O impacto da permeabilidade entre o mundo interior e o mundo exterior na aprendizagem das crianças em contexto de creche

Abstract

This work stands on the basis of the Child Association´s approach, the Pedagogy-in Participation that advocates a child's image as that of a being with competence, agency and rights “whose motivation for learning is based on the intrinsic interest of the task and the intrinsic motivations of the children” (Oliveira-Formosinho & Formosinho, 2011a, p.15). This pedagogy recognizes children's interest in nature and understands it with a space richin possibilities for the child to explore and experience. Current research recognizes the importance of children's contact with nature as a strategy for enriching free-play behavior and enhancing cognitive, emotional, and physical development as well as a strong ally in the fight against childhood obesity (Burdette &Whitaker, 2005; Fjørtoft, 2004), but does not deepen the processes and learning that result from the permeability between indoor and outdoor spaces. The aim of this research is to minimize this gap and to understand the impact and learning that children in day-care context manifest when they contact nature. This research-action was carried out in Lisbon, with four children, aged between 13and 18 months, in a nursery room where the researcher, who is also an educator, works. In the course of the study, these children were involved in the discovery of nature and expressed a deep and lasting interest in snails developing a project on these molluscs. The collection of data was made through pedagogical documentation. Subsequently, the well-being (Laevers et al., 2005) and the evidenced learning were analyzed in the light of the learning areas and the pedagogical axes of Pedagogy-in-Participation (Formosinho & Oliveira Formosinho, 2008; Oliveira-Formosinho e Formosinho 2011b; 2016). The results obtained allow us to state in this pedagogy, when children have the opportunity to contact with nature, they engage in meaningful learning abroad, which continues in the classroom, showing high signs of well-being.

Date of Award	23 Mar 2018
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Júlia Oliveira Formosinho (Supervisor)