Thesis (M.A.)--Wheaton College Graduate School, 2007. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 44-47).

Utifrån litteratur kan man läsa om vad hållbar utveckling innebär och att det är ett komplext ämne. Det finns däremot inte mycket information som visar på hur man inom förskolans verksamhet arbetar med hållbar utveckling. I studien har vi valt presentera olika begrepp samt utgå från både det sociokulturella och pragmatiska perspektivet, för att undersöka våra frågeställningar baserat på barnens intressen och erfarenheter. Det pragmatiska perspektivet är  relevant för vår studie, då det visar hur undervisning sker utifrån ett praktiskt lärande där barnen hela tiden är delaktiga. Utifrån det sociokulturella perspektivet vill vi även undersöka hur barnens ålder har betydelse för lärande av hållbar utveckling utifrån den proximala utvecklingszonen. Studiens syfte är att undersöka hur pedagogerna från tre olika förskolor i södra Sverige, förmedlar sina kunskaper till barnen och varför detta är betydelsefullt redan i förskolans verksamhet. Syftet är även att synliggöra hur pedagoger i förskolan tolkar hållbar utveckling utifrån styrdokumenten. Resultatet av studien visar att pedagogerna arbetar med hållbar utveckling genom att bryta ner lärandet i exempelvis olika vardagssituationer, detta för att anpassa undervisningen även till de yngsta barnen. Resultatet visar även att pedagogerna  vill arbeta med detta ämne för att få barnen intresserade av vad hållbar utveckling handlar om, bland annat genom att låta barnen få vara med och se matens väg från jord till bord, men också att låta dem får vara med ute i naturen. När barnen får vara delaktiga i undervisningen leder detta till att barnen får ett intresse för att värna för en hållbar framtid. / Based on the literature you can read about what sustainable development means and that it is a complex topic. However, there is not much information that shows how the preschool is working on sustainable development. In the study, we have chosen to present different concepts and adopt both the socio-cultural and pragmatic perspective, to examine our issues based on children's interests and experiences. The pragmatic approach is relevant to our study, as it shows how teaching is based on a practical learning where kids are involved all the time. Based on the socio-cultural perspective, we also want examine how the age of the children is important for learning about sustainable development from the proximal development zone. The study aims at examine how teachers from three different preschools in southern Sweden, convey their knowledge to their children and why this is important already in preschool. It also aims at highlighting how teachers in preschool interpret sustainable development based on the policy documents. The results of the study show that the preschool teachers work with sustainable development by breaking down learning inot, for example, everyday situations, in order to adapt the teaching even for the youngest children. The results also show that teachers want to work with this topic to get kids interested in what sustainable development is all about, including by allowing the children to be involved and ensure food's journey from farm to table, but also involve them to spend time out in nature. When kids get involved in the teaching, this helps the children to get an interest in safeguarding a sustainable future.

Denna studie undersöker hur människors relaterar till naturen efter en genomförd utomhusutbildning vid namn Hållbar natur. Utbildningen består av 11 olika stopp/platser där olika miljöfrågor kring hållbar utveckling exemplifieras. Metoden för studien är fokusgrupper och de empiriska materialen består av tre fokusgrupper med sammanlagt 14 deltagare. Fokusgruppernas deltagare fick tillsammans gå en tre timmar lång utomhusutbildning där Rockströms planetära gränser låg i fokus. Analysen av materialet visar på att deltagarna har fått en ökad medvetenhet kring samband och samspel som finns mellan människan och naturen, men de verkar sakna en djupare förståelse. Analysen visar också på hur stor roll platser har som referenspunkt i diskussioner om miljöfrågor, dock inte de platser som besöktes under utbildningen. Det är troligt att den stora aktiviteten som uppkom i samband med gruppdiskussionerna kan kopplas till den konkreta upplevelsen som deltagarna precis hade fått. Det framkom i analysen att deltagarna gärna ville prata om ämnen som de kan referera till med egna erfarenheter. Analysen visar därmed att det är viktigt att använda sig av exempel som är lätta att förknippa med sitt eget liv vid utformandet av en miljöutbildning med utomhuspedagogik. Deltagarnas förhållningsätt till naturen, det vill säga ett antropocentriskt eller ekocentriskt förhållningssätt spelade roll för hur de tog till sig utbildningen vilket gör att det är av betydelse för utformandet av en miljöutbildning med utomhuspedagogik att ta hänsyn till människans natursyn. Ingen av deltagarna hade ett biocentriskt synsätt. Gemensamt för alla fokusgrupperna / This study investigates how people relate to nature after an accomplished outdoor education called Sustainable Nature. The education consists of 11 different stops / places where different environmental issues regarding sustainable development are exemplified. The method of the study is focus groups and there were three groups, together 14 participants. The focus groups members participated in a three-hour loong outdoor education, focusing on the nine planetary boundaries as theorized by Rockstöm. The analysis of the material shows that the participants have gained increased awareness of the relationship and interaction between man and nature, but they seem to lack a deeper understanding. The analysis also shows the importance of geographical points in discussions of environmental issues, but not the places visited during the education. It is likely that the big activity that arose in connection with the group discussions can be linked to the actual experience that the participants had just received. It was found in the analysis that participants would like to talk about topics that they can refer to with their own experiences. The analysis thus shows that it is important to use examples that are easy to associate with their own lives in the design of an environmental education. Participants' approach to nature, that is, an anthropocentric or ecocentric approach, played a part in the way they took the education, Hence, participants´ view of nature are key aspects to take into account in the design of informal environmental outdoor education. None of the participants had a biocentric approach. Common to all the focus groups was that after education a clear commitment was made to educate more, it’s a clear expression of a new interest.

