No description available.

Thesis (PhD)--University of Stellenbosch, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Although numerous norm-referenced measures of religiosity and spirituality exist for adults, no assessment of the holistic goals for Christian spiritual development in the context of evangelical Protestant schools, geared to adolescents, and using emerging technologies, was found. Addressing this lacuna, the purpose of this curriculum study was to develop and validate the Growing Disciples Inventory (GDI) as a curriculum-aligned self-assessment for Christian education. Using a mixed methods approach, the GDI was constructed in the first phase of this educational design research. Experts in the fields of curriculum, assessment, Christian education and/or discipleship evaluated the extent to which proposed items were aligned to the Growing Disciples (GD) curriculum framework, and were appropriate to adolescent learners participating in Christian education. At least four items were included for each of 21 constructs within the four GD curriculum processes. The 100-item GDI was further refined through two development cycles of usability testing with adolescents. Using a think-aloud protocol, a proportional quota convenience sample of 16 learners completed the GDI online, reviewed their online reports, and took the exit survey. Minor refinements were made with the data from these individual interviews. During the second phase, evidence for the validity of the GDI was evaluated with data from a purposive sample of nine educators and 595 Grade 7 through 12 students in 8 American, South African, and Australian Seventh-day Adventist schools. High reliability was found in terms of internal consistency (Cronbach’s alphas of .855 to .943) and structural equation modelling (standardized correlation coefficients of .59 to .95) for the four cyclical and lifelong Christian spiritual development processes of Connecting, Understanding, Ministering, and Equipping. Confirmatory factor analysis through structural equation modelling provided evidence of construct validity with an adequate model fit. Moderate inter-factor correlations compared to higher correlations within factors indicated discriminant validity. Learner responses to 7 GDI exit survey items further supported the GDI’s design and ease-of-use online. Answers to 3 open-ended GDI exit survey questions supplied rich qualitative data that corroborated quantitative responses, and added perceptions of the utility and relevance of the GDI as a formative selfassessment tool to facilitate exploration of strengths and growth points through reflection and metacognition. The majority of educator interviews indicated favourable perceptions of the GDI’s utility and relevance within their sphere of the global Seventh-day Adventist education system. Structural equation model fit evaluation and correlations demonstrated that the GDI is a consistent self-assessment across gender and grade level. Although a weak correlation between country and learner scores was found, qualitative data supports the relevance of the GDI in each country. Further validation studies are recommended with larger samples international samples to adequately demonstrate generalizability within the context of evangelical Protestant education. Analysis of emerging themes in learner responses corroborated quantitative findings, triangulating evidence for learner engagement and the positive potential for the GDI’s use to facilitate Christian spiritual development. Each study of reliability and validity undertaken in this mixed methods curriculum research added moderate to strong evidence in support of the GDI as a curriculum-aligned selfassessment for adolescents participating in Christian education. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Daar bestaan talle norm-gebaseerde meetinstrumente vir die meting van vlakke van religieusiteit en spiritualiteit vir volwassenes. Geen assessering instrument van die holistiese doelstellings van Christelike spirituele ontwikkeling in die konteks van Protestant skole, toegespits op adolessente, wat van opkomende tegnologieë gebruik maak, kon gevind word nie. Om hierdie leemte aan te spreek, was die doelwit van hierdie navorsingstudie en kurrikulumontwikkeling om die “Growing Disciples Inventory” (GDI) te ontwikkel en om die geldigheid van dié instrument te bepaal as ʼn kurrikulumgerigte selfassessering instrument vir Christelike onderwys. Deur gebruik te maak van ʼn gemengde navorsingsmetode-benadering is die GDI in die eerste fase van hierdie opvoedkundige navorsingsontwerp opgestel. Deskundiges op die gebiede van kurrikulum, assessering, Christelike onderwys en/of "dissipelskap" het die toepaslikheid van voorgestelde items vir die “Growing Disciples” (GD) kurrikulumraamwerk, asook die geskiktheid vir adolessente-leerders in Christelike onderwys geëvalueer. Ten minste vier items is vir elk van 21 konstrukte binne die vier GD kurrikulumprosesse ingesluit. Die 100-item GDI is verder verfyn deur twee ontwikkeling-siklusse van loods- of bruikbaarheidstoetsings met adolessente. Deur gebruik te maak van ʼn "hardop-dink" protokol het ʼn proporsionele kwota gerieflikheidsteekproef van 16 leerders die GDI aanlyn voltooi. Die deelnemers se onmiddellike kits-aanlyn verslae is hersien, en die 10-item finale opname is gedoen. Geringe verfynings is ontwerp met data wat verkry is van hierdie individuele onderhoude. In die tweede fase is bewyse vir die geldigheid van die GDI geëvalueer met data wat versamel is van ʼn doelgerigte steekproef van nege opvoeders en 595 graad 7 tot 12 leerders uit 8 Sewende-dag-Adventiste skole in Amerika, Suid-Afrika, en Australië. Hoë betroubaarheid is gevind in terme van interne konsekwentheid (Cronbach se alfas tussen .855 tot .943) en strukturele vergelykings-modellering (gestandaardiseerde korrelasie koëffisiënte tussen .59 tot .95) vir die vier sikliese en lewenslange Christelike spirituele ontwikkelingsprosesse: Verbinding, Begrip, Bediening, en Toerusting. Bevestigende faktorontleding deur middel van strukturele vergelykings-modellering het bewyse gelewer van konstrukgeldigheid met voldoende model paslikheid. Matige interfaktor-korrelasies in vergeleke met hoër korrelasies binne die faktore, het voorlopige bewyse van diskriminante geldigheid gelewer. Leerders se response op 7 GD finale opname items het die GDI se ontwerp en aanlyn gebruikersvriendelikheid verder ondersteun. Response op drie oopeinde vrae van die GDI se finale opname het baie goeie kwalitatiewe data opgelewer wat kwantitatiewe response staaf. Daarmee het persepsies oor die bruikbaarheid en toepaslikheid van die GDI as ʼn vormende self-assesserings-instrument aansienlik gegroei. Die GDI bevorder die verdure ondersoek van die ontwikkeling van Christelike spiritualiteit en groeipunte deur middel van refleksie, besinning en metakognisie. Die meeste van die opvoeders se finale onderhoudsresponse het gunstige persepsies van die GDI se bruikbaarheid en toepaslikheid in die globale Sevende-dag Adventiste onderwys-stelsel aangedui. Evaluering van strukturele vergelyksmodellering se paslikheid, asook korrelasie-ontleding lewer bewyse dat die GDI ʼn bestendige self-assesseringsinstrument is oor geslag en graad vlak. ʼn Swak korrelasie is tussen land van herkoms en leerdertellings gevind; maar kwalitatiewe data ondersteun die toepaslikheid van die GDI in elke land. Verdere geldigheidstoetsing word aanbeveel, met groter steekproewe. Ontleding van opkomende temas in die geldigheidsteekproef se leerder-response, het kwantitatiewe bevindings ondersteun. Bewyse van leerderbetrokkenheid en die positiewe potensiaal van die GDI se gebruik om Christelike spirituele ontwikkeling te bevorder, is getrianguleer. Die betroubaarheid en geldigheid van die gemengde navorsingsmetodes het matige tot sterk bewyse gelewer ter ondersteuning van die geldigheid van die GDI as ʼn kurrikulumgerigte selfassesseringsintrument vir adolessente in Christelike onderwys.

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which faith-based preschools promote spiritual development in preschoolers. The participants in the study were faith-based early childhood teachers and administrators from seven states. Early childhood professionals representing 11 Christian faith traditions completed written surveys or online surveys. A total of 201 faith-based educators completed the survey; 20 respondents participated in semi-structured interviews. The concurrent triangulation mixed-method design provided data on 8 program dimensions which support children's spiritual development: prayer, Bible literacy, worship, building character, service opportunities, assessment, parental involvement and context. I analyzed quantitative data using descriptive and inferential statistics. All items were examined using mean, standard deviation, frequency, and percentages. Qualitative data gathered from semi-structured interviews were coded and analyzed using NVivo8® qualitative analysis software (QSR International, Inc., Cambridge, MA, http://www.qsrinternational.com). From this data I identified the extent to which faith-based preschool programs support children's spiritual development through the practices of prayer, Bible literacy, worship, building character, service opportunities, assessment, parental involvement and context. Data analyses revealed statistically significant differences in faith-based teachers' hours of training in children's spiritual development across all program practice dimensions. A key finding of the study was that training in children's spiritual development is important regardless of the education level of the early childhood professional. Qualitative data indicated no standardized spiritual development training in faith-based preschools represented in this study. The mixed-method analysis revealed that the 8 program practice dimensions were not always connected in a framework that supported children's spiritual development. Recommendations for professional practice include a program framework to support children's spiritual development in faith-based preschool programs; training for faith-based early childhood professionals in children's spiritual development; and formulating a definition of children's spiritual development.

