ERIC Number: EJ963470
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1038-2046
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Available Date: N/A
"Too Hot for the Reindeer"--Voicing Sami Children's Visions of the Future
Jonsson, Gunnar; Sarri, Carina; Alerby, Eva
International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, v21 n2 p95-107 2012
In this paper, we focus attention on the issue of the future by listening to the voices of Indigenous children in the far north of Sweden--the Sami children. The overall aim of the study is to explore the meaning of Sami children's visions of the future. The participants attend the same Sami School, and they were of the age of 9-12 years. Data were collected with the aid of creative activity in the form of the production of drawings, combined with subsequent verbal comments. In the analysis of the drawings and verbal comments, three different themes crystallised: "financial future", "environmental changes" and "relations to the family and nature". The comprehensive understanding emerged as different "cultural horizons"--a pure Sami culture horizon, a mixed horizon with a mixture of Sami culture and Western modernity and a horizon that just holds Western modernity. The outcome of the study is discussed in relation to the tension between different cultures--the Sami culture and that of western modernity. The importance of attending to the learners perspective is emphasised, and we argue that education for sustainable development should start in the life-worlds of the children. (Contains 5 figures.)
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Children, Indigenous Populations, Sustainable Development, Futures (of Society), Freehand Drawing, Reflection, Economic Opportunities, Climate, Change, Physical Environment, Family Environment, Cultural Context, Cultural Influences, Animals
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
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Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Sweden
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A