Linköping University |Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning Master's Programme in Outdoor and Sustainability Education, 60 hp
Spring 2019 | LIU-IBL/MOS-A-2019/009—SE
“The owl hugs me in the
forest”
Children’s experiences and educators’ perceptions
of learning in a Swedish mini-forest garden
Julia Meyer
Supervisor: Emilia Fägerstam
Department of Behavioral Science and Learning (IBL) Examiner: Ola Uhrqvist
Department of Behavioral Science and Learning (IBL) June 10th, 2019
Linköpings universitet SE-581 83 Linköping 013-28 10 00, www.liu.se
ii ABSTRACT
In recent years, there has been converging evidence on the relation between nature experiences and learning. Although outdoor experiences are not just seen as leisurely activities anymore, barriers, such as lack of resources or travel time can hinder the propagation of more outdoor educational programs. This study explores a relatively new outdoor educational setting that can help overcome these difficulties by decreasing the amount of resources, input and energy necessary to set up such measures: the educational forest garden. With lower maintenance in creating an environment that resembles an authentic ecosystem, the question remains if forest gardening can achieve similar learning outcomes than those reported in other educational settings. A qualitative study in a Swedish mini-forest garden was employed to explore what types of learning are possible in this new type of setting. Interviews with two educators and eight children were conducted to find out what perceptions and experiences they communicate after spending time in the mini-forest garden. The educator’s ideas were compared with children’s accounts and observational notes on their behavior to see if there was a difference in perception and experience. Examples for learning were found in three different dimensions: cognitive, emotional and social. The explored categories were ecological literacy, language learning, attention; being comfortable outdoors, respect and care, awareness of surroundings, co-creation, teacher-student interaction, gender differences and free play and imagination. The findings indicate similar beneficial outcomes with forest gardening to other outdoor educational endeavors and an overlap between teacher’s and children’s experiences in almost all categories. Along with the potential for self-development, forest gardening may be a new way to successfully teach in the outdoors with less input or resources. Although a small scale study that should not be generalized, the study gives insight to educators’ and children’s voices in a new outdoor educational setting and can help overcome the lack of children’s voices in research in general. At the same time, it adds to the limited amount of research on forest gardening and potentially helps to increase the popularity of forest gardening as a new outdoor educational method.
Keywords: Forest gardening, outdoor education, environmental education, outdoor space, learning, three dimensions, nature connection, semi-structured interviews, early years, children’s experiences, teachers’ perceptions
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“To forget how to dig the earth and tend the soil is to forget ourselves”
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A
CKNOWLEDGEMENTSI want to give special thanks Ellen Almers and Per Askerlund from Jönköping University, who were so very inviting and helpful when I first approached them with my idea to conduct a study in a forest garden setting and introduced me to the preschool where the research was executed. Whenever I needed help, they were there to support me in answering my numerous questions. I am very grateful for the flexibility and cooperation on side of the preschool and its staff and thankful that I could attend several days there to collect my data. Special thanks to the children who shared their experiences with me in such an informative and confident manner.
Thanks to my supervisor Emilia Fägerstam, who supplied me with the tools I needed to conduct my study and to my examiner Ola Uhrqvist, who contributed to improving this thesis with his productive comments. The insight and corrections of my fellow student Eva Servat helped me to clarify several points of question to get this thesis in a structured order.
The steady support and corrections of this paper supplied by my loving husband Adam Higgins made this intensive three month research endeavor so much more bearable. When I needed to get away from the computer and rejuvenate in the forest, my dog Bailey was always by my side to give me a good excuse to go outside.
Last, but not least, I want to thank the Outdoor and Sustainability Education class of 2019, for experiencing all those informative fieldtrips and excursions with me and making this year to a memorable experience I will think back to many times throughout my life.
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T
ABLE OFC
ONTENTS1. INTRODUCTION ... 1
2. AIM AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS ... 3
3. LITERATURE REVIEW ... 4
3.1 OUTDOOR LEARNING ... 4
3.1.1 COGNITIVE OUTCOMES OF LEARNING IN NATURE ... 4
3.1.2 EMOTIONAL AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT THROUGH NATURE INTERACTION ... 6
3.1.3 SOCIAL AND PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF LEARNING IN NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS .... 7
3.2 FOREST GARDENING ... 10
3.3 FOREST GARDENING IN EDUCATION ... 12
3.4 LEARNING THEORY ... 14
3.4.2 THE LEARNING DIMENSIONS IN OUTDOOR AND EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING ... 17
4. METHODS ... 19
4.1 CHOICE OF METHOD ... 19
4.2 CONTEXT FOR STUDY ... 20
4.3 EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION ... 22
4.4 PARTICIPANTS AND SAMPLE ... 23
4.5 INTERVIEWING CHILDREN ... 25
4.6 DATA COLLECTION ... 26
4.7 DATA ANALYSIS ... 27
4.8 ETHICS ... 28
4.9 LIMITATIONS ... 29
5. FINDINGS AND RESULTS ... 31
5.1 COGNITIVE DIMENSION ... 32
5.1.1 ECOLOGICAL LITERACY ... 32
5.1.2 LANGUAGE LEARNING ... 36
5.1.3 ATTENTION RESTORATION... 37
5.2 EMOTIONAL DIMENSION ... 39
5.2.1 BEING COMFORTABLE OUTDOORS ... 39
5.2.2 RESPECT AND CARE ... 42
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5.3 SOCIAL DIMENSION ... 46
5.3.1 CO-CREATION ... 46
5.3.2 TEACHER-STUDENT-INTERACTION ... 48
5.3.3 GENDER DIFFERENCES ... 49
5.3.4 FREE PLAY AND IMAGINATION ... 51
6. DISCUSSION ... 54
6.1 COGNITIVE DIMENSION ... 54
6.2 EMOTIONAL DIMENSION ... 57
6.3 SOCIAL DIMENSION ... 59
7. CONCLUSION ... 63
8. IMPLICATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH AND PRACTICE ... 65
9. LITERATURE ... 66
10. APPENDICES ... 75
9.1 APPENDIX A:PERMISSION FORM ... 75
9.2 APPENDIX B:INTERVIEW GUIDES ... 78
9.2.1 QUESTIONS FOR EDUCATORS ... 78
9.2.2 QUESTIONS FOR CHILDREN ... 80
1 1. INTRODUCTION
Walking through a spring meadow with blooming wildflowers or capturing the endless view from atop a mountain- outdoor experiences have always had a special place in society. The rejuvenating qualities of spending time in nature away from everyday tasks and duties were part of the popularity and success of various hiking and nature enthusiast movements at the turn of the nineteenth century that tried to encourage spending time outdoors and helped define new concepts such as the Scandinavian term “frivluftsliv” (Gurholt, 2008, p. 55), which loosely translates into outdoor life. Character-building institutions such as the Scouts or Outward Bound aimed at addressing certain lacks in society through adventurous and risk-based activities in remote wilderness locations (Sibthorp & Richmond, 2016; Smith, Knapp, Seaman, & Pace, 2011). What all these endeavors had in common were their strong leisurely character and a focus on experiences in the outdoors that were different from everyday experiences.
