Skogen som lärmiljö : En kvalitativ studie om förskollärares uppfattningar och erfarenheter om skogen som en plats för barn att lära om ekologi

Sammanfattning: In order to gain an understanding of connections in nature, it is important that children already at an early age get an idea of ​​it and the impact it has on all living things. The purpose of studies is to raise preschool teachers' perceptions and experiences of the forest as a place for children to learn about ecology. Together with the curriculum, it is the pre-school teachers' perceptions and experiences that form the basis of the teaching. The study is supported by the pedagogical philosophy Reggio Emilia, where the pedagogues have a co-researcher role together with the children, and the environment is seen as the third educator. The method used was semi-structured interviews. Those who were interviewed were ten preschool teachers from three different municipalities in central Sweden. The results show that the preschool teachers who participated in the study perceive the forest as a place with many opportunities for learning. The vast majority go to the forest at least once a week with their group of children. The content of the teaching that takes place in the forest has elements of ecology, but other subjects are given more space. The preschool teachers stated that an important point of departure in teaching is children's questions and that documentation is a valuable tool in the work.