| Summary |
Annotation For much of human evolution, the natural world was one of the most important contextsof children's maturation. Indeed, the experience of nature was, and still may be, a criticalcomponent of human physical, emotional, intellectual, and even moral development. Yet scientificknowledge of the significance of nature during the different stages of childhood is sparse. Thisbook provides scientific investigations and thought-provoking essays on children and nature.Childrenand Nature incorporates research from cognitive science, developmental psychology, ecology,education, environmental studies, evolutionary psychology, political science, primatology,psychiatry, and social psychology. The authors examine the evolutionary significance of natureduring childhood; the formation of children's conceptions, values, and sympathies toward the naturalworld; how contact with nature affects children's physical and mental development; and theeducational and political consequences of the weakened childhood experience of nature in modernsociety. |