Viewing the outdoor environment as a place for learning that can complement or replace traditional schooling on the other hand, was a relatively new idea that did not receive much support only thirty years ago (Humberstone, Prince, & Henderson, 2016). Lacking empirical evidence on the effects of an exposure to the natural world on learning outcomes perpetuated skepticism and an opinion among the general public, that outdoor experiences were mainly based on adventure and recreation and not producing any learning of significance. Much has changed since then. A recent study review suggests that there is in fact converging evidence of a cause-and-effect-relationship between nature and learning (Kuo, Barnes, & Jordan, 2019). Along with evidence from qualitative field studies, the aim of this thesis is to explore the possibilities of learning in a new outdoor educational setting: the forest garden. Since the 1980s, forest gardens resembling an authentic ecosystem have been established in temperate areas and have become popular among horticulturists and within the permaculture movement (Crawford, 2010, 2014). In a forest garden, crops are grown in a several layer system to create a mutual benefit and lower maintenance efforts. The combination of this special form of gardening with education is relatively new and has so far only been attempted in a few settings (Almers, Askerlund, & Kjellström, 2018; Askerlund & Almers, 2016; Hammarsten, Askerlund, Almers, Avery, & Samuelsson, 2018). Forest gardening can offer new learning opportunities while at the same time providing solutions to overcome traditional barriers that have been constraining other outdoor educational measures, such as travel
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time, extended workload, lack of resources and safety concerns (Dyment, 2005). The idea of creating mini-forest gardens on school grounds (Almers et al., 2018) is reflected in this study that investigates a mini-forest garden adjacent to a Swedish preschool. The focus will be put on perceptions and experiences as well as ideas on learning, children and educators communicate after spending time in the mini-forest garden.
Recent studies on learning outcomes of outdoor educational programs have focused on either the children’s or the teachers’ perspectives. This study aims to combine both viewpoints to find out if educators’ perceptions are visible in the children’s behavior and account of their experience. The addition of the children’s perspective can help overcome the lack of children’s voices in research (Norðdahl & Einarsdóttir, 2015) as well as to be an indicator for similarities and differences in teachers’ and students’ meaning-making. At the same time, research in a forest garden setting can help increase the small body of literature and little empirical evidence of forest gardens as contexts for outdoor education.
After a short review on learning outcomes in the outdoor environment, forest gardening and previous research in this specific setting will be introduced. With the use of Illeris’ learning theory (Illeris, 2002, 2007a, 2007b, 2009, 2015) as a framework for the analysis of the learning outcomes, findings from interviews and observations that have been collected in the mini-forest garden setting will be presented.
3 2. AIM AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of teaching and learning within a relatively new outdoor educational setting: the forest garden. The educational forest garden setting that is investigated is a kindergarten with an adjacent mini-forest garden on its property.
After three years of working in the mini-forest garden, educators’ perceptions and ideas towards teaching in the forest garden are explored to compare them with experiences the children communicate when taking part in the mini-forest garden activities. A focus is put on the types of learning that are possible within such a setting.
After getting an idea of the perspectives on the educators’ as well as on the children’s side, those will be compared to find out if there is an overlap between educators’ perceptions and ideas with the children’s experiences and behavior.
The research is divided into three research questions:
1. What are the perceptions, ideas and experiences of educators teaching in the mini-forest garden?
2. What are the experiences the children communicate?
3. Are the educators’ perceptions visible in the children’s accounts and observed behavior and is there and overlap in experience between the two?
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3. L
ITERATURER
EVIEW3.1 OUTDOOR LEARNING
Along with evidence from qualitative field studies, documented changes when putting the learning context in a natural environment will be presented in the following paragraphs. In line with accounts of Swedish primary school teachers in a school forest setting (Wilhelmsson, Lidestav, & Ottander, 2017) and a research review on outcomes of outdoor learning in fieldwork scenarios (Rickinson et al., 2004), the effects of outdoor learning will be categorized into four different domains: cognitive, emotional, social and physical.
3.1.1 COGNITIVE OUTCOMES OF LEARNING IN NATURE
Exposure to natural surroundings and experiencing ecological cycles firsthand can help the development of ecological literacy. Research on forest school practitioners intentions and children’s learning opportunities in a British forest school setting reported the development of ecological understanding through first hand engagement with nature (Harris, 2017). In a Swedish school forest setting, hands-on experiences were used to improve understanding of complex processes in problem-based learning settings (Wilhelmsson et al., 2017). Next to those teaching methods, a bare exposure to green space can effectively boost working memory. A long term study with over 2500 primary school children in Barcelona, Spain showed an enhanced progress in working memory over a period of twelve months (Dadvand et al., 2015). Cognitive improvements were assessed through repeated computerized tests and resulted in a five to six per cent increase in working memory capabilities. Research suggests, that even views of green spaces can be the cause of academic improvement (Kuo et al., 2019; Matsouka, 2010) and that natural settings provide a more supportive and calmer learning context that may help combat disruptive behavior which in turn will affect all learners (Kuo et al., 2019).
The type of effortless attention that is used in the outdoors compared to a directed use of concentrated attention inside, can be the reason for a restoration of attention (Kaplan, 1995) and frees potentials in the outdoors for children with difficulty in concentration and focus, often associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or ADHD (Dadvand et al., 2015; Keniger,
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Gaston, Irvine, & Fuller, 2013; Wells, Jimenez, & Mårtensson, 2016). Summarized in a qualitative literature review on the benefits of interacting with nature (Keniger et al., 2013), several studies reported a decrease in mental fatigue after putting the learning context outdoors (Faber Taylor, Kuo, & Sullivan, 2001; Herzog, Black, Fountaine, & Knotts, 1997). A literature review investigating the salutogenic affordances of natural environments suggested that absence of different visual and auditive stimuli of urban environments, as well as the “soft fascination or ‘spontaneous’ attention” (Stoltz & Schaffer, 2018, p. 4) in edible forest gardens, might help to restore mental capacities and result in the improvement of cognitive function.
Most of the academic improvements were assessed through standardized tests and experiments. In a study on academic attainment in a British forest school setting, participants scored significantly higher in literacy and mathematics assessments than their peers that had not been taught in an outdoor setting (McCree, Cutting, & Sherwin, 2018).
