Interactions Between Kindergarten Teachers and Children While Raising Plants: Focusing on Personification
Miyagi R.
Journal of Science Education (Japan), 63(3):645–654
Urban Farm DB summary
Six months of observation in a public kindergarten class (age 5) in Okinawa during plant cultivation in the garden and shared field. Analyses how teachers' personifying talk supports children's empathy and learning about plants—practical insight for kindergarten gardening and food education.
Key points
- 1The study observed interactions between kindergarten teachers and children during plant cultivation over six months.
- 2It clarified how personification functions in children's development of familiarity and knowledge about plants.
- 3Four functions of personification used by older children and teachers were identified.
- 4These functions include promoting empathetic familiarity and care for plants, encouraging analogical reasoning about humans and other plants, and explaining the state of plants.
- 5Through personified interactions, children learn to be familiar with cultivated plants and infer cultivation methods.
- 6Teachers' beliefs and experiences may influence the specific functions of personification they employ.
Abstract and stored text
OpenAlex本研究では，植物栽培に関する保育者と子どものやり取りを6ヶ月観察し，子どもが他者との関わりの中で，植物に親しみ，植物に関する知識を学習する中で，擬人化がどのように機能しているかを明らかにすることを目的とした。その結果，年長児と保育者の使用する擬人化の機能は4つあり，①植物に対して，感情移入的な親しみや思いやりを持つ事を促す機能，②人間についての知識を類推する事を促す機能，③他の植物の知識を類推する事を促す機能，④植物の状態を説明する機能がある事が明らかになった。このような擬人化を用いたやり取りの中で，子どもは，栽培対象の植物に親しみ，栽培方法を類推する事を学習すると考えられる。また，保育者の信念や経験による影響で，保育者により擬人化の使用する機能が異なる可能性がある。
Why it matters for urban farming
This study demonstrates how personification contributes to children's attachment to plants and acquisition of cultivation knowledge in plant growing. For citizen-driven urban farms, especially those involving families or educational programs, encouraging participants (both children and adults) to engage with plants through personification, such as "talking to" them, can deepen their interest and learning. This offers a practical approach for urban farming educators and community leaders to enhance the educational and emotional benefits of gardening.