Orientador: Osmar Cavassan / Banca: Jandira Liria B. Talamoni / Banca: Maria Celina Piazza Recena / Resumo: Os jardins botânicos têm sido reconhecidos como locais propícios para a prática de atividades educativas em espaços não escolares. Tais atividades, oferecidas pelas equipes de educação, comumente são relacionadas à Educação Ambiental (EA). Contudo, o campo da EA tem se apresentado como um mosaico de concepções e práticas, gerando dificuldades na determinação da natureza e dos propósitos das atividades educativas praticadas nos jardins botânicos. Inseridos neste contexto, está o Programa de Educação Ambiental do Jardim Botânico Municipal de Bauru (JBMB), que constantemente recebe questionamentos (autóctones e alóctones) sobre se suas atividades educativas se constituem ou não em práticas de E.A. Tal característica trouxe a necessidade de uma busca por uma identidade que permita o posicionamento do Programa no território da EA, despertando a necessidade de contextualização da realidade do JBMB e de seu programa educativo. Esta foi realizada por meio de investigação sobre: a história dos jardins botânicos, o panorama da EA e as atividades realizadas pelo Programa de EA do JBMB. A determinação da identidade necessitou, também, da compreensão do modo como os usuários do Programa o identificam, e para tanto, houve a necessidade de conhecer o perfil destes usuários e de suas expectativas quando procuram atividades oferecidas pela equipe de EA, o que foi realizado por meio da análise de fichas de visitação, que contêm informações sobre os grupos que visitamo JBMB. A determinação da identidade do programa educativo do JBMB apresenta-se como ponto de partida para os planejamentos e direcionamentos futuros das atividades de EA, bem como orientação para outros educadores no sentido de buscarem a identidade de seus programas educacionais / Abstract: The botanical garden have been recognized as potential sites for the practice of educational activities in non-school spaces. Such activities offered by education teams, are commonly related to Environmental Education (EE). However, the field of EE has been presented as a mosaic of concepts and practices, creating difficulties in determining the nature and purposes of educational activities practiced by botanical gardens. Within this context, is the Environmental Education Program of the Municipal Botanical Garden of Bauru (JBMB), which constantly receives inquiries (allochthonous) if its educational activities are or are not EE practices. Such characteristics has throught the need for a search for an identity that would allow positioning its EE program within the territory of EE Programs, raising the need to contextualize the reality of JBMB and its educational program. This was accomplished through research on: the history of botanical gardens, the outlook of EE and the activities undertaken by the EE Program at the JBMB. The determination of identity also needed understanding of how users identify the program, and for that, the unveiling of the profile of these users and their expectations when seeking activities offered by the EE team was necessary. This was done by analyzing the records of visitation that contain information about the groups that visit the JBMB. The determination of the identity of the educational program at the JBMB presents itself as a starting point for planning and future directions of EE activities, as well as guidance for other educattors to seek for the identity of their own educational programs / Mestre

The subject of this project is an analysis of the perception of postgraduate students of "Outdoor Environmental Education and Outdoor Life Master Program" regarding the concept of "Outdoor Education". The perceptions are introduced and elaborated through interviews with nine Master students from September 2013 till June 2014. One by one, the qualitative data is phenomenologically analyzed and interpretation of the findings are demonstrated to the reader. At the end of this study, five different themes, which have been obtained during this study, are presented. These themes are: the benefits of outdoor education; the practicality of outdoor education, the effects of outdoor education and issues within outdoor education. I argue how perspectives of international students vary depending on their culture.

