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This thesis has been submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for a postgraduate degree (e.g. PhD, MPhil, DClinPsychol) at the University of Edinburgh. Please note the following terms and conditions of use: This work is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights, which are retained by the thesis author, unless otherwise stated. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author. When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given. A MULTICASE STUDY OF NATURE-KINDERGARTEN PRACTICES: EXPLORING THREE EXAMPLES IN DENMARK, FINLAND AND SCOTLAND Clare Nugent Thesis presented in partial fulfilment Doctor of Philosophy The University of Edinburgh 2017 Copyright Attention is drawn to the fact that copyright of this thesis rests with the author. A copy of this thesis has been supplied on condition that anyone who consults it is understood to recognise that its copyright rests with the author and that they must not copy it or use material from it except as permitted by law or with the consent of the author. This thesis may be made available for consultation within the University Library and may be photocopied or lent to other libraries for the purposes of consultation. i Other publications The journal papers, commissioned reports, book chapters and conference papers listed below were written in direct connection with this thesis and are noted here to allow the reader to easily detect my contributions to the field. Papers Nugent, C. (in press). Sensory ethnographic observations at three nature kindergartens, International Journal of Research and Method Nugent, C. & Beames, S. (2015). Cultural transmission at nature kindergartens: foraging as a key ingredient, Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, 20, 79-92. MacQuarrie, S., Nugent, C. & Warden, C. (2015). Learning with nature and learning from others: nature as setting and resource for early childhood education, Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning, 15(1), 1-23. Commissioned reports Nugent, C. (2015). Nature Play: Nature Conservation. Report commissioned by the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and presented at BGCI 9th Conference Missouri, 26 April –1 May Mannion, G., Fenwick, A., Nugent, C. & I’Anson, J. (2011) Teaching in Nature. Scottish Natural Heritage Commissioned Report No. 476 Book Chapters MacQuarrie, S. & Nugent, C. (2017). Considering children’s opportunities for exploration of their local environment and engagement with nature. In T. Waller, E. Ärlemalm-Hagsér, E.B.H. Sandseter, L. Lee-Hammond, K. Lekies & S.Wyver (Eds) The Sage Handbook of Outdoor Play and Learning, London: Sage. ii Nugent, C. (2015). Using the outdoor classroom in early years pedagogy. In I. Palaiologou (Ed) The Early Years Foundation Stage: Theory and Practice (3rd Edition), London: Sage. Nugent, C. & MacQuarrie, S. (2015). Considerations for practice. In N. Buchan (Ed.), Children in Wild Nature: A practical guide to nature-based practice, Blairgowrie, Australia: Teaching Solutions. Conference presentations MacQuarrie, S., Nugent, C. & Buchan, N. (2015). ‘I’ve just picked this straight from the bush’: Comparing nature play in botanic gardens. Paper presented at 16th Annual Conference of Pacific Early Childhood Education Research Association (PECERA), 24–26 July Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. Nugent, C. & MacQuarrie, S. (2015) Reflections on water: evidence from nature kindergartens. Paper presented at Learning in Natural Environments (LiNE): Lessons from Near and Far International Conference on Outdoor Learning 3rd July 2015, University of East London. Nugent, C. (2014). Comparing nature-based practice: insights from three nature kindergartens. Seminar paper presented to visitors from University of Copenhagen at University of Edinburgh, 16 May 2014. Nugent, C., MacQuarrie, S. & Parikka-Nihti, M. (2014). Comparing nature-based practice: exploring the roles of listening, looking and tasting. Paper presented at VI Conference Values of Childhood and Childhood Studies 7–9 May 2014, of Finnish Kindergarten Union, University of Oulu, Finland. Nugent, C. & MacQuarrie, S. (2013). Connecting and comparing: examples of learning with nature. Paper presented at National Association of Finnish Kindergarten Union Conference. Helsinki, Finland. 