Using contact with nature,creativity and rituals as a therapeutic medium with children with learning difficulties: a case study

In most cases therapy is addressed as an indoor verbal activity in which the relationship between therapist and client stands at its centre. This article proposes a different approach to therapy: conducting it creatively in nature, with the environment being used not only as a therapeutic setting but also as a medium and a partner in the process. The article is based on a case study carried out with a group of children with special needs within a school setting. It explores the therapeutic and educational impact that this approach had on the participants and on nature's role in it. The article also aims to initiate a dialogue around the option of working with this population in non‐verbal and experiential ways, illustrating the potential that the use of group work, creativity and contact with nature may offer.     

Using symbolic interactionism insights as an approach to helping the individual with Asperger's syndrome overcome barriers to social inclusion

This article outlines a case for using symbolic interactionism as a tool to help individuals with Asperger's syndrome reconcile situations in which communication might prove challenging. This study builds on previous work carried out by the author which describes an autoethnographical approach to help the individual with Asperger's syndrome gain insights into ways to engage effectively with the social situations they encounter. It is well documented that those with Asperger's syndrome find many social situations challenging and that commonly understood verbal and non‐verbal communication ‘signs’ and ‘symbols’ may be difficult for them to interpret in ways intended by others. It is within this context that the work seeks to examine communication issues in terms of the symbolic interactionism notion of the ‘Me’ and how this understanding can help the individual with Asperger's syndrome model their own behaviour from a symbolic interactionism point of view. The article begins with a discussion of the background to the research and how an inability to read the communication ‘signs’ and ‘symbols’ around them can make it difficult for the learner with Asperger's syndrome to have a commonly held understanding of the social setting in which he or she operates. The work gives a personal insight from a person with Asperger's syndrome into how symbolic interactionism coupled with autoethnography can be used as tools to enable the learner with Asperger's syndrome to explore the nature of communication patterns under such circumstances. The work includes vignettes which highlight experience from such a personal perspective.     

Nature as children's space: A systematic review

The emerging interest in “spaces of childhood” over the past two decades can be identified across numerous disciplines. A substantial body of research has indicated that children's active engagement within the natural environment is associated with a range of cognitive, physical, affective, and moral developmental benefits. Although research on children's space and place is a burgeoning field, currently only one identified systematic review exists within the literature investigating the benefits of children's engagement in nature. The aim of this article was thus to systematically review and synthesize the findings of children's understandings and engagement with nature as a space. After a systematic search of the literature, 83 articles were included in this review with study samples spanning across children aged 3 to 18 years old. The review underscores four thematic domains derived utilizing thematic analysis. It is ostensible from the results that children's perceptions of and engagement in nature as a space and place are multifarious, benefiting children's well-being in myriad ways. At a foundational level, more research is required to deepen understandings about how children in differing contexts construct nature.     

Classroom enquiry and a game of chance

This article reports on the findings of a recent qualitative grounded theory research study in a metropolitan area in the south-east of Canada examining one junior/senior kindergarten classroom's engagement with nature. It focuses on the role of the learners, the children and the teacher, in co-constructing two very different learning experiences. The findings suggest that when learners play an agentive role in constructing their own learning experience and are involved emotionally as well as cognitively, the level of engagement would be deeper, richer and more sustained.     

试论文学作品中的战争本质

战争从一开始就作为人类的衍生物伴随着人类的成长,人类最原始的口头文学有很大一部分是反映战争的。本文通过部分文学名著对战争的描写,简要分析了世界历史上和近现代战争的起源、性质及其目的,并试图从人性、民族性格、文化等方面对战争进行新的诠释和分析。     

浅谈教师语言风格

教师语言风格的成熟稳定自于两方面：一方面是潜在因素；一方面是外显表征。前者是风格赖以生存的基础，后者是风格得以拓展的手段。二者彼此互动，相辅相成。本文主要概述这两方面与教师语言风格的对应关系。     

The use of drama to teach social skills in a special school setting for students with autism

For children with autism, social challenges may be both part of the disability and a barrier to accessing education. This article reports on a project that used drama to address such challenges by drawing on the social skills of non‐autistic peers in a special school setting. The article demonstrates how drama's flexibility may be harnessed in order to help students support each other's development of creative and communicative skills. Focusing on two children in particular, specific examples are given to illustrate how they participated in group work, made imaginative contributions to verbal and physical representations and engaged with abstract ideas. The project's outcomes suggest that, given a concrete structure and an invitation to collaborate, drama can be a powerful learning medium for children with autistic spectrum disorder. The conclusion reflects on the diverse meaning of inclusive practice that can be achieved within specialist settings.     

