Water as method: Explorations of locally situated environmental issues together with preschool children

Abstract

AbstractThe aim of this article is to show how water emerged as a research method nearby and within a small stream during a 9-month fieldwork carried out with preschool children. The fieldwork was informed and shaped by the preschool children’s and researcher’s situated knowledges and their questions about environmental issues concerning water, absence of water, pollution and ethics. The empirical material consists of films and photos, drawings and field notes, produced together by the preschool children and the researcher during the research. The analysis draws on relational ontology and the writings of Isabelle Stengers and Donna Haraway. The article concludes with a discussion about what can be learnt from the study and its contribution to research within the fields of Early Childhood Education and Environmental Education.