Este estudo tem por tema a formação permanente de professores de educação física da Secretaria Municipal de Esportes, Recreação e Lazer de Porto Alegre, bem como as relações desta formação com a prática deste coletivo docente. Esta investigação focaliza os significados atribuídos por estes professores a sua formação permanente na relação com o cotidiano de suas práticas pedagógicas, tendo em vista as características institucionais onde se realiza: de espaço de atuação nãoescolar como praças, parques, centros de comunidade, ruas, associações comunitárias; bem como a grande diversidade de campos de atuação deste professorado que tem no lazer, no esporte e em ações ligadas à promoção da saúde os instrumentos de sua intervenção, nos seus vieses educativos, competitivos e ou lúdicos. A pergunta que sintetiza o problema de investigação e orienta as decisões metodológicas é: Quais significados o professorado de educação física da Secretaria Municipal de Esportes, Recreação e Lazer de Porto Alegre atribui ao seu processo de formação permanente e que impactos este processo produz no cotidiano de sua prática pedagógica? Para responder a esta questão realizei entrevistas semi-estruturadas, analisei documentos do período que vai de 1989 até 2009; com o mesmo intento, utilizei as observações e registros do diário de campo sobre as situações de formação promovidas pela instituição e do cotidiano das práticas dos professores de educação física desta secretaria, que permitissem a construção de quadro de análise e interpretação sobre o material coletado. O processo analítico apontou para algumas categorias significativas para a compreensão de práticas docentes e do papel que a formação permanente ocupa na sua sustentação e na superação dos desafios e contradições presentes nestas práticas. Uma destas categorias situa-se no não-lugar do espaço público da secretaria – a possibilidade e a expectativa de uma ação educativa em espaços que não parecem claramente associados aos significados da instituição escolar Desta decorre uma outra, situada no próprio sujeito do estudo: o “ser-não ser” do professor desta instituição – as tensões e contradições na construção de uma identidade docente – manifestas em trajetos de aproximação à cultura escolar ao mesmo tempo que elenca as peculiaridades distintivas do seu fazer educativo. Articulada às anteriores, a categoria de um personalismo e de uma fragilidade das políticas de formação profissional da secretaria parecem apontar para um papel ao mesmo tempo central desta para construção da identidade e de um referencial para as práticas dos professores, mas contraditoriamente, na sua ausência, a distribuição dispersa dos recursos humanos e o seu isolamento nos diversos espaços da cidade permitem uma sobrevivência que supera a existência de uma proposta políticopedagógica Uma idéia central sugerida pelo estudo é que a proposta de formação permanente, enquanto compromisso da instituição, tenha um caráter definidor de uma identidade docente, articuladora de sujeitos e ações e que permita superar fragilidades temporais e ideológicas das questões político-partidárias – o estudo aponta para a importância de uma estrutura de formação permanente, centrada nas experiências dos professores: espaços e tempos de compartilhamento de êxitos, de busca coletiva de superação de dificuldades e contradições. / The subject of this study is the permanent formation of Physical Education teachers of the “Secretaria Municipal de Esportes, Recreação e Lazer de Porto Alegre” – Sport and Leisure Department – in the city hall of Porto Alegre. The study also deals with the relations between this permanent formation and the practices of the group of teachers. This investigation focuses on the meanings attributed by such group of teachers to their permanent formation in relation to their everyday pedagogical practices, having in mind institutional characteristics and the spaces where practices take place: public squares, parks, community centers and streets. It also focuses on the varied nature of the group’s work (leisure, sport, health) and its educative, competitive or playful aspects. The question which summarizes the investigation and guides methodological decisions is: Which meanings the teachers of the Sport and Leisure Department of Porto Alegre attribute to their process of permanent formation and which impacts such process produces in their everyday pedagogical practices To answer this question, semi-structured interviews were held, documents from 1989 to 2009 were analyzed, observations and field diary entries on the formation moments promoted by the department were used and everyday practices were observed. All that allowed the construction of an analysis and interpretation chart. The analytical process lead the study to point out some meaningful categories to understand teachers’ practices, as well as, the role permanent formation has in helping teachers overcome challenges and contradictions found in their everyday practice. One of these categories depicts the possibilities and expectations of an educative action in spaces which are not clearly associated to a school institution. From the category mentioned above, another one emerges, located within the subject of this study: the teacher’s lack of a clear self identity; tension and contradiction permeate the construction of a clear and steady identity, sometimes moving itself towards the school culture while in other moments it unveils distinctive traits of the teachers’ practices Linked to the previous categories, there is one related to the subjective and fragile department policies related to professional formation. This category seems to indicate a central role in the construction of the teacher’s identity and a referential to the teacher’s practice, yet in the absence of such policies, the scattered distribution of human resources and their isolation in the many different spaces in the city of Porto Alegre allow them to outlive the existence of a political and pedagogical project. A key point dealt within this study is that the commitment of the institution towards permanent formation should help define the teacher’s identity, help articulate subjects and actions and allow teachers to overcome temporary difficulties caused by ideological and political matters. The study points to the significance a permanent formation structure has and that it should be based on teachers’ experience and provide them with the opportunity to share cases of success and seek solutions to overcome difficulties and contradictions.