Positive cognitive outcomes where reported on both the environment where instruction took place, as well as the type of pedagogy that was used in several outdoor educational settings: participation in the forest school project led to an improvement in ecological literacy that was manifested in a selection of wild-experts, that helped share newfound skills with the rest of the class (McCree et al., 2018). A study on the effects of school gardens with over 3000 primary school children in the US determined that the gardening-based instruction outperformed classroom-based teaching in science literacy (Wells et al., 2015). The same was true for language learning among a Swedish preschool (Norling & Sandberg, 2015) and mathematical knowledge in a Swedish high school (Fägerstam, 2013). The different form of instruction in the outdoors, being more student-centered and activity-based, stood out against traditional forms of teaching (Fägerstam, 2013; Kuo et al., 2019; McCree et al., 2018) and contributed to beneficial outcomes that are related to other areas of development such as critical thinking (Faber Taylor et al., 2001; Keniger et al., 2013).
This discussion of cognitive outcomes of learning in the outdoor environment is important for the comparison of those settings with documented experiences in the educational forest garden in this study. Especially the possibility of the outdoor learning environment to bring about ecological understanding through first-hand engagement with nature, improve language proficiency as well as restore mental and attentive capacities will be illuminated for this purpose. The following
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chapter will shed light on emotional and personal achievements that occur in a supportive learning context outdoors.
3.1.2 EMOTIONAL AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT THROUGH NATURE INTERACTION
Various studies report the establishment of self-regulation and self-discipline in the outdoor educational space (Harris, 2017; Kuo et al., 2019; Thompson & Thompson, 2007; Wells et al., 2016; White & Stoecklin, 1998). A study on eleven children attending a weekly forest school program observed how children started to regulate their emotions and impulses in a free emotional space, they characterized as a physical space “in which the children are free to be themselves” (McCree et al., 2018, p. 285). The importance of such free spaces was also communicated in a study on children’s preferences and views towards their outdoor environment (Norðdahl & Einarsdóttir, 2015): special places that separated them from their surroundings, where the children could find solitude and be by themselves, were high on the list of valued affordances of their natural environment. Participants of a nature-based project in a therapeutic forest garden also reported the need for such personal, hidden places for emotional wellbeing (Sidenius, Stigsdotter, Cipta, & Dahl Refshauge, 2015). In a study with four primary school teachers in a Swedish forest school setting, educators reported children’s development of an affective relationship with the environment in a curiosity-stimulating and free outdoor space (Wilhelmsson et al., 2017). Many studies stress the importance of self-regulation through delayed gratification for children with learning difficulties or ADHD in particular (Faber Taylor et al., 2001; Kuo et al., 2019; Wells et al., 2016).
Putting the learning context outdoors has been reported to result in higher engagement and enjoyment on side of the learner (Fägerstam, 2012; Kuo et al., 2019; McCree et al., 2018; Thompson & Thompson, 2007). Intrinsic motivation on side of the learner can influence the retention of the learning content and practical application of learned material positively (McCree et al., 2018; Waite, 2011). A longitudinal study on outdoor teaching in a Swedish high school reported high rates of enjoyment and engagement evoked by changing the classroom setting to the outdoor space (Fägerstam, 2012, 2013). At the same time, positive attitudes towards the outdoors can influence environmental attitudes later in life and contribute to the development of
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environmental stewards (Keniger et al., 2013; Kuo et al., 2019; Norðdahl & Einarsdóttir, 2015; Wells & Lekies, 2006). Spending time in the British school forest helped change children’s attitudes towards the outdoor learning space from a negatively connotated scary and dark place to a comfortable and fun play setting (Harris, 2017). At the same time, parents’ fear and safety concerns were reported as barriers to the possibility of emotional reinterpretation (Dyment, 2005).
Knowledge on the emotional outcomes of learning in a natural environment will help inform the discussion of learning in the forest garden setting in this study. Using separate hiding spaces to regulate emotions, developing a sense of comfort in the outdoors and enjoyment on side of the learner, as well as environmental stewardship and care will be the main categories relating to the results in this study and will be discussed in detail later on.
Social and physical characteristics of learning in natural environments will be the last section of learning outcomes to be described in the following chapter.
3.1.3 SOCIAL AND PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF LEARNING IN NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS
Natural environments often provide a more complex setting with opportunities for self-directed and free social play (Kuo et al., 2019; McCree et al., 2018; Thompson & Thompson, 2007). The theory of loose parts suggests that creativity and social engagement are linked to the existing variables in the environment- the more parts, the better the chance to engage in free, creative play (Nicholson, 1972). The highly diverse woodland environment in a British forest school in fact supported the development of imaginary and social play among the attending children, using variables as tools or attributes in fantasy play (McCree et al., 2018). When asked about their favorite parts in the outdoor environment, Icelandic pre-and primary school kids reported their interest in creative exploration through multipurposing sticks and other outdoor material as well as building dams and bridges together (Norðdahl & Einarsdóttir, 2015). They stressed the importance of interaction with other kids and mentioned that more of them would play together when outside. British forest school practitioners reported the importance of outdoor free play for the development of social skills such as communication and cooperation (Harris, 2017), something that is supported by findings of various other studies (Wells et al., 2016; White & Stoecklin, 1998).
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In a Swedish forest school context, enhanced cooperation and social skills were found to be the result of intensified group work (Wilhelmsson et al., 2017). The outdoor environment may also provide the potential to bridge gender differences, although different studies point to conflicting evidence. In a study on children’s preferences towards their environment, the outdoors was described as a place, where boys and girls want to play equally (Norðdahl & Einarsdóttir, 2015). This has been contested by studies that report a children’s bias towards play partners of the same gender (Bilton, 2010).
At the same time, the environment outdoors allowed for a more informal and fostered relationship between teachers and students (McCree et al., 2018), which can be explained with opportunities and willingness to let children take the lead outdoors (Thompson & Thompson, 2007). Improved student-teacher relationships were also reported after several outdoor classes in a Swedish high school (Fägerstam, 2012).
The bigger roaming range in the outdoors supports increased physical activity that can reduce the symptoms of attention deficit disorder (Faber Taylor et al., 2001; Kuo et al., 2019; Wells et al., 2016), positively affects overall physical health (Wells et al., 2015) and cardiorespiratory fitness in particular , which relates to academic performance (Kuo et al., 2019). In a British forest school, opportunities to play and be physically active not only enhanced physical health, but also created a setting that was advantageous to an indoor environment for children with attention-disorders and learning difficulties (Harris, 2017). Children’s reported preference of physical activities in their outdoor environment (McCree et al., 2018; Norðdahl & Einarsdóttir, 2015) can result in lower obesity-risks, vitamin-d-deficiency and nearsightedness (Keniger et al., 2013) as well as a decrease in cortisol levels and blood pressure (Carpenter & Harper, 2016). Some studies suggest an increased exposure to the environment in childhood to be influential on physical activity in adulthood (Kuo et al., 2019).