There are thousands of religions around the world. Religious communities are often involved in developmental spheres and for many places are the main actors, especially in developing countries, this is why their work is important. However, it is not only important in developing countries, but also in developed countries as development is vital for all people. Christianity is one of these religions. It has been the predominant religion in Sweden during the last hundreds of years. This is also the case in Växjö, where most religious communities are Christian. Using a qualitative case study mostly done through interviews, five organizations have been analysed with a focus on their work with social development. I have done a qualitative case study on the Christian communities using a “development as substantive freedom,” theory developed by Amartya Sen. The five organisations that were interviewed (Ulriksbergikyrkan, Equmeniakyrkan, Mariakyrkan, Domkyrkan and St. Michaels Catholic Church) showed how they work with the freedoms that the theory speaks about. Even though all the participants expressed actions that can be viewed as social development, none of them view it as such. In this essay I argue that this viewpoint both show an implicit social development work and internalization of a secular discourse where religion is something distinct from the public. I also argue that religion is a crucial aspect in these freedoms as it has an important role in creating a social and individual identity, which is a building block for spiritual and social development.

No description available.

Em seu poema autobiográfico O Prelúdio William Wordsworth relata o modo como os principais eventos de sua vida levaram ao seu desenvolvimento espiritual a fim de tornar-se um poeta. Na chamada poesia de Natureza isso pressupõe a influência da experiência direta e viva com os objetos e elementos do mundo natural. Meu intento nesta tese consiste em investigar a qual ponto a formação individual representada na narrativa é resultado da experiência vivida – estética, moral e intelectual – do sujeito em relação às formas belas e sublimes do mundo exterior em paralelo com a constituição imaginativa de sua consciência; ou da elaboração retórica e associativa de imagens, analogias, metáforas, símbolos, conceitos e concepções tomados de um conjunto de saberes literários, filosóficos, religiosos, psicológicos e científicos da tradição ocidental em voga na época de Wordsworth. Além disso, busquei examinar de que modo a experiência da Natureza se associa ao papel da educação formal e da observação impactante da estrutura social e política advinda das transformações da modernidade, vindo a formar a visão de mundo do poeta e a crença no papel fundamental da poesia como depositária laico-sagrada da sabedoria essencial da humanidade. Os argumentos que dão sustentação à minha interpretação do poema baseiam-se na análise de uma estrutura narrativa de história individual de nascimento em meio ao mundo natural, de criação de laços de pertencimento a este meio, de afastamento da Natureza e de retorno a ela. A região natal de Wordsworth no Disrito dos Lagos Ingleses, no Norte da Inglaterra, é vista como equivalente primeiro da Natureza. Portanto é represetada analogicamente como um parâmetro físico e sensível que fundamenta aquilo que o herói deverá entender como Natureza: primeiro enquanto mundo visível, e a partir deste corolário em suas dimensões sensoriais e sentimentais, intelectuais e emocionais, morais e espirituais. Destarte, esta pesquisa organiza-se em três partes. Na primeira parte, procurei reconstruir as experiências do herói ao longo dos principais eventos de seu percurso autobiográfico, com vistas a reconstituir o seu sentido para a construção (Bildung) da sensibilidade do sujeito, emocional, intelectual e espiritualmente, de acordo como estas experiências tenham sido vividas ou recordadas. Na segunda, tratei separadamente dos tipos de contato empírico do herói com as formas naturais em momentos de observação, contemplação e meditação, dando ênfase à percepção sensorial, especialmente em suas funções visual e auditiva; aos impulsos sentimentais e emocionais ligados à sensibilidade corporal; e finalmente à intuição transcendente e à visão metafísica que acompanha as relações espirituais sentidas na responsividade anímica e espiritual do sujeito – em comunhão tranquila ou êxtase elevado – com a essência mais profunda manifestada na vida das coisas que o rodeiam. Por fim, na terceira parte, voltei-me para a análise dos recursos empregados para a construção estética e reelaboração retórica dos conteúdos da experiência humana representados na narrativa a partir da associação de conteúdos imaginários, metafóricos, simbólicos, conceituais e alusivos que indicam a apropriação de um conjunto de saberes e conhecimentos tomados de empréstimo a uma tradição intelectual e letrada. Enquanto resultado, sustento a tese de que Wordsworth combina dois elementos fundamentais na construção poética de O Prelúdio. De um lado há a expressão