious about the natural world, the educator positioned themselves in a place of authority and excluded more-than-humans from the dialogue. By doing so, “a view of nature as something to be categorized and understood in human terms” was subtly reinforced, and nature’s agency and more-than-human perspectives were ignored. On the other hand, dialogues also revealed both human and more-than-human perspectives. In these instances, the educator emphasized the needs of other living beings, which granted the more-than-human some level of agency. The researchers explain that “narratives that emphasize interconnectedness, empathy, and cultural significance of nature, can engage students more profoundly, encouraging them to see the forest not just as a collection of resources, but as a living community with which they all share a relationship.” Such narratives created opportunities for students to learn with the forest, which may foster deeper understandings and respect towards the more-than-human world. Interviews with educators revealed their respect towards both students’ and more-than-human agencies in the forest. Educators described a sense of satisfaction and inspiration from observing students’ interactions with nature. Educators also demonstrated enthusiasm for their own ongoing learning about the forests, which was framed as a “lifelong practice,” revealing their deep value for a relationship with nature. Surveys completed by the students indicated that they perceived the more-than-human world to have agency. Students recognized the forest as a complex, multi-functional entity. Students’ reflections also revealed a shift towards an awareness of more-than-human entities as active participants in the learning process. Nature was viewed “not just as something to observe, but as a teacher in its own right.”
The study demonstrates that relationships based on respect can center nature as an active contributor to the learning process that recognizes nature’s ability to inspire awe and facilitate learning. Rich sensory experiences and spontaneous encounters with the more-than-human world in the forest were important in the development of such perspectives. The study also reveals how Wild Pedagogies can be practiced unconsciously through informal and culturally rooted ways. The researchers explain that in Japan, the idea of viewing nature as a ‘co-teacher’ is often subtly woven into everyday life. Wild Pedagogies and post-humanist perspectives that value more-than-human entities can challenge anthropocentric power structures and support educators in addressing the numerous educational and ecological challenges posed by the Anthropocene.
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