Open AccessChildren’s digitally mediated perezhivanie/enchantment in backyard excursions to “nature”
Author(s) -
Peter Renshaw,
Kirsty Jackson,
Harriet Mortlock,
Ron Tooth
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
qwerty
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.231
H-Index - 4
eISSN - 2240-2950
pISSN - 1828-7344
DOI - 10.30557/qw000046
Subject(s) - agency (philosophy) , sociocultural evolution , sociology , psychology , aesthetics , art , social science , anthropology
We examine children’s digitally mediated excursions to “nature” in their backyards when Covid-19 prevented environmental excursions. The data consists of young children’s accounts of their backyard excursions recorded on digital devices and posted online to Seesaw. We use sociocultural theory to analyse the co-agency of child and the digital device, the unit of analysis being “a child-using-a-digital-device”. To theorise experience, we deploy Vygotsky’s concept of perezhivanie and Bennett’s notion of enchantment. The analysis of posts to Seesaw revealed children’s experience of vivid, emotionally engaging moments with “nature”, and evidence of an ethic of care. We conclude that emotionally engaging pedagogies based on perezhivanie/enchantment are important in addressing current environmental crises.