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  • Author: Gilligan

Reconfiguring relational space: A qualitative study of the benefits of caring for hens for the socio- emotional development of 5 – 9-year-old children in an urban junior school context of high socioeconomic exclusion

Caring for hens at school helped children facing socio-economic exclusion make social-emotional gains and develop awareness and respect for nature

This study addressed the lack of research on the impact of care for animals on young children and on children facing socio-economic exclusion. Another concern addressed in this study relates to the typically Western way of thinking in which nature and culture are viewed as diametric spatial opposites. This view allows for thinking about nature as “a mere object of perception or a tool for manipulation.” The current study aimed to reconfigure diametric oppositional spaces in schools to reflect a concentric spatial-relational framework. A related pedagogical challenge involves shifting from thinking “in things” to “thinking with things, alongside them, listening to and caring for them.” This study introduced the idea of caring for hens at school as a potential pathway to achieve this shift in thinking.

A group of 5 – 9-year-old children with a mixed range of socio-emotional and educational needs attending a school in an area of high socio-economic marginalization in Dublin, Ireland participated in this study. An animal-care project at the school allowed the children to actively participate in caring for hens through cleaning, feeding, and collecting eggs. The children were also given the opportunity to spend their free time with the animals, engaging with them and building relationships through play, observation, and seeking comfort. Researchers used focus group discussions with the children to learn about their perceptions and ideas about their experiences of caring for hens in school. The researchers also interviewed teachers to evaluate socio-emotional benefits for children of keeping hens in school.

Focus group results indicated that the benefits for children included gains in responsibility, empathy, respect for the natural world, cooperation, and relaxation. These same benefits were noted by the teachers, who also reported improvement in motivation and peer-assisted learning processes. Teachers also noted an increased awareness and respect for nature on the part of the children.

These findings support other research indicating that involving children in the care of animals can be an effective intervention for promoting their socio-emotional development and motivation. The findings also suggest that the idea of caring for hens “offers a concrete pathway towards reorienting relational spaces in school for greater assumed connection with nature.”

Citation

Gilligan, C., Downes, P., (2021). Reconfiguring relational space: A qualitative study of the benefits of caring for hens for the socio- emotional development of 5 – 9-year-old children in an urban junior school context of high socioeconomic exclusion. Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14729679.2021.1894953

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