Nature-based preschools, including forest schools—where most learning takes place outside—exist in many countries and are a useful lens through which to consider concepts of childhood, nature, and education more broadly. However, we still lack an understanding of how both to prepare teachers for nature-based education (NBE) and to transform more traditional, teacher-centred approaches to change learning outcomes. This paper investigates these processes by exploring how principles of nature education shaped teachers’ preparation and practices in both the distant past (as ideas developed in the early 20th century) and more recently (from the 1990s) as approaches have re-emerged in international contexts. NBE is a 21st-century education reform aimed at changing learning outcomes, which also stands as a critique of extant schooling and effort to decolonize education. But the idea is not entirely new. Theories and methods of learning in nature have been proposed for more than two centuries (Joyce, 2012), with many focusing on young children. This presentation considers nature-based teaching and learning in the 20th and 21st centuries, drawing on examples of institutions or organizations where educators experimented with nature-based pedagogies. This overarching question directed our endeavour: In what ways did NBE develop new possibilities for learning and new ways to respond to concerns over children’s alienation from the natural world, including alienation from the self—brought on by industrialization, urbanization, and the institution of schooling itself? The study had three broad objectives (1) To explicate the aims, purposes, forms, and contents of NBE using historical methods—by examining the past and present social, political, and historical pre-conditions for the emergence of NBE theories and practices. (2) To track the temporal and geographic diffusion and variations of two institutional iterations of NBE—nature study and the forest school—in Germany, England, and the United States, by following the transcontinental networks of ideas and experts of yesterday and today that supported these developments. (3) To investigate how educators were and are prepared to teach—by exploring the intersection of theory with practice in teachers’ preparation for NBE, focusing on programs for preschool and kindergarten-aged children in the same countries. The presentation will focus on the first objective to review the history of ideas related to nature-based learning for preschool children in the context of the Nature Study movement, as popularized in England, the US, and other English-speaking countries from the 1890s to the 1920s (Jenkins, 1981; Kass, 2017; Kohlstedt, 2010), with comparable initiatives in Germany (Koerrenz & Engelmann, 2019; Nyhart, 2009).

According to some of the latest methodological advancements in the contribution of the History of Education to a deeper understanding of early childhood education and its main development at an institutional and pedagogical level (Luc, 1997; Lascarides, Hinitz, 2011; Sani, 2016), an interesting case study could be identified in the commitment of three Italian educators, Pietro Pasquali and the sisters Rosa and Carolina Agazzi, in fighting against children’s poverty and cultural deprivation in the transition of the 20th century. They contributed, through their direct educational interventions in the infant school of Mompiano (in the city of Brescia, Northern Italy) and the publications of handbooks, journal articles, and training courses, to prepare new educators and to guide working class to take care of children with educational intent. To explore this issue, it could be interesting to analyse three sources, such as two handbooks by Pietro Pasquali (Il nuovo asilo: guida per le maestre e le madri nell’educazione della prima infanzia sulle tracce dell’Asilo di Mompiano, 1903; Il nuovo spirito dell’asilo: a complemento del volume Il nuovo asilo, 1910), and a volume by Rosa Agazzi (Guida per le educatrici dell’infanzia, 1932), in which she had collected some of her own professional writings already published in the educators’ journal «Pro Infantia». The educational strategies, methods, and tools promoted in all three books were the result of a transnational ‘educational-cultural’ transfer (Sahlfeld, 2016), contributing to place the Mompiano infant school experience within the broader international framework of institutional development of infant schools. The affirmation of pedagogical-organizational dimensions aimed at the realisation of a tripartition between physical education, intellectual education, and moral education explicitly inspired by Pestalozzi (Veiga, 2018) went, hand in hand, with the promotion of a civilising process (Elias, 1988), in terms of self-ordering, self-regulation, and internalization of norms for the autonomous and responsible development of each child. In Mompiano school, the little boys and girls, after hygiene and medical treatment, washing, and wearing school smocks and shoes (as a symbol of external equality), had the opportunity to experience 'the intuition of a civilised life' (Pasquali, 1903) in a context of social normativity, dominated by educational relationships animated by joy, intelligence, and affection. Their civilisation entailed a change in their emotional heritage, with the assumption of personal habits marked by the principles of fairness and respect for others, as results of the spontaneous learning of rules and methods of social discipline (Agazzi, 1932). In this direction, it can be said that Pasquali and Agazzi's experience contributed to the translation of the modern instance of disciplining of body and soul (Dekker, Wichgers, 2018) into a more contemporary form of self-disciplining, thanks also to the systematic attention exercised on a practical level to the natural needs of the youngest. Moreover, it promoted a deep process of civilisation of the children in terms of personal emancipation, thanks to the development of teaching-learning activities characterized by active methods and the use of didactic aids collected or made by the pupils (Lombardo Radice, 1928).