The educational nature of different ways teachers communicate with children about natural phenomena

This empirical study analyses the qualitatively different ways in which teachers approach children's learning in and about nature. The empirical data consists of video observations of children and teachers communicating with one another around natural phenomena found during excursions into a forest. Variation theory is presented as a framework for analysing the opportunities teachers provide for children's learning. The study identifies three qualitatively different ways in which teachers communicate with children: one based on the principle of opening up dimensions of variation, the second building on presumed shared previous experience as a resource for making sense of a novel observation and the third involving children through using a make-believe playful approach. The implications of these three different approaches for children's learning are discussed.     

美国中学科学教科书中科学本质观的实证研究——以《科学入门》为例

科学本质教学是科学教育的重要目标。科学教科书作为科学教学的核心课程资源,对教师的课堂教学和学生科学本质观的形成发挥着重要作用。本文应用内容分析法对美国《科学入门》教科书中科学本质观的分析表明,该教科书呈现了较为完整的科学本质观;突出科学的实证性、暂定性与发展性;为科学划界,区分科学与非科学;显性呈现关于科学与技术的关系;注重体现社会文化对科学的影响;所呈现的科学观是实践优位的。该教科书呈现的科学本质观能够为我国理科教科书编写提供多方面的启示。     

从语音性质谈朗读的理论与实践

朗读学是关于朗读的专门学说,在阅读学、语文教学论的视野下研究朗读非常重要。从语言角度看,朗读把文字语言转化为有声语言是语音的外显、语音的＂复活＂,因此对语音性质的研究,是朗读理论与朗读实践中的重要内容。语音的社会性质是语音的本质属性,其内涵不仅在于字符词语语音形式的表＂义＂,更在于其表＂意＂,更在于有声语流的语音形式如何＂传情达意＂,对朗读起决定作用。朗读者遵循朗读的科学规律与艺术规律,可以更好地实现语言的社会功能。     

Work and Human Flourishing

As a way of participating in the discussion on the disciplinary nature of philosophy of education, this article attempts to find another distinctive way of relating philosophy to education for the studies in philosophy of education. Recasting philosophical skepticism, which has been dismissed by Dewey and Rorty in their critiques of modern epistemology, it explores whether Cavell's romantic interpretation of it can allow us to conceive of skepticism as an exemplary practice of education, especially internal to the learner. This opens up the possibility of viewing the disciplinary nature of philosophy of education as congenial to other humanities like literature or religious studies, rather than to social sciences as usually considered.     

Moral relations in encounters with nature

The overall aim of this article is to develop in-depth knowledge about the connection between outdoor experiences and moral attitudes towards nature. The study focuses on processes in which moral relations are at stake in encounters between students and nature. The purpose is to identify such events, describe their specific circumstances and clarify how moral relations are established in these events. The empirical material consists of video-recordings of activities in three different outdoor education practices. In order to identify and categorise moral situations, an analytical tool called the ethical tendency is used. This tool is based on Wittgenstein’s language game method. The findings show that in the investigated outdoor education practices, moral relations towards nature are established in several different ways. The article concludes with four educational implications: responsibility when dealing with moral reactions; bringing ethical questions to the fore; different educational conditions create different encounters with nature; and the consequences of different language games.     

“It wouldn't be the same without nature”—The value of nature according to Finnish upper secondary school students

This article describes an interview study on Finnish upper secondary school students' values of nature. Even if the Finnish adolescents' interest in nature has decreased, most of the interviewees in this study regarded nature as worthy of maintenance. They valued nature for its material, aesthetic, and recreational values, as well as its diversity and future value, and because of their holistic view of nature. The nature values of the students were complex. Therefore, we suggest education that supports their value development through deliberation, authentic involvement, and outdoor activities.     