emocional dos efeitos interiores causados pela impressão das formas naturais, com base no que se pode conceber enquanto representação realista, ou seja, fiel às formas empíricas da percepção humana e relativa à atenção do sujeito ao ambiente circundante e à cor local. De outro, constatei a reelaboração de imagens, motivos e topói, bem como noções conceituais e alusões que remetem à afirmação de uma visão de mundo cara ao espírito Romântico, assim como a crítica cortante, apesar de velada, a um conjunto de práticas institucionais, sociais e políticas que ameaçam a integridade de um mundo orgânico que o eu-lírico julga ideal para o aperfeiçoamento do espírito humano em condições de harmonia com o universo onde vive – a Natureza. / In his autobiographical poem The Prelude William Wordsworth relates how the main events of his life led to his spiritual development in order to become a poet. In the so-called Poetry of Nature this presupposes the influence of the direct and living experience of the objects and elements of the natural world. My intent in this dissertation consists of investigating to what extent the individual formation represented in the narrative results from the subject’s lived through experience – aesthetic, moral and intellectual – in relation to the beautiful and sublime forms of the outward world paralleled to the imaginative constitution of his consciousness; or from the rhetorical and associative elaboration of images, analogies, metaphors, symbols, concepts and conceptions taken from a body of literary, philosophical, religious, psychological and scientific knowledges of the western tradition in voge during Wordsworth’s age. Furthermore, I sought to examine how the experience of Nature associates to the role of formal education and striking observation of the social and political structure derived from the transformations of modernity, thus forming the poet’s worldview and belief in the fundamental role of poetry as the laic-sacred depositary of humankind’s essential wisdom. The arguments which sustain my interpretation of the poem are based on the analysis of a narrative structure of individual history of birth amid the natural world, of creation of pertainment bonds to this environment, of distancing from Nature and return to her. Wordsworth’s native region in the Lake District in the North of England is seen as the primary equivalent of Nature. Therefore it is represented analogically as a physical and sensual parameter that founds that which the hero must come to understand as Nature: firstly, as the visible world, and up from this corollary in her sensorial and sentimental, intellectual and emotional, moral and spiritual dimensions. Thus, this research is organized into three parts. In the first, I attempted at reconstructing the hero’s experiences along the main events of his autobiographical course, aiming at reconstituting their meaning for the building (Bildung) of the subject’s sensibility, emotional, intellectual and spiritually, according to the way these experiences have been lived or recollected. In the second part, I dealt separatedly with the hero’s types of empirical contact with the natural forms in moments of observation, contemplation and meditation, emphasyzing the sensorial perception, especially its visual and auditory functions; the sentimental and emotional drives linked to the sensibility of the body; and finally to the transcendent intuition and metaphysical vision wich accompany the spiritual relations felt in the subject’s animical and spiritual responsivity – in quiet communion or lofty transport – with the deepest essence manifested in the life of the things surrounding him. Finally, in the third part, I turned my efforts to analyzing the resources employed for the aesthetical construction and rhetorical re-elaboration of the contents of human experience depicted in the narrative out of the association of imaginary, metaphorical, symbolical, conceptual and allusive contents that indicate the appropriation of a set of wisdom and knowledge drawn from an intellectual and literate tradition. As a result, I sustain the thesis that Wordsworth combines two fundamental elements in the poetic textualization of The Prelude. On one hand, there is the emotional expression of the inner effects aroused by the impression of the natural forms based on what might be conceived as a realistic representation, i.e. faithful to the empirical forms of human perception and regarding the subject’s attention to the surrounding environment and the local colour. On the other hand, I testified the re-elaboration of images, motifs and topoi, as well as conceptual notions and allusions which remount to the assertion of a worldview dear to the Romantic spirit, so as a sharp (although veiled) criticism against a number of institutional, social and political practices that menace the integrity of an organical world that the lyrical speaker considers ideal for the perfectioning of the human spirit in conditions of harmony with the universe where man abides – I mean Nature.

