Kimberley Beasley

This presentation shares a PhD research project on botanical literacies in Early Childhood Education (ECE). Although young children in ECE in Australia are often involved in learning in outdoor natural environments, research on their knowledge and attitudes towards plants is limited. Botanical literacies in young children involves developing knowledge and curiosity about plants, formulating questions about plants, and critically and ethically thinking about plants and their environments. The study explored young children’s knowledge and attitudes of the flora in the native bushlands on their school grounds. A total of 41 children, aged five to eight from two schools in Western Australia were involved in the research over one school year. Fortnightly visits to the school bushlands with the lead researcher involved bush walks, informal and formal conversations about plants, children creating drawings, maps and taking photos, as well as visits from local Indigenous people to share Indigenous knowledge of the plants. The data was analysed using content analysis and a revised version of Uno’s (2009) levels of botanical literacies. The results of this research led to the development of a framework for developing botanical literacies in ECE.

In many cultures and in past generations, it has been expected that knowledge about plants and flowers would be passed down to children from parents and grandparents. This has generally not been a role included in school education, but botanical literacies are now on the decline as this knowledge is not as often being passed down through families due societal changes in work and lifestyle. This session will discuss what botanical literacies look like and the levels of botanical understandings for children as well as why it is important that children understand the names, behaviours and uses of local plants. I will discuss my research journey towards a model for integrating botanical literacies in the early childhood curriculum.