The Pedagogy of Emotions : Exploring Emotional Education in a Swedish Nature-Based Preschool: Building Affective Bonds with Nature

Sammanfattning: Research has widely approached the benefits and potentials of nature contact and outdoor education on children’s emotional development. There is however little evidence on teachers’ approach and educational methods on emotional education in nature. This paper investigates the potentials of outdoor education for children’s development of emotional competences by exploring in which ways emotional education is included within the didactic methodologies in a Swedish “I Ur Och Skur” nature-based preschool. Through an ethnographic approach the author identified three main educational methods by which emotional education is included within the daily teaching in the outdoors: emotional expressiveness, direct sensory experience with nature and affective social interaction. This study contributes in two main ways: first, it shows how educators approach and include emotional learning in nature spaces as a mean to help children engage affectively with their social and natural world. Second, it highlights and illustrates the potentials of outdoor and emotional education in young children.