Outcomes of learning in the natural environment in social and physical sphere are being taken into consideration investigating experiences and perceptions of learning in the mini-forest garden setting in this study. Creative and free social play, empowerment, an improvement of relations between teachers and students as well as the possibility to overcome gender differences are going to receive special attention in the discussion on the types of learning that have been identified.
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Reviewing the literature, an absence of a critical stance to putting the learning context in the outdoors was observed and resulted in a lack of the illumination of potential negative outcomes in this report. This might be due to the niche-mentality of the subject wanting to stress positive factors in order to create incentives for the development of more outdoor educational programs. Further research regarding this matter could strengthen the subject by addressing the subject from a critical point of view.
Critical points that have been identified were barriers such as travel cost, lack of resources, higher workloads for teachers as well as distance and safety concerns that interfere with efforts to set up new outdoor educational programs (Rickinson, et al., 2004). Due to those barriers, opportunities to benefit from learning in a natural environment have decreased in recent years. Exploring the potential of green school grounds, Dyment (2005) suggests that at least some of the traditional barriers such as safety concerns, lack of resources, time and support can be overcome by teaching in nearby green settings. Investigating the possibility to set up mini-forest gardens on school grounds (Almers et al., 2018) shows a considerable decrease in the amount of resources, input and energy necessitated for forest gardening compared to traditional school gardening. Forest gardening thus provides a potential to further alleviate remaining difficulties such as higher workloads for teachers, that have not been overcome yet with traditional school gardening. The chance to overcome these barriers is one reason in choosing this particular setting. At the same time, forest gardening has to be examined to find out if similar learning outcomes than those uncovered within other outdoor educational settings can be achieved. After introducing the idea and history behind the concept as well as several studies that have been undertaken in this specific environment, this study will investigate the potential for learning in a Swedish mini-forest garden setting from educators’ and children’s perspectives.
10 3.2 FOREST GARDENING
Forest gardening originated in the tropics as a way to expand production with limited arable land available (Björklund, Eksvärd, & Schaffer, 2018). In use since prehistoric times, forest gardening can be characterized as the changing moment between hunting and gathering and intensified farming practices (Belcher, Michon, Angelsen, Ruiz Pérez, & Asbjornsen, 2006). Experience from the tropical home garden practices helped define temperate approaches to agroforestry in the western hemisphere. The shorter growing season as well as the scarcity of sunlight posed challenges that called for a slightly different set up of those gardens compared to the ones in the tropics (Björklund et al., 2018). In the 1980s, Robert Hart established the term “forest gardens” (Crawford, 2014, p. 28) as an edible polycultural landscape and developed an intercropping system considerate of local conditions in planning and design (Crawford, 2010). Mimicking the way plants would naturally evolve in the forest, he divided the area into seven distinct layers and planted crops according to this multilayered system. Most of the crops were shade tolerant perennials such as nuts, berries and fruit. Other functional plants, such as nitrogen-fixing plants and mineral accumulators were added to create a mutual benefit and decrease maintenance and input efforts (Crawford, 2014). The seven layer system is nowadays often simplified to a system with three layers: fruit trees, shrubs and perennials. Crawford notes that a forest garden is characterized by a diversity of structure as well as a diversity of species and sustains itself not only because of the abstention of annual crops that lead to a loss in soil nutrients, but also because of the coworking of the different species within the garden.
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Fig. 1: Sketch of forest garden with seven layers,
retrieved from: https://skogsträdgården.stjärnsund.nu/vad-ar-en-skogstradgard/?lang=en;19/04/01)
The increased “efficiency of capturing light, water and nutrients” (Björklund et al., 2018, p. 2) together with the relatively low use of manual labor (Belcher et al., 2006) led to the establishment of small scale forest gardens in rural and urban areas in central and eastern Europe (Björklund et al., 2018). Compared to conventional agriculture, forest gardens provide many ecosystem services such as such as carbon sequestration, water purification and recycling of nutrients (Belcher et al., 2006) and have therefore been proposed as a method to combat the negative impact on climate change (Björklund et al., 2018). In developing countries, forest garden systems can be seen as an addition to forest conservation measures, helping the forest regain a much more natural state than conventional plantation practices allow (Belcher et al., 2006). For a shift in the global food
1 Canopy
2 Low Tree Layer
3 Shrub Layer 4 Herbaceous 5 Soil Surface 7 Vertical Layer 5 Rhizosphere
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production, the forest gardens would need to significantly increase in size and further management practices would have to be introduced to generate sufficient amounts of food for a growing population and to be competitive with conventional methods of agriculture (Björklund et al., 2018).
The mini-forest garden investigated in this study incorporates elements of the seven layer system and uses a simplified three layer approach with trees, shrubs and perennials. The coworking of the different species is supported by special hideouts for pollinators and soil decomposers. It is further characterized by reduced maintenance efforts due to the coworking of species and use of perennials that have been described in this section. Since the setting combines forest gardening characteristics with educational efforts, previous research in educational forest garden settings will be outlined in the following paragraphs.
3.3 FOREST GARDENING IN EDUCATION
The integration of forest gardening and education is a relatively new idea. The main forest garden in Sweden offering educational activities at present is the Holma forest garden outside of Malmö. A longitudinal research was conducted accompanying a project called the “Stinkbug project” (Bärfis-Projekt), that offered visits to the forest garden in Holma to several preschool and primary school classes from 2013-2016 (Almers et al., 2018). During this three year period, children could participate in the development and design of the forest garden and were guided by the several forest garden educators working there. The findings include educators’ ideas and intentions when teaching in the forest garden and children’s perspectives on and emotions towards the forest garden as well as aspects of learning (Almers et al., 2018; Askerlund & Almers, 2016; Hammarsten et al., 2018). Data were collected in the form of informal interviews, walk-and-talk conversations, observational field notes as well as audio- and video recordings.
