Lines in the snow; minor paths in the search for early childhood education for planetary wellbeing

The study investigates the interaction between kindergarteners, a natural phenomenon (snow) and place in a time of climatic uncertainty. The study uses children’s movements through deep snow as a starting point for the investigation. The purpose of the study is to investigate how a view of children’s movements through the deep snow as a process of interaction between humans and natural material provides opportunities for negotiating away the view of humans as masters of nature.

The researchers believe that the children’s movements through the deep snow and the adjustments they made in their interactions with nature can provide kindergarten staff with bodily and metaphorical experiences that can help them adapt their pedagogical practices to contexts beyond human control. The study points to the importance of kindergarten staff having the same bodily experiences as the children, and that they are also aware of the children’s small, nuanced interactions with nature. The researchers highlight the study as an example of how kindergarten staff can approach children’s learning about presence in and interaction with the place they find themselves in.

The investigation is a field study conducted in Northern Norway/Sápmi. Two of the authors participated in an ice fishing trip together with 22 children between the ages of three and six and kindergarten staff. On the trip, the children walked across a frozen lake that was covered with deep snow. The data material consists of field notes, video clips, photos and the researchers’ own bodily experiences from the trip, as well as reflections from kindergarten staff. 

Myrstad, A., Hackett, A. & Bartnæs, P. (2020). "Lines in the snow; minor paths in the search for early childhood education for planetary wellbeing”. Global Studies of Childhood.