How do children experience nature? Meaning-making and socialization to outdoor life

Prosjektet skal undersøke hvordan barn opplever natur, hvor det skjer, samt hvordan barna sitt friluftsliv arter seg og hvilken rolle de voksne spiller. Children’s outdoor life has the latest decades changed substantially in form and content, but is under-focused in research. The study will fill a need for broad and interdisciplinary knowledge concerning this topic, using different methods but jointed in an experience-based and open approach. The study will include a review over existing, but probably limited knowledge on the extent of children’s experiences in nature today. To fill out the gap of knowledge and as background for further qualitative research, a national survey will be conducted mapping who, when, where and in what context children are in outdoor natural areas. The main focus in the study will be on meaning-making and socialization for outdoor activities, by focusing on how children experience nature in different settings along a gradient from more self-controlled and unorganized outdoor activities to adult-controlled and organized outdoor activities. This main part of the study will base on three in-depth qualitative case-studies and two more superficial examples which in total represent this gradient. The study will focus specifically on how meaning-making in children’s experiences in nature can contribute in curriculum development in ECEC’s [dvs. barnehager], nature management and planning, and then be used to facilitate good opportunities for outdoor recreation activities and socialization to outdoor life.