The research focusing on educators’ ideas and intentions in the Holma forest garden was guided by two main themes: the difference between forest gardening and other outdoor educational measures, such as conventional school gardening or woodland excursions, and the inner workings
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of an educational forest garden, with a description of activities, challenges and the educators’ intentions directing their teaching endeavors (Almers et al., 2018). According to the educators, forest gardening was seen as having advantages to traditional school gardening in maintenance and opportunities to study living conditions, since the amount of work input was considerably less, and the forest garden resembled a more authentic and stable ecosystem. In contrast to excursions to a distant and self-maintaining woodland, the educators mentioned that forest gardening favored active participation in creating and maintaining an ecosystem and allowed for a better overall accessibility. Ideas to create mini-forest gardens on school grounds further emphasized those access features.
The main intentions of the forest garden educators circulated around the idea of developing worldviews and self-images by way of encounters with the garden (Almers et al., 2018). Experiencing the garden with all senses, planting and caring for crops, collecting nuts and berries, created the potential for the children to see themselves as “a system integrated into a larger system” (p. 249). The resemblance of forest gardens to an intact ecosystem with an emphasis on edible and functional plants created a first-hand experience of the ways to produce ones’ own food and gave children the opportunity to participate in something bigger.
Almers et al. found that planting or building shelters for pollinators put the children in a position of active co-creation, influencing and supporting processes and functions of the environment around them. This skill could enable the children to be actively involved in the changing of conditions and local places around them in their future. One of the observed positive outcomes of the gardening was the higher participation and motivation of academically lower achieving students and the improvement of interpersonal relations between teachers and students and among students (Almers et al., 2018).
Exploration of children’s experiences in the Holma forest garden focused on their preferences, the aspects of learning they could identify and their expressed values towards nature (Askerlund & Almers, 2016; Hammarsten et al., 2018). Edible and aesthetic features of the forest garden were high on the list of preferences for the children. The opportunity to taste different berries and fruit added to their appreciation of place, a value they had developed during their time of being in the forest garden. Various emotions towards other organisms living in the forest garden were
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communicated, from a strong positive attachment to fear and disgust. The physical work was as much appreciated as time reserved for socializing with friends or observing nature.
The three aspects of learning communicated by the children were practical competence, learning how to co-exist and care as well as biological knowledge (Hammarsten et al., 2018). Through gaining practical skills such as planting and picking herbs, different forms of living away from everyday conveniences became imaginable. Overcoming fears of other organisms as a part of emotional learning were mentioned along with these practical abilities. Learning to co-exist with and care for other organisms was the second expressed aspect of learning. Being careful of what and how much to pick, where to walk and avoid disturbance of the animals along with normative statements were some examples illustrating this category. The last learning feature of biological knowledge and ecological understanding was characterized by the researchers through the illustration of the importance and work of pollinators and photosynthesis of the plants as well as the stressing of the setting, generating the opportunity to learn about the organisms firsthand.
Information on previous studies in an educational forest garden setting will be used to discuss the results of this study on the experiences and perceptions of teachers and students in the mini-forest garden. Biological knowledge and first-hand experiences will help inform results in the cognitive sphere, emotional and motivational characteristics as well as care will be discussed with results in the emotional sphere and interpersonal relations as well as the possibility to co-create will help illuminate findings in the social sector. Unlike the outlined previous research, studying either the educators’ or the children’s view, a new attempt will be made in this study to combine both viewpoints to look for similarities and differences in their accounts.
3.4 LEARNING THEORY
Entering the educational arena elevates forest gardening from a horticultural activity to a structured teaching effort with intended outcomes. But what kind of learning is possible in such a setting? Combining former research on learning and acquisition processes, Knud Illeris proposes a model that goes beyond accumulating knowledge on a cognitive level and introduces three dimensions of learning (Illeris, 2002), which should be introduced as follows. An understanding of this framework is crucial to the structural understanding of the findings of this study.
15 3.4.1 THE THREE DIMENSIONS OF LEARNING
According to Illeris, learning occurs in the triangular tension field of cognition, emotion and society, all of which are integrated in a holistic totality. The dimensions are categorized as content, incentive and interactive domain. Acquisition of knowledge and skills are influenced by psychological processes within the individual and dependent on how a situation is perceived, which emotions are activated and what motivation the individual has to acquire the specific learning content. At the same time, those two dimensions are influenced by the character and type of interaction between the learner and his environment. All of the three dimensions are furthermore embedded into a specific societal context and influenced by the society and the environment where the learning takes place.
Fig. 2: The three dimensions of learning (Illeris, 2007b)
The internal psychological process of learning involves the development of certain mental structures through integration into previous structures or the creation of new schemes, a process Illeris calls “continuing adaptation” (Illeris, 2002, p. 29). In his conceptualization of mental
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structures, he draws on psychologists such as Tomas Nissen and Jean Piaget’s theory of developmental stages (Piaget, 1952) and includes Kolb’s learning cycle that uses reflection and cognitive depiction of concrete experiences (Kolb, 1984) to explain the process of mental representation (Illeris, 2002).
Illeris divides the adaptation process into five stages or types of acquisition with rising complexity and mental strain: cumulation, assimilation, accomodation and transformation (Illeris, 2007a). Cumulative processes are of a mechanical nature and occur when there is no preexisting scheme to integrate the impressions into. Recalling of the learning content requires situations of the same nature than the one at the time of the acquisition. Assimilation makes use of existing mental structures through extending or adding to those mental schemes. Learning content acquired through assimilation is possible to use and modify in situations that share features with the learning environment but are otherwise different from it. The learning products are in a moment of progress through creation and incorporation, but otherwise static. Accommodative learning further alters preexisting mental structures and releases elements of previous acquisition to form new connections. This reorganization requires active involvement and motivation of the learner. Consequently, the learning results can be applied to various circumstances. This type of learning is associated with the progression of consciousness (Illeris, 2002). The most far-reaching type of learning is called transformation. Described by psychotherapeutic research as a situation that triggers mental and behavioral changes, it involves the total restructuring of the all three learning dimensions. Transformation usually occurs when the individual is faced with an inevitable or existential crisis that changes his or her meaning making and habits and ultimately leads to changes in personality and development of self (Illeris, 2007b). It is important to note the importance of all these types of learning and to see the difference between them according to the requirements of the situation the learner is in. The need for the existence of more basic types of learning is explained by those providing the preconditions to engage in more advanced types of acquiring learning content.
The investigation of learning in the forest garden setting will be guided by Illeris’ learning theory. The holistic totality of the three dimensions, characterized as cognitive, emotional and social domain, will be used to categorize, present and discuss the findings of this report. Special regard
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in the acquisition sector will be given to the possibility of transformative experiences in the forest garden setting.
