11 “He’s Coming to Say Hello to You!” The Impact of Teacher Discourse on Children’s Understanding of Animals

• In Event: Nature-connectedness and the More-than-human in Environmental Education - Environmental Education SIG Structured Poster Session

Abstract

Grounded in the knowledge that a sustainable and equitable future requires us to examine the human-animal relationship, I set out to learn more about how animals and children co-create experiences. At a farm-based nature preschool in the United States, which aims to deepen children's connections to animals, teachers spoke to children frequently about animal bodies, lives, behaviors, and [presumed] intentions. Despite positive pedagogical aims, teachers’ messaging may unintentionally interfere with child-animal relations. My research revealed patterns in teacher discourse and raises important questions about the implications of the role of the adult in child-animal relations. As well, it brings to light the importance of intentionality when framing or facilitating everyday encounters with animals in educational settings. Realizing the important relational dynamic between children and animals (e.g.Nxumalo, 2017; Taylor & Pacini-Ketchabaw, 2019), environmental educators are exploring and testing pedagogical approaches aimed at increasing opportunities for connection and contact with the non-human world. These opportunities offer potential pedagogical benefits for children (e.g. Blaise, Hamm, & Iorio; 2017) Yet there are situations in which adults’ behavior and/or communication may be counterproductive. I sought to identify the ways in which adults influenced children's experiences with animals.

Author

• Patty Born, Hamline University