She is so cute. I love her. — Exploring ecological literacy through acts of spontaneous anthropomorphism in kindergarten

IF 1.6 4区教育学 Q2 EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH

Journal of Early Childhood Literacy Pub Date : 2026-09-10 DOI:10.1177/14687984261487658

Lisa Annika Brandt,Soern Finn Menning,Merete Lund Fasting

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

This article explores three examples of kindergarten children spontaneously anthropomorphizing more-than-humans while outdoors, and the kindergarten staff’s reaction to this. The examples derive from an ethnographic study on kindergarten children who travel by boat 3 days a week to the unpopulated island of Bragdøya in Kristiansand, Norway. Mobilizing Maclure’s interpretation of Massumi’s exemplary method, we use these examples to contribute to discussions of ecological literacy by exploring how spontaneous anthropomorphism may shape the development of care and knowledge in children’s encounters with the more-than-human world. Our analysis points to spontaneous anthropomorphism being a relevant arena for helping children balance intuitive care for and knowledge about more-than-human entities. This balance might be achieved through staff members softly guiding the children toward a form of enlightened anthropomorphism, even though not all situations are suitable for such an undertaking. Furthermore, reflecting on one’s own relation to more-than-humans as a basis for supporting children in their development of care toward these entities appears to be a relevant area of reflection among pedagogical staff. Overall, acts of spontaneous anthropomorphism may constitute important pedagogical moments through which ecological literacy is negotiated and developed.

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她是如此可爱。我爱她。——通过幼儿园自发的拟人行为探索生态素养

本文探讨了幼儿园儿童在户外自发拟人化的三个例子，以及幼儿园工作人员对此的反应。这些例子来自一项对幼儿园儿童的人种学研究，这些儿童每周乘船3天前往挪威克里斯蒂安桑的无人岛布拉格约亚岛。利用Maclure对Massumi的示范方法的解释，我们使用这些例子，通过探索自发的拟人化如何在儿童与非人类世界的接触中塑造关怀和知识的发展，来促进生态素养的讨论。我们的分析指出，自发的拟人化是一个相关的舞台，以帮助儿童平衡直觉关怀和知识的超越人类实体。这种平衡可以通过工作人员温和地引导孩子们走向一种开明的拟人化的形式来实现，即使不是所有的情况都适合这样做。此外，反思自己与超越人类的关系，作为支持儿童发展对这些实体的关怀的基础，似乎是教学人员反思的一个相关领域。总的来说，自发的拟人化行为可能构成重要的教学时刻，通过这一时刻，生态素养得以协商和发展。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of Early Childhood Literacy EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH-

CiteScore

5.00

自引率

12.50%

发文量

期刊介绍： Journal of Early Childhood Literacy is a fully peer-reviewed international journal. Since its foundation in 2001 JECL has rapidly become a distinctive, leading voice in research in early childhood literacy, with a multinational range of contributors and readership. The main emphasis in the journal is on papers researching issues related to the nature, function and use of literacy in early childhood. This includes the history, development, use, learning and teaching of literacy, as well as policy and strategy. Research papers may address theoretical, methodological, strategic or applied aspects of early childhood literacy and could be reviews of research issues. JECL is both a forum for debate about the topic of early childhood literacy and a resource for those working in the field. Literacy is broadly defined; JECL focuses on the 0-8 age range. Our prime interest in empirical work is those studies that are situated in authentic or naturalistic settings; this differentiates the journal from others in the area. JECL, therefore, tends to favour qualitative work but is also open to research employing quantitative methods. The journal is multi-disciplinary. We welcome submissions from diverse disciplinary backgrounds including: education, cultural psychology, literacy studies, sociology, anthropology, historical and cultural studies, applied linguistics and semiotics.