Este estudo tem por tema a formação permanente de professores de educação física da Secretaria Municipal de Esportes, Recreação e Lazer de Porto Alegre, bem como as relações desta formação com a prática deste coletivo docente. Esta investigação focaliza os significados atribuídos por estes professores a sua formação permanente na relação com o cotidiano de suas práticas pedagógicas, tendo em vista as características institucionais onde se realiza: de espaço de atuação nãoescolar como praças, parques, centros de comunidade, ruas, associações comunitárias; bem como a grande diversidade de campos de atuação deste professorado que tem no lazer, no esporte e em ações ligadas à promoção da saúde os instrumentos de sua intervenção, nos seus vieses educativos, competitivos e ou lúdicos. A pergunta que sintetiza o problema de investigação e orienta as decisões metodológicas é: Quais significados o professorado de educação física da Secretaria Municipal de Esportes, Recreação e Lazer de Porto Alegre atribui ao seu processo de formação permanente e que impactos este processo produz no cotidiano de sua prática pedagógica? Para responder a esta questão realizei entrevistas semi-estruturadas, analisei documentos do período que vai de 1989 até 2009; com o mesmo intento, utilizei as observações e registros do diário de campo sobre as situações de formação promovidas pela instituição e do cotidiano das práticas dos professores de educação física desta secretaria, que permitissem a construção de quadro de análise e interpretação sobre o material coletado. O processo analítico apontou para algumas categorias significativas para a compreensão de práticas docentes e do papel que a formação permanente ocupa na sua sustentação e na superação dos desafios e contradições presentes nestas práticas. Uma destas categorias situa-se no não-lugar do espaço público da secretaria – a possibilidade e a expectativa de uma ação educativa em espaços que não parecem claramente associados aos significados da instituição escolar Desta decorre uma outra, situada no próprio sujeito do estudo: o “ser-não ser” do professor desta instituição – as tensões e contradições na construção de uma identidade docente – manifestas em trajetos de aproximação à cultura escolar ao mesmo tempo que elenca as peculiaridades distintivas do seu fazer educativo. Articulada às anteriores, a categoria de um personalismo e de uma fragilidade das políticas de formação profissional da secretaria parecem apontar para um papel ao mesmo tempo central desta para construção da identidade e de um referencial para as práticas dos professores, mas contraditoriamente, na sua ausência, a distribuição dispersa dos recursos humanos e o seu isolamento nos diversos espaços da cidade permitem uma sobrevivência que supera a existência de uma proposta políticopedagógica Uma idéia central sugerida pelo estudo é que a proposta de formação permanente, enquanto compromisso da instituição, tenha um caráter definidor de uma identidade docente, articuladora de sujeitos e ações e que permita superar fragilidades temporais e ideológicas das questões político-partidárias – o estudo aponta para a importância de uma estrutura de formação permanente, centrada nas experiências dos professores: espaços e tempos de compartilhamento de êxitos, de busca coletiva de superação de dificuldades e contradições. / The subject of this study is the permanent formation of Physical Education teachers of the “Secretaria Municipal de Esportes, Recreação e Lazer de Porto Alegre” – Sport and Leisure Department – in the city hall of Porto Alegre. The study also deals with the relations between this permanent formation and the practices of the group of teachers. This investigation focuses on the meanings attributed by such group of teachers to their permanent formation in relation to their everyday pedagogical practices, having in mind institutional characteristics and the spaces where practices take place: public squares, parks, community centers and streets. It also focuses on the varied nature of the group’s work (leisure, sport, health) and its educative, competitive or playful aspects. The question which summarizes the investigation and guides methodological decisions is: Which meanings the teachers of the Sport and Leisure Department of Porto Alegre attribute to their process of permanent formation and which impacts such process produces in their everyday pedagogical practices To answer this question, semi-structured interviews were held, documents from 1989 to 2009 were analyzed, observations and field diary entries on the formation moments promoted by the department were used and everyday practices were observed. All that allowed the construction of an analysis and interpretation chart. The analytical process lead the study to point out some meaningful categories to understand teachers’ practices, as well as, the role permanent formation has in helping teachers overcome challenges and contradictions found in their everyday practice. One of these categories depicts the possibilities and expectations of an educative action in spaces which are not clearly associated to a school institution. From the category mentioned above, another one emerges, located within the subject of this study: the teacher’s lack of a clear self identity; tension and contradiction permeate the construction of a clear and steady identity, sometimes moving itself towards the school culture while in other moments it unveils distinctive traits of the teachers’ practices Linked to the previous categories, there is one related to the subjective and fragile department policies related to professional formation. This category seems to indicate a central role in the construction of the teacher’s identity and a referential to the teacher’s practice, yet in the absence of such policies, the scattered distribution of human resources and their isolation in the many different spaces in the city of Porto Alegre allow them to outlive the existence of a political and pedagogical project. A key point dealt within this study is that the commitment of the institution towards permanent formation should help define the teacher’s identity, help articulate subjects and actions and allow teachers to overcome temporary difficulties caused by ideological and political matters. The study points to the significance a permanent formation structure has and that it should be based on teachers’ experience and provide them with the opportunity to share cases of success and seek solutions to overcome difficulties and contradictions.