3.4.2 THE LEARNING DIMENSIONS IN OUTDOOR AND EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
Experiential learning can be characterized as a concrete learning approach that starts off with practical problems and considers the innate connection between humans and their environment (Dewey, 1940). Experiential learning can be divided in two moments that interact in a circular process, the practical or aesthetic experience occurring in the immediate present and its reflective processing that leads back to concrete practice (Quay & Seaman, 2016).Aesthetic experience is the base from where reflective experience takes off and returns to. As such, the process that occurs when mentally processing an experienced situation and testing the found hypothesis in practice is very close to what Kolb described in his “learning cycle” (Kolb, 1984, p. 33) (nowadays often referred to as the “action-reflection cycle” (Quay & Seaman, 2016, p. 45).
For Illeris, all three learning dimensions are involved in a “balanced and substantial way” (Illeris, 2007b, p. 93) when it comes to experiential learning. The quality and extent to which the dimensions are involved and what attention is given to them makes it possible to distinguish between the different forms of learning. The strong emphasis on the content dimension in traditional classroom education (Illeris, 2007b) can result in a view of this type of learning as “boring and fragmented” (Fägerstam, 2012, p. 22). Experiential learning provides a holistic approach that involves and values all three dimensions to the same extent. Many elements of experiential learning such as the involvement of practical problems and first hand experiences can be found in outdoor educational efforts (Dahlgren & Szczepanski, 1998). The inquisition of natural phenomena as they occur, compared to a theoretical approach in reading about those phenomena, can not only help students understand the meaning and importance behind that what is learned, but also create a whole new emotional connection with the subject of study. As such, outdoor education provides the same benefits as experiential learning when it comes to the involvement of the three learning dimensions. In a longitudinal study that applied outdoor learning to a Swedish high school context, the reported interplay between all three dimensions during the outdoor activities was stressed as to be beneficial for learning (Fägerstam, 2012).
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As stated before, all learning involves the five types of acquisition, cumulative, assimilative, accommodative and transformative. The difference can be found in the level of complexity those schemes and patterns are internalized. According to Illeris, experiential, and consequently, outdoor learning, involves a higher degree of complexity in the individual acquisition than generic forms of learning do. Because of the higher complexity, these forms of education are more likely to facilitate growth as a restructuring of self through transformative experiences and learning (Illeris, 2007b).
Dividing the results of this study into the three learning dimensions can give insight to the degree to which those dimensions are involved in forest garden education and help to see if the experiences in the garden are comparable to ones’ other outdoor educational efforts. At the same time, learning in the forest garden will be examined to see if restructuring of self through transformative experiences is possible in such a setting.
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4. M
ETHODS4.1 CHOICE OF METHOD
Since this study was predominantly concerned with subjective experiences communicated by the research subjects, a qualitative approach was used to understand views and experiences and to give an accurate account of their meaning-making (Bryman, 2012). The subjective nature of personal opinions and experiences was the reason to choose a qualitative research setting over a quantitative one. The flexibility and limited structure in qualitative research allowed for an exploratory approach in gathering the data. To minimize the researcher’s influence and increase authenticity in the responses, focus on any predetermined principles was avoided.
The main method for gathering data used in this study were semi-structured interviews, which gave the participants a lot of room to respond and the freedom to steer the interview to something that is of meaning to them, as well as to pursue topics of particular interest (Bryman, 2012). Two interview guides were prepared, one for educators and one for children, in the form of a written list of questions and topics that needed to be covered (Bernard, 2006b) and questions for the interview subjects were of a similar nature and wording. The interview guides are attached to this report (9.2).
Supporting the interviews, observations were jotted down in the form of ethnographic field notes. Observation can complement methods of interviewing in not just finding out what people “think they do” (Bernard, 2006a, p. 413), but rather finding out what people actually do. The position of the researcher was one of a complete observer, meaning that there was little interaction between the researcher and the participants during the process of recording their behavior (Bernard, 2006a). At the same time, the observation was of a direct and reactive nature, with the study subjects being aware of the ongoing observation of their behavior. The field notes from the observations helped gain a detailed account of the research setting and gather more material for follow-up questions in the interviews (Emerson, Fretz, & Shaw, 2011), as well as to find indicators on evidence for communicated experiences and perceptions. Pictures of the forest garden were taken by the children and used during the interviews to stimulate recall. Known as photo elicitation, using pictures in interviews can help the remembrance of a location of an event (Harper, 2002),
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something that is especially valuable when interviewing children of such a young age on their experiences in a setting that is different from the one that is of interest.
4.2 CONTEXT FOR STUDY
The location of the data collection was a kindergarten in a medium-sized municipality in the south of Sweden. The municipality is currently working on promoting multifunctional outdoor environments in preschool that stimulate health, learning and sustainability (Region Jönköpings Län, 2019). Together with the local university, nine participating preschools were under focus of designing and executing different measures for healthy and sustainable environments with the implementation of, amongst others, mini-forest gardens until spring 2018. In cooperation with the project, different seminars were offered to the educators to learn about forest gardening and their design in temperate areas (Crawford, 2010, 2014). In the area of the preschool where the data were collected, three other preschools had been part of this experience. The preschool in focus was the only one continuing the project after the official end date.
The preschool is located in a suburban area about thirty minutes from the city center, with some local industries and public forest nearby. The building itself consists of three wings, each one accommodating one preschool class, separated by age and special demands for care. The downstairs part hosts the four to six year-olds on one side and the one to three year-olds on the other. The upper floor is currently under construction but when finished will be reserved for children with autism, making it the only institution in the municipality to specifically care for those needs. Adjacent to the preschool is a big outdoor area that is divided in two for each of the groups in the downstairs section. The terrain is uneven, and a big hill rises up from the house leading into the garden. A little stream is flowing to the left side next to a wooden hurdle path, a sandbox and a generic playground. The other side contains the mini-forest garden, with insect-hotels made from pallets, deciduous and fruit trees that are lined with berries and shrubs, a big compost area, different flower beds, a waterplay and bird feeders and boxes hung in the trees. The area is decorated with different fabrics, prisms and organic items such as coconut shells hanging from branches, and some of the stations have home-made wooden signs. In the middle of the mini-forest garden is a gazebo
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crafted with growing willow branches. Different wooden toys such as a former cable roll have been repurposed for the children to play with. Next to the mini-forest garden, a typical Swedish playhouse and two more sandboxes are located. Figure 3 is a short sketch and outline of the mini-forest garden area:
Fig. 3: Sketch of the mini-Forest garden area
Fig. 4: Impressions of the mini-forest garden (left to right: insect-hotel made from branch, hanging decoration with repurposed play equipment in back, willow-tree hut in bloom, 19/04/17)
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…
4.3 EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
The investigated mini-forest garden was part of and incorporated into the preschool, so a few notes on methods and teaching in this particular setting are added to help inform the context of this study. When asked about their general methods and intentions in the preschool, the interviewed educators stated the goals of the curriculum, happiness, learning and to feel safe, as well as their preferred method of listening and observing the kids with minimal interference. The idea of listening to teach is part of early childhood teaching conceptions such as the Reggio Emilia approach (Hunsburger, 2015) and can be characterized as an approach that considers the meaning making and interest of the child as the starting point for the design of the curriculum. The teacher is seen as a
co-Fig. 5: Impressions of the mini-forest garden (top left to right: birch lined with berries and shrubs, stream area with bridge, insect hotel made from pallets, flower bed), 19/04/17
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constructor of knowledge together with the children. In the present preschool, teachers stressed their position as one of minimal interference, giving support but letting the children roam and explore on their own while walking and listening to their conversations. The children were very much involved in the planning of the activities in the preschool, which were guided by interests the children expressed. Another important factor in preschool education is the involvement of play and exploration (Wells et al., 2016) and the use of loose parts for free and imaginary play, which can foster cognitive development (Kuo et al., 2019; Thompson & Thompson, 2007; White & Stoecklin, 1998). Interpersonal skills, emotional intelligence and self-regulation are some of the learning intentions in the early years that are addressed through the involvement of free and social play (Kemple, 2017). In recent years, the importance of participation and environmental awareness have been outlined to address issues concerning education for sustainable development in preschool settings (Barratt Hacking et al., 2007). For this study, the main influential methods from early years education were listening, involvement, exploration as well as free and imaginary play with the use of loose parts.