解析音乐疗法在自闭症儿童干预中的应用

儿童自闭症是严重的发育障碍性疾病,患后会严重影响一生。这已引起各国医学界、心理学界和教育界的强烈关注。在众多对自闭症儿童的干预方法和技术中,音乐疗法具有自身独特的优势。本文系统检索了Ovid—Medline／PubMed和FMIF数据库,主要分析了2000年以来的12篇采用音乐疗法对自闭症儿童进行干预的研究报告,分别从研究方法、可行性、干预目标、音乐疗法的类型等方面探讨了音乐疗法在自闭症干预中的应用价值及存在的问题,并对未来的实践工作提出了建议。     

EcoWellness: integrating the natural world into wilderness therapy settings with intentionality

Wilderness Therapy (WT) programming has been criticized for underutilizing nature as an active co-facilitator in treatment. Although some concept models in the field take into account nature’s contributions in WT, an abundance of multidisciplinary research suggests that nature contact and connection could be of greater emphasis. The purpose of this article is to introduce the EcoWellness model as one empirically based approach for facilitating intentional nature connection in WT. The state of WT research and supporting theory are reported. The EcoWellness framework is overviewed and embedded within the multidisciplinary literature. A case example is presented and implications for integrating EcoWellness into WT practice, training, and research are discussed.     

Young Children's Projective Abilities: what can a monster see?

Abstract A series of four tasks was presented to 3‐7 year‐old children in order to investigate their understanding of the way in which an obstruction restricts a person's view of an array. The results indicated that children's ability to predict another person's line of sight and field of view develops significantly during this period. The responses of most 4‐7 year‐olds in a nonverbal hiding game were consistent with their verbal judgments about what another person could see, but 3‐year‐olds’ responses in the hiding game were much more sophisticated than could be expected from their performance on the verbal tasks. The possibility is raised that satisfactory performance in hiding games may not always depend on a child's first working out what a seeker can see.     

Play therapy with emotionally damaged adolescents

Abstract

Adolescence is a critical period of development for all individuals, but particularly for those who have suffered earlier emotional difficulties or abuse. If these problems go unresolved, patterns of behaviour which become established during this period may be more difficult to change later on. However, more traditional talk therapies may be resisted by adolescents. This article argues that non-directive play therapy, given age-appropriate adaptations, offers an approach which, since it encompasses both play and verbal communication, is well suited to addressing adolescent concerns, particularly those of early adolescence.This argument is illustrated by two accounts of therapy with a boy and a girl, both in early adolescence, which show how a more traditional non-directive counselling approach was combined with play therapy by the adolescents themselves, allowing exploration of emotional difficulties on all levels of mental functioning. The cases show how traumatic or painful early memories may be reworked on a bodily and emotional level, without the feeling of over-intrusion risked by a directive or interpretive stance.     

Recontextualizing psychosocial development in young children: a model of environmental identity development

This article presents an Environmental Identity Development model, which considers the progression of young children’s self-cognitions in relation to the natural world. We recontextualize four of Erikson’s psychosocial stages, in order to consider children’s identity development in learning in, about, and for the environment. Beginning with Trust in Nature vs. Mistrust in Nature, we argue that cognitions of comfort in the natural world vs. discomfort, provide the foundation for healthy environmental identity development. This trusting bond/relationship with nature allows children to gain Spatial Autonomy through collectively or independently creating their own sense of place in nature vs. feelings of doubt or Environmental Shame. As children progress, they gain Environmental Competencies, creative innovations to use the environment for both personal and social purposes vs. separation from nature or Environmental Disdain. Such competencies promote children’s agency in exercising Environmental Action, applied care/ethics aimed at building a sustainable future, as opposed to behaviors that cause Environmental Harm. Young children’s environmental identity develops in diverse ways and in distinct sociocultural and geographical contexts. Caregivers/educators play a unique role in recognizing and supporting the needs of individual children as they progress towards healthy environmental identity development.