<p>Sammanfattning</p><p>Det här är en tur i sagans land, där jag visar er vad pedagogerna använder högläsning av sagor till och vilka syften som är bakomliggande. Genom litteraturen får ni en bild av vad högläsning av sagor skapar, hur sagoarbete bör ske enligt författarna och arbetets syfte. Jag har valt att använda metoden intervju med två pedagoger i en förstaklass. Resultatet i min metod d.v.s. mina intervjuer visar de två pedagogernas arbete med högläsning av sagor och deras åsikt om vad högläsning av sagor kan ge till barnens utveckling. Arbetet har gett mig stora kunskaper om arbete med högläsning av sagor och jag har fått många svar på frågorna om hur arbetet bör ske och i vilket syfte. De två pedagogerna jag intervjuat i dagens skola använder arbete med högläsning av sagor för bl.a. språkutveckling, motivation, fantasi, gemenskap och vidarearbete. Deras arbetssätt skiljer sig en aning, men grundtanken är densamma, att högläsning av sagor är bra och ger mycket för eleverna, både i hemmet och i undervisningen.</p> / <p>Abstract</p><p>This is a journey to the land of tales, where I will show you what teachers use reading tales aloud for as well as the purpose of reading the tale aloud. Through the litterature you will get an idea of what reading tales aloud creates, how working with tales should occur according to the writers and the purpouse of the work. I have used interviews as a method in my essay and two teathers have bin interviewed. The result of my method in other words my interviews show the two teachers work with reading tales aloud and their views on how reading tales aloud benifits development in children. The essay has given me deep knowledge about the work of reading tales aloud and I have received answers to the questions about how you should work with this, and to what purpose reading tales aloud is used for. The two teachers I met in present day school use the reading of tales aloud for the benifit of, lingual development, motivation, emagination, togetherness and further work. There are some differncies between the two teachers way of working with tales, but they have the same basic idea, that the reading of tales aloud is good and benifits the pupils a lot, both at home as well as in teaching.</p>

Sammanfattning Det här är en tur i sagans land, där jag visar er vad pedagogerna använder högläsning av sagor till och vilka syften som är bakomliggande. Genom litteraturen får ni en bild av vad högläsning av sagor skapar, hur sagoarbete bör ske enligt författarna och arbetets syfte. Jag har valt att använda metoden intervju med två pedagoger i en förstaklass. Resultatet i min metod d.v.s. mina intervjuer visar de två pedagogernas arbete med högläsning av sagor och deras åsikt om vad högläsning av sagor kan ge till barnens utveckling. Arbetet har gett mig stora kunskaper om arbete med högläsning av sagor och jag har fått många svar på frågorna om hur arbetet bör ske och i vilket syfte. De två pedagogerna jag intervjuat i dagens skola använder arbete med högläsning av sagor för bl.a. språkutveckling, motivation, fantasi, gemenskap och vidarearbete. Deras arbetssätt skiljer sig en aning, men grundtanken är densamma, att högläsning av sagor är bra och ger mycket för eleverna, både i hemmet och i undervisningen. / Abstract This is a journey to the land of tales, where I will show you what teachers use reading tales aloud for as well as the purpose of reading the tale aloud. Through the litterature you will get an idea of what reading tales aloud creates, how working with tales should occur according to the writers and the purpouse of the work. I have used interviews as a method in my essay and two teathers have bin interviewed. The result of my method in other words my interviews show the two teachers work with reading tales aloud and their views on how reading tales aloud benifits development in children. The essay has given me deep knowledge about the work of reading tales aloud and I have received answers to the questions about how you should work with this, and to what purpose reading tales aloud is used for. The two teachers I met in present day school use the reading of tales aloud for the benifit of, lingual development, motivation, emagination, togetherness and further work. There are some differncies between the two teachers way of working with tales, but they have the same basic idea, that the reading of tales aloud is good and benifits the pupils a lot, both at home as well as in teaching.

