Kimberley Beasley

This research explores the development of botanical literacies of two early childhood teachers (ECT) and the children in their classes over 1 year. The teachers and children regularly visited bush spaces within their school grounds and invited external experts, including a local Indigenous Elder, to provide local plant knowledge. Using a Mosaic approach and inquiry-based learning with the classes, this research documented changes over time in each class regarding their botanical literacies and interactions with native plants in the bush spaces.

A multi-site case study approach was used, and data were collected through interviews, conversations, observations and children’s drawings, photographs and maps. The findings focus specifically on three main areas: (1) the botanical literacies of young children; (2) the botanical literacies of ECTs; and (3) the impact of including Indigenous knowledge on the botanical literacies of young children and their teachers in an early childhood setting.

This study adds to the limited body of international research on botanical literacies and is the first study of botanical literacies among young children and ECTs in Australia. It provides a framework for teaching botanical literacies in early childhood education that could be adapted for use in other early childhood settings. This research could also be used as a prompt for ECTs to take their children into local native bush environments to improve their own and their class’s botanical literacies. The positive impact of the inclusion of Indigenous knowledge in this research encourages teachers and early childhood communities to engage with local Indigenous Elders for a specific understanding of their local native plants and environments.