“Dancing with the land”: Perspectives on teaching and learning with the land in Nordic education

Abstract

This master thesis aims to explore a land-responsive educational approach that combines traditional and modern knowledge within a Nordic context. From the perspective of teacher educators, the research project focuses on ways of learning and teaching with and in the land. The role of the land and the didactic challenges are particularly important. This research is thus a response to the increasing demand for innovative teaching and learning approaches to promote human-land relationships and to develop more sustainable behavior in the face of the ongoing climate crisis. This qualitative study is part of an action research project within the international research project “Learning with the Land”. The data was collected through four individual semi-structured interviews, two focus group meetings and participant observation. The findings suggest a holistic understanding of the land, moving beyond material aspects. Furthermore, the land is seen as one of many actors within a network of actors. In that sense, the land embodies the role of a teacher in land-responsive education. Since land-responsive education challenges the anthropocentric view and the idea is to combine traditional and modern knowledge, this approach is facing many challenges while attempting to implement it in formal education. As this work only provides suggestions for implementation, further research is needed, to put it into practice and evaluate it.