Em seu poema autobiográfico O Prelúdio William Wordsworth relata o modo como os principais eventos de sua vida levaram ao seu desenvolvimento espiritual a fim de tornar-se um poeta. Na chamada poesia de Natureza isso pressupõe a influência da experiência direta e viva com os objetos e elementos do mundo natural. Meu intento nesta tese consiste em investigar a qual ponto a formação individual representada na narrativa é resultado da experiência vivida – estética, moral e intelectual – do sujeito em relação às formas belas e sublimes do mundo exterior em paralelo com a constituição imaginativa de sua consciência; ou da elaboração retórica e associativa de imagens, analogias, metáforas, símbolos, conceitos e concepções tomados de um conjunto de saberes literários, filosóficos, religiosos, psicológicos e científicos da tradição ocidental em voga na época de Wordsworth. Além disso, busquei examinar de que modo a experiência da Natureza se associa ao papel da educação formal e da observação impactante da estrutura social e política advinda das transformações da modernidade, vindo a formar a visão de mundo do poeta e a crença no papel fundamental da poesia como depositária laico-sagrada da sabedoria essencial da humanidade. Os argumentos que dão sustentação à minha interpretação do poema baseiam-se na análise de uma estrutura narrativa de história individual de nascimento em meio ao mundo natural, de criação de laços de pertencimento a este meio, de afastamento da Natureza e de retorno a ela. A região natal de Wordsworth no Disrito dos Lagos Ingleses, no Norte da Inglaterra, é vista como equivalente primeiro da Natureza. Portanto é represetada analogicamente como um parâmetro físico e sensível que fundamenta aquilo que o herói deverá entender como Natureza: primeiro enquanto mundo visível, e a partir deste corolário em suas dimensões sensoriais e sentimentais, intelectuais e emocionais, morais e espirituais. Destarte, esta pesquisa organiza-se em três partes. Na primeira parte, procurei reconstruir as experiências do herói ao longo dos principais eventos de seu percurso autobiográfico, com vistas a reconstituir o seu sentido para a construção (Bildung) da sensibilidade do sujeito, emocional, intelectual e espiritualmente, de acordo como estas experiências tenham sido vividas ou recordadas. Na segunda, tratei separadamente dos tipos de contato empírico do herói com as formas naturais em momentos de observação, contemplação e meditação, dando ênfase à percepção sensorial, especialmente em suas funções visual e auditiva; aos impulsos sentimentais e emocionais ligados à sensibilidade corporal; e finalmente à intuição transcendente e à visão metafísica que acompanha as relações espirituais sentidas na responsividade anímica e espiritual do sujeito – em comunhão tranquila ou êxtase elevado – com a essência mais profunda manifestada na vida das coisas que o rodeiam. Por fim, na terceira parte, voltei-me para a análise dos recursos empregados para a construção estética e reelaboração retórica dos conteúdos da experiência humana representados na narrativa a partir da associação de conteúdos imaginários, metafóricos, simbólicos, conceituais e alusivos que indicam a apropriação de um conjunto de saberes e conhecimentos tomados de empréstimo a uma tradição intelectual e letrada. Enquanto resultado, sustento a tese de que Wordsworth combina dois elementos fundamentais na construção poética de O Prelúdio. De um lado há a expressão emocional dos efeitos interiores causados pela impressão das formas naturais, com base no que se pode conceber enquanto representação realista, ou seja, fiel às formas empíricas da percepção humana e relativa à atenção do sujeito ao ambiente circundante e à cor local. De outro, constatei a reelaboração de imagens, motivos e topói, bem como noções conceituais e alusões que remetem à afirmação de uma visão de mundo cara ao espírito Romântico, assim como a crítica cortante, apesar de velada, a um conjunto de práticas institucionais, sociais e políticas que ameaçam a integridade de um mundo orgânico que o eu-lírico julga ideal para o aperfeiçoamento do espírito humano em condições de harmonia com o universo onde vive – a Natureza. / In his autobiographical poem The Prelude William Wordsworth relates how the main events of his life led to his spiritual development in order to become a poet. In the so-called Poetry of Nature this presupposes the influence of the direct and living experience of the objects and elements of the natural world. My intent in this dissertation consists of investigating to what extent the individual formation represented in the narrative results from the subject’s lived through experience – aesthetic, moral and intellectual – in relation to the beautiful and sublime forms of the outward world paralleled to the imaginative constitution of his consciousness; or from the rhetorical and associative elaboration of images, analogies, metaphors, symbols, concepts and conceptions taken from a body of literary, philosophical, religious, psychological and scientific knowledges of the western tradition in voge during Wordsworth’s age. Furthermore, I sought to examine how the experience of Nature associates to the role of formal education and striking observation of the social and political structure derived from the transformations of modernity, thus forming the poet’s worldview and belief in the fundamental role of poetry as the laic-sacred depositary of humankind’s essential wisdom. The arguments which sustain my interpretation of the poem are based on the analysis of a narrative structure of individual history of birth amid the natural world, of creation of pertainment bonds to