Outward Bound stands out amongst the rest of the wilderness organizations not only for its time-honored contribution to the field of wilderness education, but for its fundamental process and theories which contribute to its success. Academic attention in the field of wilderness programs largely overlooks the role of organizational culture. To fill the gap in our knowledge, this study synthesizes the academic conversation on Outward Bound programs and integrates it with the most consistent findings about organizational culture. Interviewing the participants and instructors of a 72-day long Outward Bound course conducted in 2015 provides clear insight into the role of organizational culture on Outward Bound, its formation, management, and impacts, as well as overall course outcomes for participants. My research finds that the culture within organizations that are built to dissolve can create meaningful and lasting cultural shifts in its members including increases in interpersonal dimensions such as open-mindedness, patience and improved relationships, as well as in intrapersonal dimensions such as independence, confidence and motivation. Drawing on participant responses, I further find that the role of subgroups, conflict, and exclusion can be contentious, contributing to instability and division in organizational culture. Conversely, shared values, familial themes, and compassion can coalesce to unify the culture so strongly that all participants reflect back on the culture as net positive and their experience with Outward Bound as one of growth and positive transformation.

Följande kvalitativa studie beskriver de möjligheter och hinder några pedagoger i skolår 4-6 uppmärksammar med utomhuspedagogik i ämnet engelska, samt de aspekter som dessa pedagoger erfar kan underlätta vid genomförandet av utomhuspedagogik. Utomhuspedagogik innebär att flytta undervisningen utomhus. Genom expectancy-value theory (förväntan-värde teorin) har studien försökt att beskriva och förstå vad dessa möjligheter och hinder kan grundas i. För att besvara forskningsfrågorna har fyra semistrukturerade intervjuer utförts med pedagoger verksamma i årskurs 4-6, dessa pedagoger har varierad mängd erfarenhet vad gäller arbetssättet. Studiens resultat visar att litteraturen inom ämnet i stora drag stämmer överens med de medverkande pedagogernas uttalanden. Positivt gällande möjligheterna är den sociala påverkan som arbetssättet har på elevgruppen. Hindren relaterar till största delen tid för planering samt osäkerhet inför vilket ämnesinnehåll som kan behandlas genom arbetssättet och hur undervisningen kan struktureras. Slutligen, gällande aspekter som kan underlätta vid undervisningen, relaterar dessa till pedagogens erfarenhet, samarbete med andra pedagoger samt kontakt med elevernas hem.

The aim of this study was to identify and investigate preschool teachers’ experiences and views on the role of outdoor education on social interactions. The research questions were: How do the teachers conceptualize outdoor activities’ role on social interactions in multicultural preschool settings? How do the teachers foster social interactions through outdoor education? What kind of challenges have the teachers faced regarding outdoor education in multicultural preschool groups? Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five preschool teachers from three different preschools in a multicultural suburb in southern Sweden. The results showed that – despite children’s possible aversions to engaging in activities in the outdoors - outdoor activities are supportive of the development of closer bonds within the group. According to the teachers interviewed, the natural settings bring calmness and openness, therefore this environment facilitates social interactions among children. The lack of strictly preplanned activities offer children opportunities to follow their interests and to have shared experiences through the discovery of nature. Their willingness for collaborative explorations is a basis for joint play, discussion and group work.