Yu, Xiaoting;
Reiss, Michael J;
(2025)
Understanding and cultivation of nature connectedness in China: An analysis of national moral education school textbooks for primary students.
Journal of Moral Education
pp. 1-24.
10.1080/03057240.2025.2474437.
(In press).
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Abstract
Most of the research about nature connectedness has been conducted in Western countries and is characterised by dualism between humans and nature. This article examines how China understands and attempts to foster children’s connection to the natural world. Analysis of the current moral education primary school textbooks in China reveals that the principal way in which the relationship between humans and nature is portrayed is that humans are seen as an intimate part of nature. Nature is seen as beautiful, living, mysterious and wise. The textbooks do not advocate, as Western scholars often do, taking children outdoors to experience and connect with wilderness. Instead, they guide children to ‘discover nature’ within their own living environment, even within human-made objects, fostering an understanding that nature is omnipresent and integral to human existence. They assert that the improvement of human life and of nature are not in tension but intricately linked.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Understanding and cultivation of nature connectedness in China: An analysis of national moral education school textbooks for primary students |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1080/03057240.2025.2474437 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1080/03057240.2025.2474437 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © The Author(s), 2025. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives License 4.0 (CC-BY-NC-ND), where it is permissible to download and share the work provided it is properly cited. The work cannot be changed in any way or used commercially without permission from the journal. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ |
| Keywords: | Nature connectedness, moral education, school textbooks, environmental education |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10206461 |
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