this environment, of distancing from Nature and return to her. Wordsworth’s native region in the Lake District in the North of England is seen as the primary equivalent of Nature. Therefore it is represented analogically as a physical and sensual parameter that founds that which the hero must come to understand as Nature: firstly, as the visible world, and up from this corollary in her sensorial and sentimental, intellectual and emotional, moral and spiritual dimensions. Thus, this research is organized into three parts. In the first, I attempted at reconstructing the hero’s experiences along the main events of his autobiographical course, aiming at reconstituting their meaning for the building (Bildung) of the subject’s sensibility, emotional, intellectual and spiritually, according to the way these experiences have been lived or recollected. In the second part, I dealt separatedly with the hero’s types of empirical contact with the natural forms in moments of observation, contemplation and meditation, emphasyzing the sensorial perception, especially its visual and auditory functions; the sentimental and emotional drives linked to the sensibility of the body; and finally to the transcendent intuition and metaphysical vision wich accompany the spiritual relations felt in the subject’s animical and spiritual responsivity – in quiet communion or lofty transport – with the deepest essence manifested in the life of the things surrounding him. Finally, in the third part, I turned my efforts to analyzing the resources employed for the aesthetical construction and rhetorical re-elaboration of the contents of human experience depicted in the narrative out of the association of imaginary, metaphorical, symbolical, conceptual and allusive contents that indicate the appropriation of a set of wisdom and knowledge drawn from an intellectual and literate tradition. As a result, I sustain the thesis that Wordsworth combines two fundamental elements in the poetic textualization of The Prelude. On one hand, there is the emotional expression of the inner effects aroused by the impression of the natural forms based on what might be conceived as a realistic representation, i.e. faithful to the empirical forms of human perception and regarding the subject’s attention to the surrounding environment and the local colour. On the other hand, I testified the re-elaboration of images, motifs and topoi, as well as conceptual notions and allusions which remount to the assertion of a worldview dear to the Romantic spirit, so as a sharp (although veiled) criticism against a number of institutional, social and political practices that menace the integrity of an organical world that the lyrical speaker considers ideal for the perfectioning of the human spirit in conditions of harmony with the universe where man abides – I mean Nature.

Em seu poema autobiográfico O Prelúdio William Wordsworth relata o modo como os principais eventos de sua vida levaram ao seu desenvolvimento espiritual a fim de tornar-se um poeta. Na chamada poesia de Natureza isso pressupõe a influência da experiência direta e viva com os objetos e elementos do mundo natural. Meu intento nesta tese consiste em investigar a qual ponto a formação individual representada na narrativa é resultado da experiência vivida – estética, moral e intelectual – do sujeito em relação às formas belas e sublimes do mundo exterior em paralelo com a constituição imaginativa de sua consciência; ou da elaboração retórica e associativa de imagens, analogias, metáforas, símbolos, conceitos e concepções tomados de um conjunto de saberes literários, filosóficos, religiosos, psicológicos e científicos da tradição ocidental em voga na época de Wordsworth. Além disso, busquei examinar de que modo a experiência da Natureza se associa ao papel da educação formal e da observação impactante da estrutura social e política advinda das transformações da modernidade, vindo a formar a visão de mundo do poeta e a crença no papel fundamental da poesia como depositária laico-sagrada da sabedoria essencial da humanidade. Os argumentos que dão sustentação à minha interpretação do poema baseiam-se na análise de uma estrutura narrativa de história individual de nascimento em meio ao mundo natural, de criação de laços de pertencimento a este meio, de afastamento da Natureza e de retorno a ela. A região natal de Wordsworth no Disrito dos Lagos Ingleses, no Norte da Inglaterra, é vista como equivalente primeiro da Natureza. Portanto é represetada analogicamente como um parâmetro físico e sensível que fundamenta aquilo que o herói deverá entender como Natureza: primeiro enquanto mundo visível, e a partir deste corolário em suas dimensões sensoriais e sentimentais, intelectuais e emocionais, morais e espirituais. Destarte, esta pesquisa organiza-se em três partes. Na primeira parte, procurei reconstruir as experiências do herói ao longo dos principais eventos de seu percurso autobiográfico, com vistas a reconstituir o seu sentido para a construção (Bildung) da sensibilidade do sujeito, emocional, intelectual e espiritualmente, de acordo como estas experiências tenham sido vividas ou recordadas. Na segunda, tratei separadamente dos tipos de contato empírico do herói com as formas naturais em momentos de observação, contemplação e meditação, dando ênfase à percepção sensorial, especialmente em suas funções visual e auditiva; aos impulsos sentimentais e emocionais ligados à sensibilidade corporal; e finalmente à intuição transcendente e à visão metafísica que acompanha as relações espirituais sentidas na responsividade anímica e espiritual do sujeito – em comunhão tranquila ou êxtase elevado – com a essência mais