28–29 September. MacQuarrie, S. & Nugent, C. (2012). Insight into early years: learning inside, outside and at nature kindergartens. A comparative study. Symposium presented at Improving Education through Research Conference, 23 November, of Scottish Educational Researchers Association (SERA), University of the West of Scotland, Ayr, Scotland. iii Nugent, C. (2011) ‘Forest pedagogies—thinking global, acting local’: forest and home. Forum presented at 6th Freising, Germany, 24–27 July. Nugent, C. (2010) Nature’s kindergartens: developing comparisons. Presentation at 5th European Pedagogics Congress, Lahti, Finland 21–22 October. Nugent, C. (2009) Nature’s kindergartens: a comparative study of an international phenomenon. Presentation at 4th European Pedagogics Congress, Lyss, Switzerland 28–30 September. Signed declaration I hereby state that this thesis, composed by myself, is my own work. The work has not been submitted for any other degree or professional qualification and all listed publications are my own work, except where indicated throughout the thesis and clearly identified on the Other Publications page of the thesis. Signed…………………………………………………. Date……………………………………………………. iv Abstract Nature kindergartens are a type of early-childhood education that, relative to other settings, are based outdoors, season-round. They are founded on the belief that direct and immediate experiences with ‘quotidian nature’ (Kahn & Kellert, 2002, xvii) are beneficial in early childhood. More commonplace in Nordic nations and Germany, nature kindergartens are more recently evident worldwide and, hence, timely to research them. By evidencing a descriptive account of ‘nature kindergartens’, this study sought distinctions and commonalities between examples to inform why practice may look the way it does. Existing knowledge presented an opportunity to explore why sharing a label does not infer similar practice arrangements. With its social constructionist lens, this inquiry considered how patterned behaviours and socialised practices (embedded in adults and emergent or developing in children) might guide variations in nature- kindergarten practices. Theoretical tools, namely Bourdieu’s (1977) concept of habitus and Heft’s (1988) version of affordance theory, are used to endorse the position that the use of nature environments for early-childhood education are subject to wider considerations. Using these concepts, nature-kindergartens practices, including that which was seen, heard, smelt, tasted and touched by participants were interpreted for the ways different groups construct season-round relations with nature. The research design and questions were established using preliminary investigations or ‘scoping’ of 15 nature kindergartens in six countries ahead of the selection of three case settings: one Danish case, one Finnish and one Scottish. By v ‘looking between’ in preference to comparison, the inquiry extends our understanding of nature kindergarten as sites of social and cultural construction, where educational practices cannot be disjoined from their wider societal, cultural and natural influences. The multicase study (Stake, 2006) framed the collection of data through time-sampled observations, interviews and conversations with adult and child participants. Other peripheral data, including photographs and field journals, were collected. The author shared 53 days with participants at the three case locations and coded the observed practices using thematic analysis (Boyatzis, 1998). Children’s own words, metaphor, poem extracts and colloquial phrases have been used to further contextualise the writing. The study findings describe nature kindergartens as a distinctive form of early- childhood education through evidencing locally relevant relationships with nature. For those under study, spending a preschool year variously shivering and sweating, exhausted and exhilarated, eating berries and eating snow evidenced differences and similarities in season-round relations with nature. This study, by deepening our understanding of nature-kindergarten practice, evidences how socialised practices can play a constitutive, rather than causal, role in practice looking the ways it does. Together, the findings contribute a foundation for the early-childhood education and outdoor-learning fields to place increased emphasis on the role of nature kindergartens in lifelong relations with the outdoors. Longitudinal and multicase research in this area is of great interest, yet currently sparse. vi For Trish, The Fishwife who pushed me into this river extolling how much I’d love it— I almost drowned, but looking back, appreciate the push. vii Acknowledgements This thesis has been a long, uphill journey. I owe a deep gratitude to the many people who have supported me throughout and in their own ways have helped to make this thesis possible. Each has played a significant