Childhood Between Nature and Culture
Discourses, Tensions, and Curriculum Reform
Abstract
This article examines how the nature-culture dichotomy, present in the social sciences since the Romantic era, influences discourses on childhood and early childhood education, with particular reference to the new Polish core curriculum valid since September 2026. The construct of the child’s relationship with nature is deeply rooted in Romantic philosophy, according to which the child possesses a special bond with nature that adults functioning within Western civilization do not. This philosophy continues to influence how childhood is constructed today, which is a source of tension due to civilizational discourses that assume a child’s transition from the stage of an uncivilized savage (connected to nature) to that of an adult who adheres to cultural norms. An additional factor complicating this relationship is the increasingly rare exposure of children to nature, around which narratives full of fears and anxieties have emerged. By highlighting the interrelated discourses underlying contemporary early childhood education, this article focuses on presenting the tensions between them and on having recognized the need to take into account a posthumanist perspective, grounded in a specific context, which allows for critical review of nature related education.
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