profunda manifestada na vida das coisas que o rodeiam. Por fim, na terceira parte, voltei-me para a análise dos recursos empregados para a construção estética e reelaboração retórica dos conteúdos da experiência humana representados na narrativa a partir da associação de conteúdos imaginários, metafóricos, simbólicos, conceituais e alusivos que indicam a apropriação de um conjunto de saberes e conhecimentos tomados de empréstimo a uma tradição intelectual e letrada. Enquanto resultado, sustento a tese de que Wordsworth combina dois elementos fundamentais na construção poética de O Prelúdio. De um lado há a expressão emocional dos efeitos interiores causados pela impressão das formas naturais, com base no que se pode conceber enquanto representação realista, ou seja, fiel às formas empíricas da percepção humana e relativa à atenção do sujeito ao ambiente circundante e à cor local. De outro, constatei a reelaboração de imagens, motivos e topói, bem como noções conceituais e alusões que remetem à afirmação de uma visão de mundo cara ao espírito Romântico, assim como a crítica cortante, apesar de velada, a um conjunto de práticas institucionais, sociais e políticas que ameaçam a integridade de um mundo orgânico que o eu-lírico julga ideal para o aperfeiçoamento do espírito humano em condições de harmonia com o universo onde vive – a Natureza. / In his autobiographical poem The Prelude William Wordsworth relates how the main events of his life led to his spiritual development in order to become a poet. In the so-called Poetry of Nature this presupposes the influence of the direct and living experience of the objects and elements of the natural world. My intent in this dissertation consists of investigating to what extent the individual formation represented in the narrative results from the subject’s lived through experience – aesthetic, moral and intellectual – in relation to the beautiful and sublime forms of the outward world paralleled to the imaginative constitution of his consciousness; or from the rhetorical and associative elaboration of images, analogies, metaphors, symbols, concepts and conceptions taken from a body of literary, philosophical, religious, psychological and scientific knowledges of the western tradition in voge during Wordsworth’s age. Furthermore, I sought to examine how the experience of Nature associates to the role of formal education and striking observation of the social and political structure derived from the transformations of modernity, thus forming the poet’s worldview and belief in the fundamental role of poetry as the laic-sacred depositary of humankind’s essential wisdom. The arguments which sustain my interpretation of the poem are based on the analysis of a narrative structure of individual history of birth amid the natural world, of creation of pertainment bonds to this environment, of distancing from Nature and return to her. Wordsworth’s native region in the Lake District in the North of England is seen as the primary equivalent of Nature. Therefore it is represented analogically as a physical and sensual parameter that founds that which the hero must come to understand as Nature: firstly, as the visible world, and up from this corollary in her sensorial and sentimental, intellectual and emotional, moral and spiritual dimensions. Thus, this research is organized into three parts. In the first, I attempted at reconstructing the hero’s experiences along the main events of his autobiographical course, aiming at reconstituting their meaning for the building (Bildung) of the subject’s sensibility, emotional, intellectual and spiritually, according to the way these experiences have been lived or recollected. In the second part, I dealt separatedly with the hero’s types of empirical contact with the natural forms in moments of observation, contemplation and meditation, emphasyzing the sensorial perception, especially its visual and auditory functions; the sentimental and emotional drives linked to the sensibility of the body; and finally to the transcendent intuition and metaphysical vision wich accompany the spiritual relations felt in the subject’s animical and spiritual responsivity – in quiet communion or lofty transport – with the deepest essence manifested in the life of the things surrounding him. Finally, in the third part, I turned my efforts to analyzing the resources employed for the aesthetical construction and rhetorical re-elaboration of the contents of human experience depicted in the narrative out of the association of imaginary, metaphorical, symbolical, conceptual and allusive contents that indicate the appropriation of a set of wisdom and knowledge drawn from an intellectual and literate tradition. As a result, I sustain the thesis that Wordsworth combines two fundamental elements in the poetic textualization of The Prelude. On one hand, there is the emotional expression of the inner effects aroused by the impression of the natural forms based on what might be conceived as a realistic representation, i.e. faithful to the empirical forms of human perception and regarding the subject’s attention to the surrounding environment and the local colour. On the other hand, I testified the re-elaboration of images, motifs and topoi, as well as conceptual notions and allusions which remount to the assertion of a worldview dear to the Romantic spirit, so as a sharp (although veiled) criticism against a number of institutional, social and political practices that menace the integrity of an organical world that the lyrical speaker considers ideal for the perfectioning of the human spirit in conditions of harmony with the universe where man abides – I mean Nature.