Bills and coins have, throughout history, served as symbolic tools of colonial power. The selection of which figures or historical events are featured on currency can contribute to that colonial narrative and the legitimization of dominance. Indeed, a form of resistance and decolonization can be enacted through the introduction of currency representing local culture, historical figures, and/or symbols, thereby reaffirming the unique and singular identity of that territory. During the decolonization process, the creation of an independent national currency symbolizes a significant step in reclaiming both material and immaterial property usurped. Currency can also exert an impact on the historical memory of a society. The decision to commemorate certain events or figures on currency can influence the perception of history and the construction of national narratives. Furthermore, the design of currency can reflect social relationships and hierarchies present during colonization/decolonization. The representation of diverse communities on currency can mirror social inclusion or exclusion, and changes in currency design can serve as a means to promote equality and diversity. All these aspects prompt us to consider numismatics, the study of coins and currency, as a fascinating window for exploring the history of education and the image of childhood in different societies and historical periods. Based on the massive scope, accessibility, and reach to large audiences of numismatics, we believe it constitutes a suitable, original, and novel research element or source. Currently, we have not identified previous studies addressing this issue in the field of education and childhood to explore and study the disseminated public images and the potential impact they might have on perception and collective imagination. In this work, the aim is to advance initial considerations on the utility of this type of numismatic support as a resource in research, teaching, and outreach to broad audiences, such as through education museums. Consequently, the use of bills and coins as a research tool and/or educational support can be valuable in advancing one of the thematic axes proposed in ISCHE 2024. Specifically, we refer to the critique of a singular and universalized notion of education or a single and standardized vision of childhood. These themes invite new inquiries into hierarchies, inclusions, and exclusions in inter and transnational relationships and issues of diversity in terms of ethnic, racial, gender, social, religious, etc., connections.

Los billetes y las monedas han representado, a lo largo de la historia, herramientas simbólicas de poder colonial. La elección de qué figuras o eventos históricos se destacan en los billetes puede contribuir a esa narrativa colonial y a la legitimación del dominio. De hecho, una forma de resistencia y descolonización puede venir dada por la introducción de billetes que representen la cultura local, figuras históricas y/o símbolos como reafirmación de la entidad propia y singular de ese territorio. Durante el proceso de descolonización, la creación de una moneda nacional independiente simboliza un paso significativo en la recuperación de esa propiedad material e inmaterial usurpada. Los billetes también pueden tener un impacto en la memoria histórica de una sociedad. La elección de conmemorar ciertos eventos o figuras en los billetes puede influir en la percepción de la historia y en la construcción de narrativas nacionales. Asimismo, el diseño de billetes también puede reflejar relaciones sociales y jerarquías presentes durante la colonización/descolonización. La representación de diversas comunidades en los billetes puede ser un reflejo de la inclusión o exclusión social, y su cambio puede ser un medio para promover la igualdad y la diversidad. Todos estos aspectos nos animan a considerar la numismática, el estudio de monedas y billetes, como una ventana fascinante para explorar la historia de la educación y la imagen de la infancia en diferentes sociedades y en diferentes momentos históricos. Basándonos en el alcance masivo, accesibilidad y llegada a grandes audiencias de la numismática, consideramos que ésta constituye un elemento o fuente de investigación adecuada, original y novedosa. Actualmente, no localizamos estudios previos que aborden esta cuestión en el ámbito de la educación y la infancia para explorar y estudiar las imágenes públicas difundidas y el posible impacto que pudieran tener éstas en la percepción y el imaginario colectivo. En este trabajo, el objetivo es avanzar en las primeras consideraciones sobre la utilidad de este tipo de soporte numismático como recurso en la investigación, en la docencia y en la divulgación a grandes audiencias, como podría ser a través de los museos de la educación. En consecuencia, el uso de los billetes y las monedas como herramienta de investigación y/o como soporte didáctico puede resultar de utilidad para avanzar en uno de los ejes temáticos que se plantea esta ISCHE 2024. Nos referimos, concretamente, a la crítica de una noción única y universalizada de la educación o a una visión única y estandarizada de la infancia, temáticas que invitan a abordar nuevas indagaciones sobre las jerarquías, inclusiones y exclusiones en las relaciones inter y transnacionales y sobre cuestiones de diversidad en términos, por ejemplo, de vínculos étnicos, raciales, de género, sociales, religiosos, etc.

Following the fall of fascism and the end of Second World War, Italy became a republic in 1948. Nevertheless, throughout the fifties and sixties, a prevalence of social inequalities persisted, and the tangible realization of democracy seemed distant. One of the most significant reforms came in 1962 with the introduction of the unified middle school. The unified middle school represented a fundamental shift in educational policy, aiming to provide equal opportunities for all students regardless of their socioeconomic background. During the Sixties, a new wave of students and workers, who had completed unified middle school education, emerged, beginning to demand civil rights, political participation, and individual freedom. Their protests culminated in 1968, igniting both universities and factories. The aim of this paper is to illustrate the role of Italian children’s literature in addressing social inequalities during the Sixties and in contributing to the resistance that led to the protests of 1968. Through the catalogue of the Einaudi publishing house, one of the most prestigious and left-oriented firms in the Italian peninsula, we will analyze several books published during the sixties as case studies. In particular, we will explore the emancipating and revolutionary themes within the pages of Il tramviere impazzito (The Crazy Tram Driver) by Marina Jarre (1962), Storia del Gallo Sebastiano (Story of Sebastian the Rooster) by Ada Gobetti (1963), Le avventure di Barzamino (The Adventures of Barzamino) by Daniele Ponchiroli (1965), L’assalto al treno (The assault on the train) by Giovanni Arpino (1966). In these texts the authors portrayed realistic characters dealing with the injustices of the world, sometimes with hope for change, sometimes with anger and silent resignation. The publisher clearly had in mind a model of childhood that was not a safe phase of life, but rather a moment when children could gain awareness of the struggles awaiting them in life, and, eventually, join the fight. In these books we can find instances that were destined to become the two souls of 1968: Arpino and Ponchiroli focused more on the political and social issues, such as democracy and worker’s exploitation, while Gobetti and Jarre presented a more general hymn to diversity and creative freedom. In conclusion, through these case studies, children's literature once again demonstrates its power as both an educational tool and a source for cultural and educational process.