4.4 PARTICIPANTS AND SAMPLE
Previous research on educational forest gardens and other outdoor educational settings focused on either the educators (Almers et al., 2018; Harris, 2017; Madsen, 2013; Wilhelmsson et al., 2017) or the children (Askerlund & Almers, 2016; Fägerstam, 2013; Hammarsten et al., 2018; Norðdahl & Einarsdóttir, 2015; White & Stoecklin, 1998). The intention of this study was to illuminate both educators’ and children’s perspectives and combine the two to add to this previous research.
Semi-structured interviews with two educators and eight children were conducted to account for their perspectives and personal experiences on and with the mini forest garden.
Interviews with the educators focused on research question one, the educators’ perceptions and ideas when teaching in the forest garden. Two female educators were interviewed that had been involved with the mini-forest garden project for three years. Both of them were certified preschool teachers, one of them with a background in nursing, and had been given classes on forest gardening
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through the county’s multifunctional outdoor environment program. They had been in contact with the local university and had given interviews to other researchers concerning the multifunctional environment project (Lecusay & Mrak, 2017). In the transcripts, the educators’ names are coded with the letters Y and Z.
Questions for the children aimed at finding answers to research question two, to find out about children’s accounts on their experiences in the forest garden. Eight children of both genders from age three to six were interviewed separately, four of them three years old, two of them six, one four and one five years old. All of the children were interviewed in Swedish, by way of either the researcher translating the English questions from the interview guide or one of the teachers being present to help translate questions and answers. In the coded transcripts, children were assigned letters from A to H instead of using their actual names. The researcher is indicated with an I for interviewer.
On the first day, four children aged three years, that were part of the younger age group, were interviewed separately. These children were involved with the forest garden at present. Since they did not have any experience in the set-up of the garden area and had just recently been introduced to this setting, it was difficult to gain sufficient reports on their experiences in the forest garden. This was further impeded by their age and linguistic ability. For this reason and to gain more detailed reports on the experiences in the garden, a second interview session with the children from the older age group was arranged on the second day of data collection with four children aged six, five and four. The older children were not presently involved in the gardening and used the garden space on the other side of the fence that did not contain the mini-forest garden, but they had participated in its set-up and planning one and two years ago and remembered some of the activities in there quite well. Due to their more advanced linguistic ability, their accounts were more detailed and descriptive than the ones of the younger children. To account for advantages in both age groups, one being involved with the gardening at present, and one having participated in set-up and planning, answers from both parties are included in this report.
The combination of the results from both the interviews with the educators and the ones with the children can help illuminate if there is a difference between the educators’ and children’s view of the shared outdoor space and see if the educators’ perceptions are visible in the children’s behavior and account of experiences. At the same time, it can facilitate a better understanding of how both
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parties experience their time at the forest garden, strengthen the small body of literature on educational forest gardening and possibly to lay the groundwork for concrete development of successful measures within future educational forest garden settings.
4.5 INTERVIEWING CHILDREN
A main focus of this study was to give a voice to the children and to do research with them, as opposed to on them, to help overcome the lack of children’s voices in educational research. The importance of children-centered research has been pointed out in several child-focused studies (Aziz & Said, 2012). Finding out about their specific needs and preferences can open up insights to influencing factors on their attitudes towards their environment (Norðdahl & Einarsdóttir, 2015) and help shape concrete outdoor educational efforts.
Compared to the process in interviewing adults, specific measures have to be taken to make sure children can express themselves in an unrestricted and open manner (Spyrou, 2011). Authentically actualizing their voices is supported by creating a secure atmosphere where privacy is assured. Common relationship practices of children that engage with the disclosure of secrets (Christensen, 2004) reinforce the need for an assurance of confidentiality when conducting interviews. The addition of other media, such as tools for drawing, can help create a setting for children that offers enough elements of their usual environment so they can feel comfortable (Kyronlampi-kylmanen & Maatta, 2011). In this research, the interviews with the children were conducted in a separate room away from their peers, with crayons and sheets of paper available to them that were used frequently during the conversation.
The aspect of power imbalance between the researching adult and the child constitutes an issue that is absent when interviewing adults. In an institutional or classroom-like setting, an interview can turn into an interrogation, where the child is under that the impression that there is such a thing as correct answers (Kvale & Brinkmann, 2009; Spyrou, 2011). In this research, an attempt was made to try to diminish this power imbalance by creating an atmosphere that was open to all kinds of answers and the explicit mentioning that there were no wrong or right answers. As a method to
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further decrease power inequality, children were given the opportunity to change power distribution by encouraging them to ask their own questions at the end of the interview (Kyronlampi-kylmanen & Maatta, 2011).
Giving an authentic account of children’s meaning making and their communicated experiences might involve building trust and a relationship with them over time (Spyrou, 2011). For the present interviews, the time at hand was not sufficient to build overly deep relationships, even though there was a visible difference in how the children approached the researcher at the third and last meeting. In the future, it would be interesting to continue following these children and their accounts in a participatory research project.
Lastly, for an “elaborate understanding of children’s own semantics” (Spyrou, 2011, p. 158) it is important for the researcher to step out of his or her adult meaning making to not report on what the researcher understands, but rather on what the children actually mean. However, as in every ethnographic endeavor, limitations on reaching an unchanged account of the children’s meaning making apply due to the researchers’ need to conduct some kind of analysis in selecting and presenting quotes (James, 2007).
