In this article we consider the use of visual images to assess perceptions of plants. Using data drawn from a Swedish study we review our choices regarding the type of image used, and the responses they provoked. Furthermore, we consider these choices in the light of other studies, propose a tentative model of levels of seeing, and call for…

This study analyze data from three national contexts in which teachers worked with the same teaching materials and inquiry classroom activities, investigating teachers' use of strategies to promote interaction and scaffolding when participating in a professional development program. The data material is collected from three case studies from the…

This article analyses the role of plants in three well publicised Nordic climate fictions for young adults: "Memories of Water" by Emmi Itäranta, originally published in 2012, "The World According to Anna" (2013) by Jostein Gaarder, and "Bouvetøya 2052" (2015) by Lars Maehle. Departing from the wider scholarly field…

This study explores how fieldwork can contribute to the development of ecological literacy and draws on actor-network theory and science studies which imply an understanding of agency as being distributed. The aim is to explore the consequences of the human-nonhuman encounters in fieldwork practice for the growth of ecological literacy. The…

This article will discuss social, environmental, and ecological justice in education for sustainable development (ESD) and Education for Sustainable Development Goals (ESDG). The concept of sustainable development and, by extension, the ESD, places heavy emphasis on the economic and social aspects of sustainability. However, the ESD falls short of…

In the twenty years since the first theory of 'plant blindness' was published much discussion has ensued concerning this phenomenon. More recent research, not only demonstrates that humans appear to favour animals over plants but also indicates a preference for mammals with forward-facing eyes. For this paper, we analysed answers to an online…

This study was carried out within a project to promote health and ecosystem services, 'the benefits people obtain from ecosystems', in preschools in Sweden. The paper applies the concept 'affordance' to capture the functional meaning that children assign to different material aspects of their schoolyards before and after the installation of…

People's knowledge about nature, their interest in nature, their nature experiences, and their values and emotions regarding nature are factors that promote people's positive views on environmental issues and sustainability. Knowing the variation and patterns in teachers' and student teachers' views is an essential step in considering the ways in…

Recent educational legislative acts and public debates in Sweden stress the importance of preschools providing playful and meaningful activities to enhance early experiences in environmental and natural science (e.g., Ministry of Education and Research, 2016). The present study investigates three 5-6 year old children making meaning of the concept…

The notion of plant-blindness, the inability of humans to notice plants in their environment, has been much examined. Similarly, plant scientists have criticised the seemingly zoocentric focus of a biological education, which appears to neglect plants. Furthermore, there are stark contrasts between the active plant behaviours evidenced in current…

How do we support the enthusiasm children show for biology in school? Unfortunately, lack of exciting practical work and boring biology lessons seem to make science less popular. As a senior lecturer in plant physiology at Karlstad University I have simplified experiments intended for students at university and then tested them on 10-11 year old…

This paper presents results from a study with the following research questions: (a) are pupils' opinions on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) influenced by biology teaching; and (b) what is important for the opinion pupils hold and how does knowledge work together with other parameters such as values? 64 pupils in an upper secondary school…

Reports on a seven-year longitudinal study of pupils' (n=25) understanding of ecological processes with emphasis on how their conceptions of matter influence their understanding. Results indicate that initially students expected the plants cultivated in closed transparent boxes to die but later used a "cycle model" to explain how the…