The Value of Nature and Education in Nature in Light of Student’s Integral Development
Abstract
The article aims to demonstrate the opportunities for a learner’s integral development through the valuation of nature and natural education. The research question addressed here is: in what ways are the opportunities for stimulating a learner’s integral development expressed through education in the natural environment and, thereby, through the actualization of the value of nature? The methodology was grounded in analytical-synthetic method, which relies on critical analysis and synthesis of relevant scholarly literature. The starting point of the conducted analyses is a review of selected definitions of the concept of nature. Within this analysis, Stanisław Zięba’s definition of nature was adopted and the notion of the value of nature was conceptualised. The specific objective of the subsequent stage of the study was to demonstrate the significance of nature for the development of particular dimensions of student’s life and functioning. The theoretical foundation of the analyses is provided by Stefan Kunowski’s concept of integral development, referred to as the stratified conception of development and education. The significance of the value of nature within individual developmental layers was examined and presented. The last part of the article proposes guidelines for teachers, encouraging them to undertake educational activities within the natural environment while taking into account the stages of the educational process oriented toward the realization of the value of nature. The final element of the conducted research is the presentation of the educational opportunities offered by education within the natural environment, with particular emphasis on the pedagogical integration of rural and urban environments, as well as on the implementation of didactic innovations.
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