The Worldviews of the Commons in Swedish Skogsmulle

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  • スウェーデン「森のムッレ教室」におけるコモンズの世界観

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Abstract

This paper explores the worldviews of the commons fostered by Skogsmulle, a Swedish outdoor environmental educational pedagogy for young children, and the roles of early childhood educators in communicating these particular worldviews. The analysis of a textbook for educators and children combined with the authorʼs field study at a Skogsmulle outdoor preschool in Sweden revealed that Skogsmulle attempts to construct the worldviews of the commons, where diverse species cohabit in the natural environment in which children spend time. Expanding on James J. Gibsonʼs affordance theory, the author termed such a world in which multiple species coexist by filling their respective niches as a world of “multiple affordances”. Skogsmulle is designed to nurture the worldviews of multiple affordances whereby children understand that human beings are only one of the many species to exist in the forest, leading them to ethical awareness towards the environment. One illustrative example of this principle was how the educator brought up the issue of litter found in the field with the children communicating the worldviews of “multiple affordances”. The findings suggest that sharing the worldviews of the commons with children could be one of the possible approaches employed in Japan in early childhood education for sustainability.

Journal

  • 人間文化創成科学論叢

    人間文化創成科学論叢 23 121-130, 2021-03-31

    お茶の水女子大学大学院人間文化創成科学研究科

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