4.6 DATA COLLECTION
Before the data collection, an informal visit lasting a full day was given to the preschool. Conversations with the educators and a first impression and observation of the activities in the preschool helped inform the two interview guides. At two separate visits, a total of three hours and fifteen minutes of interviews were recorded, and three hours of observational notes were taken. Two preschool teachers that had been involved with the mini-forest garden were interviewed on two days of data collection for one and a quarter hour as well as half an hour. Both teachers were interviewed together on the first day and one of them on the second day. Examples of interview questions for the educators were: What are the emotions children communicate in the mini forest
garden? Do you see a difference in the children’s interaction inside to outside? Can you tell me about your view on the mini forest garden as a place for learning? Eight children were interviewed
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separately on two different days ranging from three to six years. Examples of interview questions were: What did you enjoy the most at the mini forest garden? Can you tell me about your favorite
activity? What can you eat in the forest garden? On the first day, four children aged three years
were interviewed for twenty to twenty five minutes each, one interview with two children at once. On the second day, four older children from four to six years were interviewed separately for ten to fifteen minutes each.
4.7 DATA ANALYSIS
Educators’ perceptions and children’s behavior, as well as their communicated experiences were the focus of the study. Analyzing the data, the intention was to give an accurate account of the communicated experiences and perceptions of the interviewed participants. A main motif that occurred while analyzing the data was to focus on the types of learning that could be found in the mini-forest garden. Looking for similarities and differences between the accounts of both educators and children, a thematic analysis approach was most adequate for the research design. The lack of distinctive guidelines or techniques as well as the difficulty to identify employed thematic analysis as such (Bryman, 2012), was atoned with a detailed description and step by step guide by Braun and Clarke (2006) to employ a six step thematic research analysis approach. The benefits of thematic analysis include the high flexibility of the method, as well as a plentiful and detailed account of the data. The thematic analysis allows for a mixture between inductive determining of categories through emergent themes as well as a semi-deductive approach where analysis is conducted with the pre-formulated research question in mind. Braun and Clarke characterize themes as recurring accounts and patterned responses within the data set that capture something important related to the research question. Main and recurring themes within the current data set were identified employing the six analytic steps as follows:
After collecting the data, both interviews and observations were transcribed and saved onto separate files in a first step. To get familiar with the data set, the transcripts were read and reread numerous times and initial ideas that could formulate the themes were taken down by hand. In a second step, initial codes according to the research questions were formed and applied to the data set by use of separate colors. The codings were further grouped into potential categorial themes
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that were informed by Illeris’ learning dimensions (Illeris, 2002) and a new file gathering all data of one theme was created, grouping all similar notions within the ten interviews and observations. In a fourth step, the themes were reviewed and compared according to the transcribed and coded text. A mind map of the analysis was drawn and the whole data set was reviewed according to the formulated themes. A computerized version of this mind map can be found in the appendix (9.3). Similarities between the codes with both interview groups were found and compared. The fifth step included defining the specifics of each theme and producing clear definitions of them. After naming and clearly defining the themes concerning the educators’ ideas and intentions, those were shown to the interviewed educator in a follow-up interview to check if the stated themes, goals and intentions fit with the educators’ account of their ideas and to correct potential wrong interpretations of their statements. The involvement of the participants in the analysis gives the research subjects decision authority in what is done with their statements, creates transparency and raises the validity of findings and outcomes of the research (Kvale & Brinkmann, 2009). Ensuring the coherence between the researchers findings and the views of the participants is a process that is often done in qualitative research under the name of respondent validation (Bryman, 2012).
After approval on side of the educator, the themes were again compared with the ones that arose from coding the children’s interviews. Main overlapping categories were found, compared with the literature and grouped in a logical way to prepare for the analysis of the results. The sixth step included finding clear examples that related back to the literature and research questions for the production and logical presentation of the findings in this report.
4.8 ETHICS
Ethical considerations are part of the integrity of the research process (Bryman, 2012). Transparency, anonymity and informed consent of participants are some of the main issues that have to be addressed when conducting social research (Bernard, 2006b; Kvale & Brinkmann, 2009). For this reason, the preschool was informed prior to the study on the intent of the researcher and gave their consent to conducting the research at their premises. Before collecting the data, an information sheet was given to all the parents of the children, explaining the interest of the
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research, what the data were going to be used for, as well as a promise of confidentiality and anonymity. Consent forms granting the children permission to participate in the study were signed by the parents and returned to the researcher. Obtaining the voluntary participation of the research subjects or their guardians is crucial in conducting social research for the creation of transparency and protection of both parties involved in the research process (Kvale & Brinkmann, 2009). Together with the information sheet, the informed consent forms can be found in the appendix (9.1) of this report. The reason for the study and data collection was explained to all the children, they were asked separately if they wanted to participate in the research and informed that they could end their participation at any time (Kyronlampi-kylmanen & Maatta, 2011). The reason behind the need of making recordings was explained to them and they were asked if they had any reservations against it before taping. Questions that arose during the observational period were answered in detail by the researcher. The actual names of the children in the following report are coded with letters from A to J and the educators with X and Y, respectively, to assure confidentiality and anonymity.
4.9 LIMITATIONS
Since this was a small scale descriptive study, there is no reason to draw general conclusions from it. The data were only collected in one preschool with ten participants total.
From the original children taking part in the planting and set up of the mini-forest garden three years ago, only a couple could be interviewed. The younger ones are involved with the forest gardening now but relatively new to the setting.
The educators working with the mini forest gardening are limited to the group with the younger children. Since the preschool is divided in two groups by age, the older children taking part in the set up and the beginnings of the forest garden stopped being involved with the forest gardening once they turned old enough to switch groups. Unfortunately, this resulted in them having less interest in the garden in general, which became prevalent looking at their accounts of the outdoor
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activities: their focus on the garden area in the interviews did not involve the gardening as much as the accounts of the younger children.
The younger children, on the other hand, were a little too young to understand all the processes and purpose of the garden and harder to interview due to their limited linguistic ability. Ideally, both age groups would be involved in the gardening to the same extent, starting with the introduction to it a young age and then fostering their knowledge and connection to the forest garden area in the older years. This way, a disconnection from everything that was learned before could be prohibited.
The limited amount of time to conduct the research made it impossible to become more acquainted with the research subjects and for them to become more comfortable with the researcher, which could have helped to gain in depth accounts of their emotions and experiences. The limited amount of time at hand also made it impossible to collect a bigger set of data.
