Digitisation and the "ultra-information" world condemns children to a life between four walls, surrounded by information and communications technology (ICT) and media, alienated from their pristine natural environment. This way of life has consequences in all areas of a child's development, i.e. physical, cognitive, social and mental development. But the solution to the latter problem is actually simple. It is necessary to go back to nature, which is the basis of an alternative pedagogical concept, forest pedagogy. This type of pedagogy helps to develop sustainable-minded individuals from a very early age.
In the theoretical part, I first identify the characteristics and impacts of modern consumer society. I then turned to forest pedagogy, giving some definitions of its impact on children. Good practices of such activities in foreign kindergartens and also in Slovenian kindergartens are also given, as well as some practical guidelines for practitioners. In the last part, the concept of sustainable development, education for sustainable development (ESD) is described in more detail, with guidelines and links between the implementation of forest pedagogy for sustainable thinking in children.
In the empirical part, I used qualitative methods to collect data from six semi-structured interviews. I interviewed female graduate teachers, aged between 30 and 46 years, with between six and 23 years of work experience. The aim of the thesis is to explore the extent of the impact of modern consumer society on children's alienation from nature, by finding solutions for a better future for all, in forest pedagogy. The aim of the research is to find out what consequences educators see in children due to today's lifestyles, and in what ways they see a link to sustainable development through forest pedagogy activities.
It is found that educators find connections and benefits of implementing forest pedagogy at the earliest age for a sustainable world.
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